Back from the brink...

Well 2011 is here and it is time to work harder on updating the blog.



2010 started with the team with a huge undertaking, not only were we going to run the Invader at tracks all across the western United States, but we were going to completely update two more jet dragsters, test them, train new drivers, and if time permitted put together a fourth car.

A little hopeful eh...

Eierdam Racing teamed up with Sizzler racing to field and train Mike "Iceman" Sisler on how to successfully operate a jet car team. This had been a long time dream for Mike, and a number of years in the making.

The first item was to completely update the Pratt & Whitney J-60 dragster from the chassis to the tail pipe. At one time, the "Sizzler" was nothing but bare tubing. After a long long process the Sizzler was a masterpiece!

During the same time, the newest jet dragster in the Eierdam Racing stable came to light. The Strike Eagle is also a Pratt & Whitney J-60 dragster, like the tried and true Invader.

Once these two jet dragsters were complete and re certified, it was time for Curt to take them out and dial them in. As with just about any new car or one that had been take as far apart as these two were, some bugs were to be expected.

While the Strike Eagle seemed to come up to speed rather quickly, the Sizzler had her share of issues to work out.

While all of this was going on, Craig Eierdam spent many many many trips down the track, learning the ins and outs of piloting one of these land based missiles. By the fall, Craig not only proved himself to the team, he earned his license and was ready to face Curt for his first race.

Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson was where this match up was finally scheduled. The 2010 Jet Car Nationals was to be this event. The first match up against the brothers had Craig taking the win against Curt. But in the next round, Curt tied it up to one a piece with the tie breaker round getting cancelled.

December brought the brothers out to the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando Florida for the Official announcement of the NJRA.

NJRA???

National Jet Racing Association. It is the governing body of the Festival of Fire series coming in 2011 to racetracks across the US. Check out their website for more information. www.njraracing.com

Not enough?? Complete revamp of the trailers, crew uniforms, promotion material.... the list keeps getting longer.

And where does that leave 2011??

Eierdam Racing operating three jet dragster in partnership with Sizzler Racing hitting the tracks all across the US (Not just the west coast), and if time permits finishing the fourth car.... and a little sleep ( and more blog updates I swear!!)

End of the Season......

Since the last update we have been very busy, I could have updated but I wanted to wait for everything to be ready for announcing.

So first things first, on August 12th the team headed out to do the Beat the Heat Event at Speedworld Dragstrip. Along with the Beat the Heat vehicles, they also had junior dragsters, a mustang wheel stander, and the Invader making passes. It was a Wednesday night show, so gates didn't even open until 5 pm. Warm weather was still backing the Phoenix area, but even that could not help as I was coming down with a cold.

As the night air cooled, we have the Invader all ready to go by our 9 pm scheduled run. Let me tell you, hot weather, -20 fire suit, tight belts, and flu like symptoms DO NOT mix!! It was all I could do not to get sick in my helmet!

But once the Invader lit and came to life all was good again. Big flames came belting out as we lit up the night and added some more "Heat" for them to beat!

Then on October 10th we headed out to Tucson's Southwestern International Raceway for the Jet Car Nationals.

We setup early on Saturday, and prepped the Invader to test fire her. Since the last events, we had done a few modifications to help with staging and wanted to perform a systems check. So out to the end of the track to the tie down area we went. A few minutes later and a few gallons of fuel lighter, we again had some big smiles on our faces.

As the crowds rolled in, we hung out with all the jet racers there. Eight cars were there to bring the season to an end. For the jet dragsters there was, Tony Franco with the Terminal Velocity, Al Arriaga's Blu-By-U (with Tony Franco pulling double driving duties), Jeff Atamian's The Beast, Mark Steven's Earthflight, Joe & Carol Douthit's California Smokey (with David driving), Dick Rosberg's Thriller (with Terry driving), and us with the Invader. The jet funny cars were Ken Marley in the Rocky Mountain Thunder and Derek Snelson in the Warhawk.

First round had Thriller paired up with Blu-By-U, Earthflight versus California Smokey, Invader versus Terminal Velocity, Warhawk against The Beast, and Rocky Mountain Thunder a single. The Blu-By-U blew by the Thriller, Earthflight edging out California Smokey, Warhawk bettering the Beast, and then it was the Invader battling Terminal Velocity.

As a side note, Southwestern International Raceway instructed all the jet vehicles to stay in the burnout box while doing the fire show, and not to light the burners if we rolled forward. I must say this really makes it difficult to do a proper fire show but they are the bosses.

