Speed Merchants

Godspeed , Joe Mondello..........

2011-04-10T08:02:00.003-05:00

It was an honor to know you Joe, thanks for all you gave................

New owner for the dragster

2010-12-06T08:51:00.002-06:00

Due to my work schedule at my new job and the new yearly rule requirements (expensive) by the NHRA I have sold my entire Nostalgia Top Fuel racing operation. The car won't be far away as the new owner lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His name is Paul Shultz and he will give the car a very good home. I will try to go with his team to the races whenever I am off work and things work out.
I appreciate all the help that I have had for the last few years. I appreciate those of you who have followed along here with my little adventure. I had a lot of fun with my friends, learned a TON, and there are no regrets from me.

So I guess this will be my last Speed Merchants blog post.

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!

Brad Green

Plans for the future........

2010-04-27T07:46:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated the blog but I do have some news for you.
We are parked for 2010. I'll have the car ready for 2011 with new chassis mods and rule updates. Starting in 2011 and going forward the plan is to race Goodguys Indy in June and Goodguys Bowling Green in October each year.
I have started buying and selling used industrial machinery in my spare time to fund my racing. It's going very well so far but I need a year head start so that the 2011 racing money is available by the end of 2010 and so on.
The search for sponsorship was taking a toll and not yielding results so I decided to take matters back into my own hands and come up with a plan that would work for us financially and mesh with my crazy work schedule.
My team has been supportive of the decision and Susan and I are very comfortable with it as well.

Thanks for viewing my blog!

Brad

We wait....................

2009-11-30T14:50:00.002-06:00

Here are current pictures of the race car. It is together and ready to go for the most part - what is left is the safety items and things that have to be SFI certified in order to pass technical inspection at a race. That includes: the seat belts, blower restraint/bag, engine diaper, fire bottles, bellhousing and clutch. The reason I haven't sent these items off for re-certification is that I am not 100% sure that I will be able to race the car in 2010.That will depend on several things - mostly sponsorship/finances and my work schedule. SOOOOO, we are in a holding pattern to see what time brings.
You will also notice in the pictures that the car has a different nose piece and fewer body panels on it. This is the alternate short body that I have for it. If we do run the car this year we'll most likely use this shorter and lighter body.
That's all I have for now. Thanks for checking my blog!!!

Brad

Chassis fixed and back home.

2009-11-14T19:43:00.002-06:00

David and I took the car to Indianapolis over Halloween weekend and got the top tube of the chassis replaced and a few other minor changes. Keith Burgan, otherwise known as "Rooman" because he's from Australia, did a great job and let David and I help where we could. Rooman is a master craftsman and did a GREAT job on the car.
I am putting the car back together now as I have spare time. I'll take some pictures soon and give another update.
Thanks for checking in!
Brad

Update

2009-10-01T07:28:00.002-05:00

Here's a couple of pictures of the damage in the upper frame rail and the chassis in the shop after I have Scotchbrited it and rubbed it down with penetrating oil.

Brad

Stripped chassis

2009-09-29T18:18:00.002-05:00

Susan and I went to Tulsa today and dropped the chassis off at Blasting Specialties where they blasted the paint off of it with a plastic bead media that removes the paint without damaging the thin wall chromoly tubing. Now that it is back home and in the shop I will take scotch-brite pads and rub down all of the tubing and then rub it down again with penetrating oil to keep it from rusting. Here are some before and after pictures of the chassis from today.

Brad

Some more pictures from MAM and an update

2009-09-24T08:07:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest news from Speed Merchants Racing.
After coming home from our match race at Mid America Motorplex and disassembling the race car I have found the chassis severely cracked in the top frame rail where the rear end flange is welded into the chassis. This was caused by the severe tire shake we experienced and is going to require a new top hoop welded into the car - not a small undertaking. I have decided to take the car to Keith Burgan - otherwise known as Rooman because he's an Aussie - in Indianapolis for the repair. He's an excellent chassis builder and a good friend. The plan is to go Halloween weekend and spend 2 days on the repair and then bring back the fixed car.
The never ending hunt for a sponsor continues and our racing agenda for next season depends heavily on acquiring one or more.
I have to take the bare chassis to get the paint stripped off for the repairs and I think I am going to leave the chassis unpainted and possibly run the short body next year to save a little weight and help between round maintenance - we'll see.
These pictures from MAM were taken by crew member Randy Compton. Enjoy and thanks for checking my blog!

Brad

Subscribe to my blog........

2009-09-05T07:31:00.004-05:00

I wanted to take a minute and inform those of you who may not know that you can subscribe to my blog and get an email each time I update it. If you look to the right side of the blog and scroll down you will see where it says to "Subscribe in a Reader". Click there and then choose a reader to use to view the blog with in your email. Next click "Get Speed Merchants delivered by email". Next enter your email address and enter the code word into the space provided and click "Complete Subscription request". It's easy and always keeps you informed with up to date Speed Merchants news.
Some of you may have done this in the past here on my blog with a different subscriber that quit working. We have added the new one and you will have to resubscribe with it.
Thanks for checking in!
Brad

Pictures

2009-09-05T07:27:00.002-05:00

David took some shots that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Video

2009-09-03T20:34:00.002-05:00

Here's the video Kurt shot at Mid America last weekend.Thanks Kurt!

Speed+Merchants+vs+Nightmare+Nostalgia+AA+Front+en

A big thanks for a fun weekend!

2009-08-31T15:44:00.002-05:00

We had a great time at Mid America last weekend! Even though we had trouble getting down the track under power (a little too much power for the track but we'll have a plan for next year) and got beat both runs we had a great time and were treated very well by the personnel at Mid America Motorplex. The turnout of friends and family was AWESOME and overwhelming. Thank you!!! The track manager was happy with the show we put on for the fans and he said he wants us back for next year - maybe twice.
Randy was taking pictures and Kurt shot some video so I'll get those posted as soon as I get them.
I want to extend a special thank you to Dan and Joanie Russell for inviting us, Mid America Motorplex for having a great show and including us, all my friends and family for spending the time with us, my great crew for all their hard work and most of all my wife, partner and best friend Susan for her patience, love and support.
Brad

Event Flier

2009-08-25T07:26:00.000-05:00

Beeee There!

2009-08-24T16:56:00.002-05:00

The car is loaded in the trailer and we are ready to roll North late Friday afternoon. So far the forecast looks pretty good. Lets hope it stays that way.
The track record at MidAmerica is a 4.16. We've been running around 4.10 at the 1/8th mile all year with a soft tuneup and have run as fast as 4.01 this spring with a little more in it so if everything goes well and the track is sticky maybe Sunday afternoon we can set a new track record. 3.99 at 200 mph. That would be about right!
They have posted a new flier at the website www.midamericamotorplex.com under the "drag strip" link and you can also listen to their radio ad from there.

I hope you all can make it out!

