Some explanation of the sequence

Here's some details of what happens from the time we tow the car to the starting line to the end of the run.

We tow up, unhook the car from the truck and position the car beside the truck and lined up with the track.

We have batteries in the back of the truck and we run cable to the starter which mounts to the blower.

When we get a signal from the track official John gives the engine a big squirt of alcohol from a squirt bottle to prime the engine. I begin spinning the engine over with the starter and John signals Corey who pulls a ground wire from the coil which energises the ignition and brings the engine to life. John continues to feed alcohol from the squirt bottle to the engine until the nitro fills the fuel lines and the engine starts running on the nitromethane. I remove the starter from the front of the engine and hand it over to Allen who puts it in the back of the truck. Randy switches the power on to the data recorder.

David rolls the car through the water box and feathers into the throttle and the engine roars as the tires boil with smoke. David lets out of the throttle and brings the car to a smooth halt a few hundred feet down the track. I jog down the track and give David signals as he backs up toward the starting line where John is standing signaling me. We make sure that the car is lined up straight and centered in the rubber he just applied to the track on the burnout.

David stops the car behind the staging beams and John checks the oil pressure and idle speed. He has an adjustment on the hat riser that he can raise or lower the idle to get the idle speed he wants. He then guides David within inches of the first staging beam where he turns the car over to David to proceed staging.

I go around the back of the car and wait for David to light the first staging bulb. At that point I start the data recorder and David pulls a cable which switches the fuel system on the car from low pressure to high pressure. You can see the fuel start billowing from the pipes and the sound of the engine gets really serious. David then lights the second stage bulb and waits for the tree to activate the green light and he is gone!

You can see most of this in the photo sequence below except for the backing up. You can also see that on the run the car does not just drive perfectly straight down the track and that it lays a clean stripe of smooth black rubber down the track. These cars are really a handful to drive and they are always on the edge of spinning the tires. At the end of the sequence you can see a lot of raw fuel coming out of the pipes because the engine went lean around half track and destroyed some of the spark plugs. This caused the car to lose some of its acceleration and David felt it and shuts the car off early around 1000 feet into the run. That also attributed to the relatively slow speed (198mph) for a 6.14 run.

Hopefully this will give some insight into what events take place during a run for those of you who read this blog but have not yet had a chance to see us race in person.
Brad

rest of sequence

sequence photos.........

A sharp fellow named Charles was at Bowling Green taking sequence photos from the starting line. I am going to try to post a sequence that shows us starting the car, the burnout, staging and the run. It might take two posts to get them all in. The run was our first qualifying run Friday afternoon.

More BG photos...

A night time pit shot and Allen's Sunday morning presentation of a digital scale for David to weigh clutch counterweights. Bob Gibson was the one behind the lense on these two.
Brad

Pictures from Bowling Green

First season in the books.....

I have had a few days to reflect on the season and gather my thoughts. It's hard to grasp that it's really over. Our goal when the team was started was to run low sixes consistently and do it without hurting parts. That is exactly where we ended up and it is quite an accomplishment. I could never have done it without lots of help but I'll get to the "thank you"s later. We had some trials and setbacks but that is just part of doing something as difficult as top fuel racing. The important thing is that we persevered and overcame the obstacles and grew stronger as a team.
I can't say enough good things about the group of people that have helped me. We are good friends first and foremost and teammates second. In the heat of battle tensions run high and tempers can flare but racing is not as important as relationships and we stayed true to that.
Now on to the thank you part:
My beloved wife Susan. Baby, you truly are the best! My partner and best friend - your love and support is monumental. Thanks!!!
John Dearmore and Allen Webb at DRE Racing. You guys are beyond talented! This car would never have made noise if not for your help and great parts. If it can be built these guys can build it! Thanks!!!
David Pace and his wife Gayla. David, a better driver and clutch man does not exist in my opinion and Gayla you've supported him in doing his thing and even bought a drum of fuel! Thanks!!!
Corey Davis my bottom end guy. You took on the most important and thankless job on this team. A great attitude and hard work for no pay. You have become a GREAT "diver", true friend and a huge asset to the team and you always keep things light with hilarious comments. Thanks to you and Jana for her support!
Randy Compton. You've dedicated your time and energy to collect the data and spend time between races keeping the wings functional and always looking for ways to make them better. The sandwiches were great and kept us energized while the thrash was on. Thanks to you and Kacie for her support!!!
Betty Dearmore - wife of John and mother of Allen. You opened your home to all of us and made sure we were well fed and cared for. Thanks!!!
Bob Gibson. Your knowledge and contacts were vital to keeping this low budget operation going and your help at the track was great. Thanks!!!
Jimmy Johnson. Thanks for digging in and getting dirty at Bowling Green. Your helping hands are always welcome on our team. Thanks!!!
Fellow racers Brendan Murray, Art Dromgoole, and Charlie Proight. Thanks for lending us parts at the races to help keep us going when things went wrong!
Goodguys Rod and Custom Assoc. John Drummond, Larry Westervelt, and Troy Coker.Thanks for having the races out here East of the Rockies, treating us with respect and giving us good, safe places to race.
David Miller. A great photographer and generous guy. Thanks for the great photos!
Ray Moats at Taylor. Thanks for the great plug wires and quick service!
Davis Clips and More. Thanks for the beautiful paint job!
Larry Fidance at Denso. Thanks for providing us with killer Denso Iridium spark plugs.
Green Cylinder Heads. Thanks Kurt!!!
David Freeman. Thanks for letting us use your magneto and being a "remote" team member. Hopefully next year you won't be so remote. Ha Ha!
Mom and Dad. What can I say here... even though you are gone you're always with me and always a part of me. Thanks isn't even close to enough.
God. enough said.