Brad

Mid America in August

2009-07-16T06:01:00.002-05:00

I am very happy to announce that the match race at MidAmerica Motorplex is confirmed and we will be going Aug 29 and 30. Please make plans to come see us if you can. We will run once Saturday afternoon and once again Sunday morning. The track website is www.midamericamotorplex.com They are located by Pacific Junction, IA just South of Council Bluffs and Omaha on I29.
We will be racing against Dan Russell's "Nightmare" top fuel dragster from Kellog,IA. Dan and his wife Joanie are good friends and we're looking forward to racing them. We hope all of our Nebraska/Iowa friends and family can make it out on Saturday or Sunday while we thunder the ground- nitromethane style!!!!

Brad

Possible match race development

2009-07-12T08:38:00.003-05:00

I wanted to let you all know that I have an opportunity to run the car at a match race at Mid America Motorplex (www.midamericamotorplex.com)August 29 and 30. I am very excited about this because it is located just South Of Council Bluffs, Iowa right on the Nebraska/Iowa border. This would be a great opportunity for many of my friends and family from Nebraska to be able to come see the car run but it will depend on me getting the time off from work. Currently I am scheduled to work the midnite shift those days and the only way I can go is if I can find somebody to swap some work shifts with me. I will try my best this week to get it worked out and I'll update as soon as I know something certain.

Brad

A few more Indy photos

2009-07-12T08:29:00.003-05:00

Photos from Indy....

2009-06-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some shots that Jimmy Johnson took when he wasn't busy working on the clutch.
Brad

Indy results............

2009-06-16T07:33:00.003-05:00

Wow! Murphy's law was in full effect this last few weeks. Having to find a stand in driver at the last minute, a stripped wheel stud, leaking blower snout and front main seal, crew chief stuck in the Dallas airport for 2 days and I'm sure there is more that I have already forgotten in the whirlwind. My guys did an AWESOME job and we managed to keep it together and overcome the obstacles. We ran a 6.16 Friday with the new driver, Jason Richey, shutting it off early at around 1100 feet. That put us in the #4 qualifying spot. We knew we'd get bumped down Saturday morning and we wanted to stay in the top half of the field so we decided to make a second qualifying run Saturday morning at noon. The valley cover gasket blew and covered Jason with oil and he had to shut it off really early into the run which left us with a 6.46 so we were not able to better our qualifying position and we ended up in the 6th spot with our 6.16 time.
We had to get the car serviced and ready for first round of eliminations by 3:30 PM and we had to put new clutch discs in and pull all the mains and rod caps to check the bearings since we were having some oiling problems. Sadly as the time rolled along we were not able to make the call to the lanes at 3:30. The Goodguys officials offered to bump us into the "B" field (not running until the next day) and put the first alternate in our place and we accepted which gave us all night to get the car ready properly and safely.
First round came Sunday morning for the B top fuel field and we won the round with a 6.14 time again shutting off a bit early to save the engine for the final round. We got everything ready early and waited for the call. A brief rain shower passed through and caused a 1 hour delay. Time came to pull into the lanes at 3:45 and there were 6 cars ready for their final rounds of the event:
two A field TF dragsters, two B field TF dragsters (including us), and two funny cars. We were ready to win this! Our car would have run a 6 teen something and our opponent had not run anything better than a mid seven second run all weekend. But alas the winner's circle once again eluded us as rain drops began to fall on us behind the starting line. The one obstacle the Speed Merchants would not overcome would be the rain as the race was called and the finals in all 3 pro classes were called a draw due to the rain out.
I wanted to scream in frustration but that would not have changed anything so back we went to get the fuel drained and everything loaded for the long trip home. Did I mention by the time we were loading the car in the trailer that the sun was out??? Ha ha......... how cruel!
That's the way racing goes so there is no point in lamenting about what might have been. I want to thank my wonderful wife, all my great crew guys and especially Jason Richey who did a great job driving for us. I also want to thank "Digger" Dan Horan for the Torco oil and Joe Hendricks for giving us his spare front main seal so we could make first round Sunday morning.
Now it's time to get the car ready for our match race in Denton,TX Sept 26th. I'll keep you updated and post some pictures from Indy as soon as they come in. Thanks for checking in!
Brad

A prayer for David Pace

2009-06-10T14:49:00.002-05:00

I know he doesn't want the attention but please keep our driver David Pace in your prayers. He apparently pinched his sciatic nerve in his lower back. He is in extreme pain, has numbness in his toes on his left leg, and can't get any sleep. He called me last night and said he couldn't drive the car at Indy. I know it was a hard call for him to make but it is the right thing to do and that's what he does - the right thing.
There will be a big hole on our team without him this weekend. Jason Richey is going to do the driving duties for us. David will be there in spirit and we're going to do our best to make him proud.

Brad

The Big Bang.........

2009-06-07T06:56:00.002-05:00

This coming weekend is the big one for the Speed Merchants. Due to our limited schedule this season our first and only big race is the 21st Hot Rod Nationals at Indianapolis June 12 - 14. We fired the car up yesterday and after a minor glitch with the oil filter she is ready to go racing.
We are going to be loaded for bear for what looks to be a great event. There are so many Top Fuel cars coming that they are going to have an A and a B field where the top 8 qualifiers will run in the A field and the second 8 in the B field with the B field paying out half of what the A pays.
Our team is extremely excited and we think we are ready to run with the best of them. Lets pray for good weather and safety for everyone.
Corey, Randy and I will leave out with the rig 6 am Thursday morning while David, Bob and John are flying out. A special guest Jimmy Johnson, who was a great help at Bowling Green last year, will also be helping us at this race. Allen Webb can't make this race and we will miss him but we will do our best to make him proud.
I'll have a full race report next week. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers this weekend!

Brad

Video of the 5.99 pass!

2009-05-05T10:19:00.001-05:00

Speed Merchants

2009-04-22T15:55:00.000-05:00

2009-04-22T15:50:00.001-05:00

Our first five.......................

2009-04-21T13:14:00.004-05:00

We had a great day at Texas Motorplex! They postponed the race until Sunday due to Saturday's forecast and Sunday was sunny with a bit of wind. We warmed the car up and took her out for an eighth mile check out pass. Everything went well and David shut it off shortly after the eighth mile marker and we brought it back and checked everything over real close. All looked well so we headed to the line for a full,hard pass. The car launched hard and was on a good run. When David pulled the chutes the scoreboard flashed 5.99 seconds at 232 mph!!! Let me tell you the feeling was incredible. This a huge milestone for my team and we did it with a soft tune up and no damaged engine parts.
Thanks to my wonderful wife,my whole crew, and DRE Racing for all their help and support!
I'll post more pictures as they come.
Brad

First fire up of 2009

2009-04-06T19:30:00.003-05:00

Saturday we fired the car up after having everything apart all winter long. It was a tense situation for me. Even though I carefully assembled everything and double checked - triple checked every step - until it was running with good oil pressure and no leaks there was a weight of worry on my shoulders. That's all behind me now. She fired right up and sounded good. Tears running down my cheeks from the fumes and feeling the noise rumble in my guts again was great!
I've got a few days worth of work between now and April 18th to get the trailer and all our support supplies ready. Please come to Texas Motorplex at Ennis Texas on the 18th. We'll be there along with several other front engine dragsters and a funny car doing spring testing. Gates open at 8am Hope you can make it!

Brad

Consumption - feeding the beast

2009-03-10T10:45:00.006-05:00

First off I want to apologize for taking so long since my last blog update. My new job has been keeping me really busy but that's a good thing.

I wanted to talk a little about the amount of fuel and oil that the car consumes at a race. Above is a picture of the empty fuel and oil containers after unloading them from the trailer from the last race. As you can see we have to carry a lot of fuel and oil. We made 4 full runs with the car and did four warm ups in the pits. We used 35 gallons of nitromethane, 8 gallons of methanol and about 24 gallons of 70 weight oil. Keep in mind that we often warm the car up on methanol to cut down on our use of nitromethane which is much more expensive. We put 2.5 gallons of oil in the engine for a warm up and then drain it and put 3.5 gallons of fresh oil in for the run. Nitromethane dilutes oil in an engine very rapidly and turns 70 wt oil into yellow soup in a matter of seconds. That is why we have to change the oil so often.
For your consideration, the air to fuel ratio of a gasoline racing engine is about 12:1 meaning 12 parts air to 1 part gasoline. In a methanol/alcohol burning engine the ratio is about 6:1 so there is twice as much alcohol per part air as in a gasoline engine. Nitromethane is an oxygen carrying fuel so much less air is needed per part fuel. The ratio for nitromethane is around 3:1 - twice as much fuel per part air as an alcohol engine and 4 times as much as a gasoline engine. That gives you an explanation as to why the car needs so much fuel.

Another very quick fact for you gearheads is that the pistons in our engine at 9000 rpm go from 0 (TDC/BDC) to a top speed 307 mph (mid stroke) and back down to 0 again (TDC/BDC) twice per crankshaft revolution. Cool huh!

The other two pictures are of the car in its current state and loading it in the trailer to take it to get the chassis inspected and tagged for 2009. This is a safety precaution and is required to be done every year. As you can see in the pictures the short block is in the car. I should be receiving the heads in a couple of weeks. It will take me about 3 days to get the heads clearanced (valve guides and spring installed heights)and finish assembling the engine and clutch. I hope to be able to fire the engine a couple of weeks before our April 18th test session. Since we have changed some things and had everything completely apart over the winter it is a good idea to start the engine and check for leaks or any problems so they can be remedied before we load the car and head to the track.

As always thanks for viewing my blog!

Brad

Spring fling...........

2009-02-08T07:31:00.002-06:00

Well it's not quite spring yet but it's getting close! I have had a lot of parts coming in and the block is at the machine shop getting the sleeves honed. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to start putting the engine back together and put it in the car.
We have a test date lined up with the folks of the Dallas Mopar club and the Cowtown Performance Mopars Team. It will be April 18th at the Texas Motorplex. We would like to thank them for their help and especially Marty Robertson of MAALT Transportation for his willingness to help with our travel expenses. We have rounded up a good mix of dragsters and a funny car for this test session so if you can try to come for the "MOPARS at the Motorplex" event on April 18th at Ennis, TX.
So far the rest of our schedule is pretty light for 2009:
Goodguys 21st annual Hot rod Nationals at Indianapolis, IN June 12-14
Match race at Northstar Dragway Denton, TX Sept 26th

Hopefully I can squeeze another match race or two in my work schedule and add to our racing in 2009.

Crew Chief John Dearmore is recovering well from his knee replacement surgery. Let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers as he goes through the painful therapy.

That's all for now. Thanks for looking!

Brad

Looking ahead..........

2009-01-16T07:08:00.002-06:00

2009 is rolling and I wanted to give everyone a few updates.
I have started my new job at the Flint Creek power plant and I am really enjoying the work, the people, and learning all about boilers and the systems used to produce electricity from coal. I feel like I am working and going to school at the same time. I like learning new things and the challenges associated with it. We have 2 planned outages of the plant this year for maintenance. When the plant is shut down no employees are allowed to take time off so that is definitely going to affect our racing this year.
I do have a couple of dates to mention though. We plan to test the car April 18th at Texas Motorplex near Ennis, TX and we have a match race scheduled at Northstar Dragway for Sept 26th. I am still working on finalizing who will be the other car we will run against at Denton.
We still plan on racing at the Goodguys race in Indiannapolis, IN on June 12 - 14 but that will most likely be the only open race we run this season because of my work schedule. Hopefully we can make up for that with some more match racing and I'll keep you posted on any more developments in that area.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Brad

Tough loss..........

2008-12-31T09:17:00.003-06:00

Our great friend and driver, David Pace, lost his brother Richard this morning. The entire Speed Merchants team offers our sincerest condolences to David and his family during this tough time.

Brad

New parts, new year

2008-12-31T09:08:00.002-06:00

Preparing for the 2009 racing season has begun. A new set of billet aluminum cylinder heads from Don Webster at Billet Machine Technologies tops the list. We are also going to hone our cylinders .010 to make a 4.040 inch bore and get new pistons. Rods rings and bearings and we are ready to put our engine back together. The clutch also got new facings and certifications for another year. As far as the car goes things are coming along nicely and I'm very excited.
I start my new job with American Electric Power January 5th. Being a new employee with a rotating shift work schedule is probably not going to allow for as much racing as we did in 2008. So far it looks like some spring testing in maybe May and the Goodguys race at Indy are what the springs holds in store for the Speed Merchants. From there we will just have to see but I really want to book some one day/night match races at some of the tracks in our area. I have made contact with those tracks and hopefully we can work something out that will give us some opportunities to run the car locally and have some fun while continuing to tweak the engine and clutch.
To all my friends, family and readers of this blog HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Brad

Cover and feature in Vintage Fuel!

2008-12-18T20:24:00.005-06:00

We made the cover and feature article in the latest online issue of Vintage Fuel magazine! Thank you so much Christy (editor) and Dave (photographer). It is a huge honor and I am extremely excited. You can see it at: www.vintagefuel.com
The cover is there and you can go to the article by clicking on the featured racer link on the right hand side of the page. Please check it out!
I also want to post a link to some of the neatest drag racing photos I have ever seen. Copy and paste the address in your browser and you will be amazed at what you see here:
http://markjrebilas.com/blog/2008/12/best-of-2008-best-drag-racing-photos/

Brad

Looking forward.................

2008-11-23T08:07:00.002-06:00

2008 is coming to an end shortly and thoughts of 2009 are filling my head. There is a lot of work to prepare for a new racing season. Much of that work is at a standstill for me. As many of you know the manufacturing plant where I have worked for almost 14 years has closed and my duties there will end Dec 15. I will start a new job Jan 5 at a local electric power plant. I have a lot of concerns - Will I be able to get the time off required to make the events next year? Will I be able to afford the parts required to be ready for another season? Will a sponsor step up for the team and give us the funding so badly needed?
Time will answer all of these questions and I will do my best to exercise patience in the meantime. I am extremely grateful for all the help and support we were given to get through our first season. I can only hope for the same for next year.
Brad

Some explanation of the sequence

2008-10-29T07:07:00.003-05:00

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

2008-10-29T06:38:00.003-05:00

sequence photos.........