I'll end this post with a quote from Allen Webb at Bowling Green Saturday night after a long day of hard work. "I love this! Brad, this is your car. When we are at home we call it "Brad's car" but 5 weekends out of the year this is OUR car."
I couldn't agree more Allen. This is OUR car and OUR team. No man is an island and no man less of an island than me. I am proud, grateful and humbled.

Brad

A heartbreaker...................

This one was hard to swallow. We were number one qualifier on Friday with a 6.14 out of the trailer. Saturday we ran a 6.16 at 212 mph and got bumped to number 2 by the Nitrodiction team who ran a phenomenal 5.85! Sunday morning came and the news from the Nitrodiction team was that they destroyed their engine block on that run and they were done for the weekend. It was really cold and at 9 am we got the word that they wanted us in the lanes at 9:30! We had to try several times to start the engine to warm it up and it was NOT HAPPY about being so cold! We finally got it fired and warmed up and we headed to the starting line. We were up against Joe Krepenski's car with Kevin Lennon driving it. David nailed the starting line with a .077 reaction time and we ran a 6.15 at 207 mph for the win. We had a very consistent race car and a driver on his game. We were at least a half second quicker than the rest of the field and it was shaping up to be our day. We readied the car and the call came for round number two - the semifinals. She sounded great on the burnout and the stage was set for another six -teen run and another round win but it was not to be. Once again the hard truth of top fuel racing was thrust upon our team as a couple of header studs backed out of the left head and let oil spray onto the left tire. The car made a hard turn and came inches from the guard rail. David backed off the throttle and centered the car back up and was about to stab it again when the car again moved towards the wall and David wisely aborted the run and saved the race car as our opponent zipped past him at the finish line. It was a hard pill to swallow but that is the way racing goes. We loaded the car in one piece and we live to fight another day.
I have a lot more to say and a lot of people to thank but I need to sort out my thoughts so I'll save it for another day.
Brad

Last race............

The car and all equipment is loaded and we are leaving tomorrow morning for our last race of the season - the Goodguys Nostalgia Nationals in Bowling Green KY. The track at Bowling Green is a great place to race and we are looking forward to going back. Since this is the last hoorah for us this year we are going to let it all hang out! Hopefully all our hard work and learning this season will come together for us. A win would be the best way to cap off our first season.
John made it back from California Monday and has been resting up for this weekend. He had a great time at the California Hotrod reunion and his car recreation debut was a smashing success. Above are the pictures of his absolutely gorgeous race car just the way it was ran in the 1960s.

Brad

What's up........

I just want to give some updates of what is currently happening with the team and specifically with John (crew chief). A couple of years ago John was contacted by a fellow from Southern California named Larry Crossan. It seems that Larry had seen some pictures of one of John's top fuel cars from the late 60s and took a liking to it. He wanted to know if with John's help and permission he could recreate the car for a show/cackle car (or a car that can be started but due to modern safety rules can not be raced). John agreed and they set out to recreate the car as it was when ran in 67/68. The original car was destroyed in a crash so it had to be recreated rather than found and restored.
It is now 2 years later and John is in California right now putting the finishing touches on the car and preparing it for it's debut next weekend at the prestigious California Hot Rod Reunion. It is a great honor for John to have his car chosen out of the thousands that ran in the 60s to be created and the whole Speed Merchants team is very proud and excited for John. I have posted a couple of pictures above that I found of the original car. I am sure John will be sending some pictures of the recreation soon.
As for the rest of the team and our dragster we are only waiting on the blower to be returned from repair to complete the car for Bowling Green. The blower should be here today or tomorrow and the car should be ready 2 weeks early. That is a great feeling.
This coming weekend a friend of mine named Rick McElrea asked me to drive his 10 second Vega (Ford powered) at a 2 day $10,000 payout race in Tulsa Oklahoma - Friday and Saturday and I am really looking forward to that.
Team member Randy compton traded his 57 Chevy for a really nice little front engine dragster with a mild blowm 350 Chevy named the gold digger. I am excited for Randy and he hopes to get it to the track soon to get his feet wet and get comfortable driving the car.I am posting a couple of pictures of it above as well.
Brad