2008-10-29T06:34:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-10-29T06:30:00.004-05:00

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

2008-10-28T07:30:00.002-05:00

First season in the books.....

2008-10-26T06:58:00.002-05:00

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...................

2008-10-20T15:58:00.002-05:00

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............

2008-10-15T11:41:00.002-05:00

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........

2008-10-06T08:14:00.003-05:00

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

Fed Ex - not the tightest ship in the shipping business

2008-09-30T06:10:00.005-05:00

I feel a warning to my blog readers is in order. I mentioned the damage that occurred to my parts in the last post. I filed a claim with Fed Ex for the damages. They picked up the packages from DRE Racing and had an "Inspection Team" look them over. They then brought them back to DRE and when John opened them they were more damaged than before and to top it all off the inspection team reported no visible damage to the parts! UNBELIEVABLE! I called the Fed Ex claims manager and expressed my shock and dismay. She told me to send pictures - well we had plenty of them before and after - so I emailed them to her hoping that she would see the obvious damage and overturn the verdict of the inspection team and pay my claims. Please keep in mind that I paid extra money when I shipped these parts for insurance to cover their value! Miss Goldia Smurda, (Fed Ex claims manager)sent me two nice letters yesterday stating that my claims had been denied because there was no visible damage to the outer carton or contents. I guess unless the box has a huge hole in the side and the contents are in a hundred pieces there is no visible damage.
The morals of my story are:
1. Don't think because you buy insurance when shipping things that you are covered.
2. If you are shipping something valuable build a wooden crate for it. It'll be cheaper than the worthless insurance.
3. Use UPS whenever possible.
I posted before and after pictures of the manifold at the top of this page . Please comment on this post and tell me if you can see any visible damage.

Brad

Thoughts before the last race of the season.....

2008-09-23T08:11:00.003-05:00

We are most of the way through getting the car ready for Bowling Green. The engine is back together and in the car. The clutch is in. We just have a few final things to finish up and we should be ready a week or so early. Fed Ex threw us a curve when I shipped the manifold, injector and fuel system to John for inspection and flow testing. The boxes arrived crushed and mangled and the stainless steel fuel lines and Y nozzles on the manifold were badly bent and twisted. Nothing that we can't get repaired but it definately slowed us down. I had the packages insured and I have filed a claim with Fed Ex but for some reason I expect a fight to get reimbursed for the damages..........
We are all very excited about Bowling Green and we really want to let it all hang out at this one. We've learned a lot this year and progressed at each race. I am hoping it will all come together for the last race of the season but this is top fuel racing. There are a million ways for things to go wrong and only one way for things to go right.
As the team owner thoughts of the winter and next season start to work their way to the forefront of my mind. I have been diligently making contact with potential sponsors all year long but as of yet I haven't found that "right" one for this team.
My "other job" which I have held for 13.5 years is coming to an end Dec. 15. Big changes loom on the horizon for Susan and I. I could quite likely end up going to college again for the next 2 years. The days of racing out of my own pocket will have to end. That puts a lot more pressure on me to find a sponsor. We have a lot to offer and would work our tails off to make sure they got their money's worth but there is a lot of competition for the sponsor's dollar and as we all know times are tough and the budgets aren't being expanded. I will not give up. I will work harder. I will succeed or die trying. I have great people around me and a LOT of determination.

Brad

More pictures from Norwalk

2008-09-12T05:49:00.003-05:00

These were taken by our own Randy Compton and Randy Baker who helped us on Sunday.
Brad

Pictures from Norwalk

2008-09-11T05:53:00.004-05:00

These photos were all taken by Louise Kunkel. She and her husband Frank were on the grounds all weekend with Frank video taping and Louise taking still shots. They are great friends and we look forward to seeing Franks videos of Norwalk and Indy when he gets finished editing them. Thank you Frank and Louise!

Runner up in Norwalk

2008-09-09T06:12:00.005-05:00

Well race fans, the race in Norwalk was a mix of highs and lows for us but overall was a very successful weekend for the Speed Merchants team. Friday's qualifying was rained out, imagine that! So that meant 2 qualifying runs on Saturday and eliminations starting Sunday morning. We ran a 6.35 at 205 mph out of the box on our first qualifying run Saturday. Not what we were hoping for BUT it was a very clean run and definitely nothing to be ashamed of AND was good enough to put us into the #1 qualifying spot!!! That was great but we knew there was a better run in the car the way it was set up. Back up to the line and this time she rips off a 6.18 @ 221 mph! That's more like it!!! Back to the pits for a long Saturday night, motor comes completely apart and clutch comes out for a new one to go in for eliminations. By about 11 pm Saturday night we had the car ready to go for eliminations - the good news is that nothing was hurt from the 6.18 run.
Sunday morning rolls around and we are at the track by 7 am and it is raining........forecast says it'll clear up and it does sometime around noon. The crew is out with the jet drying the track and the sun comes out. It's time to go racing!!!! We are #1 qualifier so we are paired with the #6 qualifier Rick Rogers. The car sounds pretty good but it has a large dead spot when David pushes the throttle to do the burn out and the car almost dies but it quickly recovers. It is very lazy off the starting line and then finally takes off about 80 feet down the track. We get the win with a 6.89 - way off the pace from our qualifying but a win is a win. Back in the pits the engine will not turn over! We've been down this road before at Bowling Green and sure enough it was the same problem - the blower was locked up. Over to our pit comes the owner of the car we had just beaten - Art Dromgoole - and he offers to loan us his spare blower! We begin the chore of trying to make a different blower work on our manifold and injector system and we have to get it finished and do our regular between round maintenance in an hour and a half! When the call is made for the semifinals we are ready. Up at the line we are up against Joe Krepenski's car who had run a 6.44 in qualifying - by far his best time ever and definitely good enough to beat us if we didn't improve from the last run. We fire and David stomps the pedal for the burnout and again the huge stumble - we are really scratching our heads trying to figure out what is causing this! As David backs up from the burnout we see that the other car has not fired yet and we get the signal from the starter that we will be making a single run!!! We are going to the finals!! Again the car is LAZY off the line - even worse than before but then takes off and runs down the track to a 6.88. We are going to our first final round of the season and we are happy but our minds are still churning trying to figure out the problem of the car stumbling at the hit of the throttle - and it seems to be getting worse.
In the final we will be facing Kevin Brewer who is having the best day of his racing career. He has been running low sixes in eliminations and shows no signs of slowing down. Back in the pits we do our maintenance and everything looks good but again our main concern is the stumble. There are about a hundred years of racing experience in and around our pit and nobody seems to have an answer for the large dead spot at the hit of the throttle. We only have about an hour to be ready so all we can do is try a few things and hope for the best.
We fire the car and David rolls through the water and the car will barely even spin the wet tires and it bogs over the starting line. I run out in front of the car to back David up and he signals to me that he can't work the throttle- the butterflies are stuck closed! I tell John and as David is sitting behind the line to stage John walks over to the car and adjusts the linkage on the injector hat and signals David to roll in and stage. The lights go green and Brewer is gone- our car rolls out about 100 feet lazily and then roars away down the track. Brewer gets the well deserved win with a 6.08 to our 6.79.
Congratulations to the Brewer's and the whole Midwest Threat team. They've been struggling for 2 years and they finally had their day on Sunday!!!
We've got a lot of work to do before Bowling Green in October. We'll be taking our fuel system apart for a fine tooth comb inspection to find our stumbling problem. I have all the confidence that John will find it. I think we'll be cocked and loaded for the last race of the season in Bowling Green!
I want to say how extremely proud I am of my whole team. We worked great together all weekend and overcame some huge obstacles to reach two milestones - our first final round appearance and our best yet time and speed of 6.18 @ 221 mph.
THANKS GUYS!!!
I want to also thank Susan for being such a great wife and supporting me in this crazy passion of mine. I love you baby!!!
A huge thank you to DRE Racing (what can I say - you guys ARE my team!, Denso Iridium spark plugs, Taylor plug wires, and Green Cylinder Heads

I will be posting more pictures as soon as they become available.

Brad

The next few days

2008-08-28T06:12:00.003-05:00

Corey and I put the rods and pistons back in the motor and buttoned the bottom end up. John and David are coming up here for a day or two this weekend. David will meticulously assemble the clutch while John and I check over the whole fuel system and the blower. By Sunday everything should be back together. Corey and I both have next week off work. We'll get the truck and trailer serviced, cleaned up and packed. Tuesday we'll load the car and Wednesday morning we leave for the 16 hour drive which we are splitting into two days. Thursday afternoon we'll drop the trailer off at the track and get checked in to the motel. It will be the night for a good meal as a team and some relaxation before the hard work begins Friday. We will have one qualifying run Friday, one on Saturday along with first round of eliminations Saturday evening and the final two rounds of eliminations will start at 10 am Sunday morning.
Norwalk should be the best track and the air should be the best we've seen all year. Hopefully things go our way and maybe we'll even have a little good luck!
We're all excited and looking forward to it!

Brad

Teardown and inspection

2008-08-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

The engine is torn down and inspected from our testing at Denton. Everything looks great and the Speed Merchants are excited. The car's getting FASTER and we're not hurting parts. This is where you live with a low budget nitro team. You have to walk the thin line with power on one side and destruction on the other side. Our goal is to walk the line and stay consistent, stepping a little over to each side as the conditions and rewards demand. My crew chief John Dearmore is the master at walking this line. He's been doing it longer than I have been alive. We will be ready for Norwalk in 2 weeks, in fact, we've never been more ready for a race.

Brad

Videos from Denton

2008-08-19T07:55:00.006-05:00

Here's some short videos of us at Denton.

Burnout:

Early shutoff run:

These were shot by David's brother Richard.

Enjoy!

Brad

Results from Northstar

2008-08-18T06:07:00.004-05:00

Saturday was calling for rain but the clouds kept their moisture and gave us a very cool and enjoyable evening. We made 3 good hard runs with the best being a 4.14 @ 192.72 mph. Northstar is a great little eighth mile track with nice facilities and great fans. We had a great time, were treated well and best of all we seem to have turned a corner with our setup on the race car. The incremental times are getting down where they should be. David said he was driving a whole different race car than we had at Tulsa! So now the tear down and preparation for Norwalk OH begins. We have 3 weeks to get her ready for the trip up to Lake Erie and Randy and I are going to race our flathead dragster next Saturday at MOKAN in Missouri so I am going to be a busy boy!
Chris Graves was snapping photos at Northstar Saturday night and got some good shots. View them here: http://www.maxcacklephotos.com/
David Pace and the Dearmores had a lot of friends and family at this event and it was nice to meet all of them and for them to see what this is all about. David's brother got some video of the car running at night with nice big header flames. He is going to get the video emailed to us so hopefully I can post it here or at least post a link to it so it can be viewed by our blog readers! I am really excited about that!
Thanks to all who came out and watched and thanks to all our fans who come here to keep updated on our adventures in Top Fuel drag racing!!!!
Brad

Denton Texas

2008-08-15T16:02:00.002-05:00

Well tomorrow morning we head Southwest to Denton. The rain forecast is calling for 50% chance of rain but like John told me today - that means there's a 50% chance it won't rain! I talked to Rich at Northstar Dragway today and he said they have very good track drying equipment and not to worry, so I won't. We really need to get some runs on the car to work on our tuneup so we are praying that the evening will be dry. So far this year it has rained every Saturday that we have been at the track with the car except for our first outing in May. That was in Texas so maybe the Lone Star state is good luck for us??? Let's hope so.
I'll post a full report Sunday night so stay tuned!

Brad

Brad Thompson update

2008-08-11T09:45:00.003-05:00

The latest word on Brad Thompson is that he has broken ribs, sternum and a vertebrae in his neck that will most likely require surgery. Hang in there Brad, our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Brad

News- Brad has had his surgery and he recovering - doing fine but very sore. There were more cracked vertebrae than originally thought and he now has some titanium pins installed. He's going to be down for a while. Keep him in your prayers.

Brad

Brad Thompson crash.........

2008-08-11T09:22:00.002-05:00

Last night at the race in Boise Idaho fellow Top Fuel racer Brad Thompson suffered a bad crash at the end of the final round run. Word is that he was awake but groggy as they got him from the car and that he complained of shoulder and arm pain but that he appeared to be OK. He was taken to the hospital for observations. Our thoughts and prayers go out to "Bad" Brad and his family.

Here is a link to a report from the race with a picture:

http://www.dragracingonline.com/livecoverage/x_7-boise-3.html

Brad

Fliers for match race at Northstar Dragway

2008-08-05T07:48:00.003-05:00

Click to enlarge.............

Match race at Denton Aug 16

2008-07-30T07:47:00.003-05:00

An update on our testing comin up soon at Northstar Dragway - car owner Bill Morando from Oklahoma City has agreed to bring his car to Northstar to run against us so it will be a "match race" to give both of us much needed testing while at the same time putting on a good show for the fans in Texas. Bill's car will have Daryl Modesto in the driver's seat and Troy Green will be doing the tuning of the car. We are looking forward to running the car in Texas again as the fans are always great in the Lone Star state! I have spoken to the track owner and he is just as excited as we are and he plans on promoting the match race heavily on his website and also handing out fliers etc. Hopefully we can pack the stands for him! Check out the track website- www.northstar-dragway.com for info and directions to the track.

Brad

Next test session confirmed

2008-07-22T11:00:00.002-05:00

We are going to North Star Dragway in Denton, TX ( http://www.northstar-dragway.com/ ) on Saturday Aug 16th to mak some test runs. I talked with the track owner this morning and he is very excited to have us. I am currently trying to find a second car to come and run against us. Not too many of these cars down here in our neck of the woods but just maybe...... details to come as I find out more.......

Brad

Springdale United Bank Car Show

2008-07-20T07:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a good day at the show in Springdale. The fine folks at United Bank did a great job with the show and made sure we were well fed and watered. Thank you United Bank! We handed out quite a few fliers and met many great people. We fired the car at about 11:15 and the crowd seemed very excited after we shut the car off. I doubt any of the people there had ever heard a car running on nitromethane. It is always fun to see the smiles on people's faces after their first nitro experience. Did I mention that it was HOT!!!!! Imagine that - BUT IT DIDN'T RAIN!

Brad

More photos from Indy

2008-07-18T15:18:00.002-05:00

Friend and photographer David Miller was gracious enough to send me these great photos that he took at our race in Indianapolis. Thanks David! Enjoy!

Brad

Show in Springdale

2008-07-16T13:36:00.002-05:00

The show that got rained out a few weeks ago is this Saturday so we are going to try again! It is at United Bank located at 2600 S. Thompson in Springdale, AR. It starts at 10 am. Please come by and say hi. We are looking forward to making some new fans in our local area and introducing our car to them. After the show it's time to take the engine and clutch apart to get everything ready for our next race. The next race on our schedule is Sept 5,6 &7 at Norwalk, Ohio BUT we really need to do some testing with the car so we are in negotiations with an 1/8 mile track in Havana, IL to do a match race against Hendricks Racing's top fuel dragster. If things work out it will be two paid runs on Saturday August 23rd which we will use as testing for Norwalk. If that doesn't pan out we will try to schedule a test day somewhere else in August. Not being able to make the third pass at Tulsa really hurt us. We really needed the data that the third run would have given us to know if we are on the right track with our tune up this time around.

Brad

Heat,rain, and great people!

2008-07-13T15:13:00.003-05:00

Tulsa Oklahoma Saturday was HOT!!!!!!!!!! We ran an 1/8 mile squirt for first round of qualifying, came back and checked the rod bearings and serviced the clutch. Everything looked good but we missed second round of qualifying. We ran the second time for first round of eliminations. We made about a 1000 ft pass and ran a 6.94 at a slow 172 mph. The car nosed over on the big end but it didn't miss-fire so our new magneto has solved that problem. We leaned the fuel system a bit and adjusted the clutch preparing for another run as the rain clouds gathered to the North. We got the car ready, got David in the car and towed to the line to make a third pass...........and the raindrops fell. Now that we got that part out of the way I want to talk about the best part of Saturday. Some of the most important and special people in my life were there to watch and support us. We were so busy with the car that I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked but they understood. They traveled hundreds of miles and endured blazing heat, humidity and pouring rain to watch us run the car. It meant a great deal to me and it was great to have everyone there - family, old friends and new friends - thank you all so much for your support!!!!
We have a show Saturday the 19th at the bank in Springdale and then we'll take the car apart and send some parts to DRE for some mods. We hope to test the car sometime in August (at Tulsa) and take some big steps toward going to our next race in Norwalk OH in September with a competitive race car.

Brad

2 days till Tulsa

2008-07-10T11:14:00.002-05:00

The blower arrived yesterday and everything looks to be falling into place for Tulsa Saturday. The forecast is for 97 and sunny, no chance of rain. Bring your sunscreen. Hopefully the track won't be too greasy and we can get some good runs down the track with the car. See you there!!!!!
Brad

MSD, Tulsa a week out

2008-07-05T06:32:00.002-05:00

As I write this Tulsa is a week away. It looks like I'll be working to get ready all week. I am almost done installing the MSD magneto on the front of the engine - which required moving the fuel pump. The blower should be back Wednesday or Thursday and David Pace will be coming Friday with the clutch - he has been working on it at his place in Texas. Tulsa is really going to be a test session for us more than a race. We've made some substantial changes and are taking a few steps back and kind of regrouping to see how the car reacts. Everyone on the team is anxious to see how it performs.

Brad

rain out..............

2008-06-27T16:26:00.002-05:00

I got the car put together and shined up with a borrowed blower, washed the trailer and got a display ready of our newspaper articles and media coverage so far this year and............ due to the likely chance of Thunderstorms tomorrow they have postponed the car show until July 19th. The weekend after our next race at Tulsa. I still plan to attend and display the car. Rain seems to follow my race car...............The trailer needed washed anyway............ I guess Corey and I will unload the car, take it apart, degree the cam and put the rods and pistons in it tomorrow.

Brad

Display in Springdale........

2008-06-25T15:38:00.003-05:00

I've just been asked to display the dragster at a car show in Springdale AR at United Bank this Saturday. I'll scramble to get the car put together enough for display and shine it up. This will be a good opportunity to create some new fans in my local area and promote the team and the sport. Maybe a sponsorship opportunity will also arise from the display. If you are in the area please come by and say Hi. United Bank, 2600 S Thompson in Springdale, AR Saturday June 28. Show starts at 10 am.

Brad

Radio show........................

2008-06-25T10:36:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday Racing Sports Live, http://www.racingsportslive.com/ a call in drag racing radio show on 105.3 FM in the Dallas TX area, had our driver David Pace in the studio for a special 2 hour show on nostalgia drag racing. Joining him were fellow TF driver Troy Green and 2 Junior fuel drivers from Texas. The radio show can be downloaded and listened to on any computer from here: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/fuelcarfan/rsl/pages/shows.html While you are there be sure and check out other past shows they've done and check back often for future archived shows or listen live every Sunday at 10 am central time via the internet.

Thanks to show host Chris Graves for having us!!

Brad

Tulsa July 12th.........

2008-06-23T11:43:00.003-05:00

Here's the flier for our next race in Tulsa July 12th. We will run in the open fuel class which is pretty much an anythong goes class. There will be some pro mods and blown alcohol dragsters, injected nitro dragsters but we may be the only true top fuel car there. This is more or less going to be a test session for us more than a race and also a chance for many of our friends and family to come see the car run close to home. We need to get more runs on the car to collect data and see if we can make the car run the numbers we know it can do once we get things working properly. Hopefully we are going in the right direction to be competetive at our Norwalk race in September. Tulsa will be a good test for us. Hope to see you there!

Brad

Bowling Green pictures

2008-06-17T14:33:00.003-05:00

Indy pictures

2008-06-17T14:29:00.004-05:00

Back from Bowling Green

2008-06-16T16:42:00.002-05:00

Well, we made it back safely (car, driver, and crew) from the National Hot Rod reunion at Bowling Green Kentucky. We had a good time. We had our share of problems but we lived to fight another day. We are struggling with getting our car down the track. We have been thrown some curves and we are back on our heels at the moment. We ran a 6.65 on our first qualifying run Friday. That was good enough to get us in the show and it's a good thing because we were unable to run the 2nd and 3rd qualifying sessions. Why???? because while warming the car up in preparation for the 2nd run our brand new top - o - the line blower locked up. Nice............. None of us were expecting that for sure! Fellow top fuel racer and all around great guy Brendan Murray loaned us his spare blower which we were able to get on the car and use for eliminations on Sunday. We ran a very sad 6.82 to our competitor's 5.72 (which was low ET for the race) and had to load up and go home. We are left scratching our heads as we try to sort the clutch, fuel and ignition systems out to make a decent showing at Tulsa in just a few weeks. We will put our heads together, look at the budget and come up with a plan that we think will make the car respond in a positive way.
There will be a lot of pictures coming soon from both Indy and Bowling Green. I will post a bunch of them here as soon as Randy sends them to me.

Brad

Indy.............

2008-06-10T05:30:00.005-05:00

We made it back from Indy in one piece. The car performed pretty well and the crew did great. We won first round but got beat in the semi finals by the eventual winner. We are having an ignition problem. The car loses about 4 cyls at 900 - 1000 ft into the run every time. We are going to put a bigger magneto on and head for Bowling Green Thursday morning. I am busy until then but I'll post pictures and more news from both events after we get home. The above photo was taken by Bob Snyder.

Brad

My biggest fan and my dearest friend.....

2008-06-04T16:43:00.002-05:00

Well, the trailer is loaded. John and Allen will be here soon. David will be flying out in the morning. I am about to embark on a dream. As I ponder what is to come about I can't help but think of...and thank with all my heart... my biggest fan, my biggest sponsor, and my best friend - my wife Susan. Without her support, acceptance, and most of all patience I wouldn't be "climbing my Mt. Everest". That's what racing a top fuel car is to me.... It's my brass ring, my "Mt. Everest". It is definately not something a simple man can do by himself. Thanks Susan for all your support and faith in me. I love you more than ever................

Brad

All dressed up and ready to go!

2008-06-02T05:30:00.003-05:00

Corey delivered the freshly painted body over the weekend and I got the engine put back together. Allen and John are coming up Wednesday. When they get here we'll set the valves, look everything over and start the car on alky to make sure everything is cool. Then she goes into the trailer for a 5 am departure for Indiana Thursday morning.

Here's the tentative schedule for top fuel at the Indy race:

Friday- Qualifying 3 pm

Saturday- Qualifying noon, 1st round eliminations 3:30 pm

Sunday- 2nd round eliminations 10 am, final round will be the last run of the day

The Goodguys site http://www.good-guys.com/news/hotNews.aspx should have racing updates over the weekend.

Brad

My hot rod is home

2008-05-21T14:48:00.002-05:00

Well, my hot rod is finally home in the Speed Merchants shop. The engine has been taken apart, inspected and is mostly back together. I am very busy getting the car and trailer ready for our races in June. I'll be very busy up until we leave I am sure. Here's a final shakedown of the Speed Merchants team and their duties:

John Dearmore- Crew Chief
David Pace - Driver, clutch, chutes and fuel
Allen Dearmore - Top end
Billy Brazelton - Top end
Corey Davis - Bottom end
Randy Compton - Data, tires, photographer

Corey and his Dad should be spraying paint on the new body this weekend. Billy has been coming over to the shop and helping with the car and trailer as time allows from his job. There's lots to do and the days are counting down but the team has high hopes for our very first race.

Brad

Maiden voyages for Speed Merchants AA/FD

2008-05-13T06:21:00.004-05:00

Saturday, May 10 we made our first test runs at Texas Motorplex during a Mopar club event being held there. Our plan was to make 3 partial passes, each a little farther under throttle than the last. Everything went according to plan. Everything worked like it was supposed to and the new crew did a great job. Driver and crew chief are old pros and it shows on a day like we had.

Our best 1/8 mile ET was on the last pass 4.39 @172 mph. Our best 60 foot time was 1.12. We had the car just about as detuned as you can run it so it will start picking up as we turn the screws and prepare to qualify and race at Indy and bowling Green in June.

I cannot thank John and Allen at DRE Racing enough for their help. They poured their heart, soul, blood and sweat into this car for me. I could have never gotten here without them!

You will notice that we did not have the new body on the car. It will be painted and on the car when we go to Indy in June.

Brad

TESTING????????

2008-05-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, racing fans of all ages..............
If everything goes well this week it looks like the Speed Merchants AA/FD will make some test runs this Saturday May 10 at Dallas Motorplex in Ennis Texas.
After our initial fire up Sunday we had a minor problem with the oil pump/magneto drive shaft. John and Allen pulled the engine, tore it down and found the problem along with a few other details that need corrected. As usual they are on top of things and working their tails off to get the adjustments made and be ready for the weekend. Time will tell for sure but Saturday is our goal and unless we hit a roadblock that is beyond our control we'll be there.
The new full body is still in the paint prep process so we will run the old short body for the testing but the new body will be ready before the first race in June.
Brad

It breathes..........

2008-05-05T13:34:00.002-05:00

Update

2008-04-30T10:59:00.002-05:00

Well, things are winding up. Although we're behind on our testing schedule it looks like we may have a good chance of starting the car for the first time this weekend. It will take a lot of work on our part to finish up a lot of little things and we'll have to overnight ship a set of pushrods but if it all works out we should fire it sometime Sunday. It will be a glorious moment that has been a long time coming. On another note, Sunday afternoon an NHRA inspector is coming by to inspect the chassis and give us a sticker for the year.
If all of the above falls into place we will look at testing May 9/10 or 16/17 - probably in Texas at Lufkin or Ennis. I will keep you posted and I hope to post Monday with good news and pictures. Brad

Body done, testing schedule confirmed

2008-03-16T07:21:00.003-05:00

This weekend I went to Denton, TX and picked up the car with the new body and brought it back to John's in Alba TX. David met John and I early for Breakfast Saturday morning and after we ate and discussed the meaning of life we got after it in the shop and reassembled the race car. We all worked our tails off and by 5:30 she was back together. We discussed the next 2 months and decided I would come back down in 3 weeks to help John with installing some final parts and to bring the new body back with paint on it, then the 25,26, and 27th of April we will take the car to the track and test. We'd like to hit 3 tracks in 3 days and really get some laps on the car in a hurry. If everything goes well then the car will come home to Siloam Springs and probably get some more testing in Tulsa in May because June will be here fast and with it our first race at Indy!

New body almost finished!!

2008-03-12T05:56:00.003-05:00

I will going down to pick up the car with the finished new body this weekend and then taking it back to John's to put the engine, clutch and data recorder back in. We're getting very close. I can almost smell the nitro already!!!!

Another new team member

2008-03-03T09:56:00.002-06:00

I'd like to take a minute and welcome Jeremy McGowen to our team. I've known Jeremy for a long time and he's a good guy with a long history of drag racing involvement. Last year he was on Jerry Toliver's top fuel funny car team and has done bottom end, heads, and blower servicing. He is wanting to get back on a NHRA funny car team but has comitted to helping Speed Merchants until a new job opens with a big show team. I have asked him to be our bottom end diver and he has accepted. I look forward to having him on the team.
Brad

New body takes shape........

2008-02-22T12:17:00.003-06:00

Quote.... PREPARING to win............

2008-02-05T09:56:00.000-06:00

Bobby Knight said, "The key is not the will to win … everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important."
I found this quote today and it really hit home. It applies to many things in life but it certainly applies to top fuel drag racing....... My crew chief and driver have been pounding into my head for 2 years now that we have to race smarter and work harder than the next guys to win. They couldn't be more right. We have to be willing to do more preparation, spend more time practicing and going over every part of our operation with a fine tooth comb to come out on top of the heap on race day. Small details can be BIG on race day and must be treated accordingly.
When the fans see the teams in the winner's circle most have no idea the hundreds of hours spent by the crew in the shop doing mundane and repetitve tasks preparing for those few moments when races are won and lost. They don't see the days on end that the team owner spent calling companies to talk about sponsorships or the searching for competent people to be on the crew. They don't see the years of knowledge that the crew chief has painstakingly acquired and recorded. They don't see the boring tasks like inventorying and ordering spare parts, organizing a place for everything in the trailer, planning trips, booking hotel rooms, and writing budgets.
These are the things we do to prepare to win. These things are about racing and winning. There is no glory in these tasks but for the love of the sport and competition among men and their machines we work, and we prepare to go to battle.............................

New skin........New team member

2008-01-31T11:18:00.001-06:00

In order to be able to offer our sponsors more for their money we are going to have a full length body made for the race car. An experienced builder named Dennis Tarkington will be building the body. Billy Brazelton (team member) and I are going to John's this Friday to pull the engine and clutch out of the car and then on Saturday we are going to haul it to Dennis's shop at Sanger, TX. He will probably have it done and back at John's by the end of February so we can proceed with the final details to be ready to test in April. I have a deal worked out with Jerry Davis owner of Davis "Clips and More" (supplier of auto body clips and fasteners)- THANK YOU!-(Lowell, AR) to paint the new body when it is done. I would also like to welcome our newest crew member aboard- Corey Davis from Springdale, AR has accepted my offer for him to join the team and help us with the car this year. I look forward to having him on board !!!!
Brad

2008 Racing Schedule

2007-12-21T16:34:00.000-06:00

Below is the schedule I have so far for 2008. We should be out and testing the car sometime in March. Most likely that will happen at Caddo Mills TX and Tulsa OK. A big thanks to the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association for stepping up and having 3 big races East of the Rockies this year. www.good-guys.com

June6,7,8 Indianapolis IN, Goodguys 20th Hot Rod Nationals

June 13,14,15 Bowling Green KY, NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion

July 12, Tulsa Raceway Park, Tulsa OK - Nitro Nationals

September 5,6,7 Norwalk OH, Goodguys Blue Suede Cruise

October 17,18,19 Bowling Green KY, Goodguys 1st annual Nostalgia Nationals

We also have been invited to 6 races that Julius Hughes (Owner of Atlanta Speed Shop) is putting on. Those are listed below and we will attend some if budget allows. These races are booked in shows added to current ORSCA events and are very promising as they may be covered by Horsepower TV!

April 19th Carolina Dragway Jackson, SC

May3 Bristol, TN

May 17 Atlanta, GA

Sept 20 Huntsville ,AL

Oct 4 Montgomery , AL

Nov 8 Carolina Dragway Jackson, SC

Progress, the pictures speak.............

2007-12-21T08:09:00.001-06:00

New front wheels/tires. Nose piece repaired. Fuel tank polished.

Cowl and body painted by crew member Rick McElrea and lettered. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Wings re-skinned by Randy Compton with polished aluminum.

Team uniforms. Embroidery by Ruth Ann Suttles.

Killer new sliding aluminum drive shaft cover built by DRE Racing.

DRE Racing fuel system plumbed and mocked up on the Littlefield blower with DJ safety blower bag.

Shortblock and heads done!!! Heads by Green Cylinder Heads

New Strange 3rd member and brand new motor plate built by DRE Racing.

Crew Chief and Driver

2007-12-21T07:42:00.000-06:00

Myself and John.

David in the seat, suited up, and discussing with John control locations.

David and John.

I have to take some time here and rave about two men who I owe more than I can ever repay. My Crew Chief John Dearmore and my Driver David Pace. I would never have had the courage to start this racing operation without the friendship, knowledge, experience and support of these two men.

John has been building and tuning blown nitro cars longer than I have been alive. I witnessed his expertise while on Al Schramm's crew and what I saw made me a believer in John. He can get a race car down the track in a hurry without using a bunch of spare parts to do it. He maximizes what is available and gets the most out of it. John also understands the seriousness of these cars and makes the safety of the car, driver and crew a priority. He also happens to own a machine shop (DRE- Dearmore Race Engineering) along with his son Allen where they custom build rocker arm systems and customs parts for just about anything you need. Naturally once I got my chassis from the previous owner I hauled it to John's shop in Alba Texas where it would begin its transformation into the "Speed Merchants" top fuel dragster. He had already begun putting our engine together by the time I got the chassis to him and I had been buying parts and sending them to him for quite a while. John and Allen have put hundreds of hours into the transformation of my car. It is a sight to behold and can not be recognized as its previous self. John and David taught me that not only is the race car a tool for a specific purpose but it is also a reflection of the owner and crew and attention to details are VERY important.

David Pace started driving dragsters at a very young age and soon progressed into an expert driver. He drove professionally for the Carrol Brothers from 1979-1981. In '81 he was runner up at Indy and Denver, joined the NHRA 250 mph club and finished in the Winston top 10. He is a good friend and a great driver. I would not put just anyone behind the wheel of something as dangerous and valuable as this dragster without having full confidence in their abilities. I'd like to interject a quote here from long time funny car racer Frank Oglesby "You are very lucky to have David Pace on your team. David IS everything Richard Tharp THOUGHT he was."

Speed Merchants top fuel- the beginning

2007-12-21T07:09:00.000-06:00

Lets go back about 18 months......... I had the opportunity to pursue a life long dream- Blown nitro racing! A front engine top fuel dragster rolling chassis became available for a price within my budget. A deal was struck with Dale Suhr to buy his chassis at the end of his 2006 racing season as he was having a new chassis built. I knew I had some time before I got the car so I began to acquire all of the many things that go into building a racing team of this caliber from the ground up. I had formed close friendships with some key people from my previous time of being a crew member (bottom end diver) on Al Schramm's NTF dragster. These friends agreed to help me get this program rolling and go racing! More about them later....
I found a good deal on a trailer that had been used for a top fuel funny car. Now we're cooking! My crew chief- John Dearmore and my driver- David Pace were constantly being called upon for advice on all the things we were going to need to go racing with a top fuel dragster. WOW! Building an operation from the ground up is a huge undertaking. Probably only someone who has done it can truly know what it takes- and my duties were just beginning.