So Tony & I light up our rides and start to do our fire show, after about 4 or 5 fireballs, we start to do burner pops, and that is all she wrote for me. The Invader slid up a few feet and I was signaled no more, so I proceded to roll into the staging beams, fully knowing that I had a lot of fuel to haul down the track. I lit the first bulb and then Tony came in and lit one. As I pulled into the second beam, the starter leans down and looks under the car like it may be leaking. He flashes thumbs up, and the light flashes and Tony is gone. I am off chasing him down and almost catch him at the lights. Tony runs a 5.80 @ 272 to our 5.68 @ 282. Overall it was a fun run!!

With the Blu-By-U being the quickest car in the first round and the Invader being the second we were paired up for round two. The Beast and the Thriller were also paired together, as to the others I can't remember. The weather continued to drop as the weather cooled, so we adjusted the tune up and headed to the lanes. Tony was in the Blu-By-U in the left lane, Invader in the right as we squared off again. Everything was goin according to plan until I started to bring the Invader up to the higher rpms. At the higher RPM's, the afterburner was having a difficult time firing off.

With nothing else to do but hope, we staged and took off! Tony was off in a flash, as I kept hitting the afterburner all the way down the track, hoping at some point that it would light. But it was not meant to be. I did the longest John Force burnout all the way down the track!! It looked kinda cool from the video I have seen.

So after the run as the crew prepared the Invader for the last run, we went over all the data and the systems to figure out what had happened. With a vehicle that engine has rotating parts that spin in the area of 19000 rpm, things can be a little complicated. Then again sometimes not. After checking the entire system and even replacing the switch we could not get the system to even falter once, so after taking a deep breath and looking at the photos of the run, it hit us in the head! The weather had dropped so much that the tune changed drastically too lean. When we increased the rpm, it leaned out the system even more so that it would not sustain the afterburner!

A quick review of the weather and consulting the tune up, we made a couple of adjustments, and we were back in the staging lanes.

At both of our requests, Terry and I were paired up. Terry is currently the driver of the Thriller J-85 jet dragster based out of the east coast. Terry and his dad, Dick, have been running jets almost as long as our family and this is the first time the sons got to pair up and race.

What can I say; Terry was quick on the lights, but not quick enough as I caught him and took my only win for the night. The Invader ran a 5.86 @ 283, like a bracket car!! So with the final run of the season we packed her up and headed for home.

But the story does not end here....

For most of the year, the Invader Team has been working with Larsen Motorsports on a new jet dragster. So after the race, Craig jumped on a plane and headed to Florida to bring the chassis back. Over the winter we will be assembling the new car with a projected testing date of early April.
The new car will also be a Pratt & Whitney J-60 powered car with the latest designs and safety features.

Check back often for updates and photos as we progress.

Hollywood or Bust

After we returned home from our 4th of July fun in El Paso with our new buddy Gary Fore, it was a time for some R& R.

So as we were kickin it by the pool in the sweltering Arizona heat, the batphone rings. Would the Invader Team be interested in doing a television show? With a quick look at the thermometer hovering around 112* and a gaise at my quickly emptying glass of ice tea, I could not say where and when fast enough.

Ok, not really.

A few phone calls, emails, and faxes back and forth to work out all the details and legal wording and a contract was signed and a date set.

But before the date of the shoot came, I was off to the terrible weather of Orlando to hangout with some friends for a couple of days. Some of you may have heard that there is some "girl" jet jockey out on the east coast. Well in fact there are two, and one of them is my buddy Elaine.

Elaine and her talent jet fabricator husband Chris, (I know it sounds like I am sucking up, but hey the truth sometime hurts!) invited me to come out and check out their brand new baby. No Andrew does not have a little brother or sister, and Nitro is one of a kind, but the brand new Embry Riddle J-85 Powered Jet Dragster.

Now I won't go into all the cool things about it, but this Worthy built jet dragster is sooooo nice and perfect, it makes me want a second car. Hmmm now there is an idea. I better not say anything more right now as my lovely wife does read this now and then, and I don't want to get into trouble with her until it is too late.

So between us, I did not say anything about a second car, or the parts that my buddies down in Florida are gonna help me find, ok?

With the quick trip over, we packed up and headed out west, well farther west anyway. Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped into see Joe and Darlene of DJ Safety. Had a quick tour of the shop, and talked about safety equipment, and of course how we all missed Jim.

When we finally pulled into the hotel for the night, or should I say early morning in the Mojave Desert, we were all pretty tired.

But the dawn and call times were early for the production, so we were up and a fast breakfest and we were ready for the caravan to the location.

The location was at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave California. It is just north of the Famous Edwards Air Force Base, where the great avaition test pilots flew and the X-Planes came from. Mojave Air and Space Port is where the civilian x-planes come from now. Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites (Home of SpaceShipOne, the only civilian plane to reach space resides) as well as the National Test Pilot School and Flight Research is located.

Television has a great legacy there as well. Many television shows such as JAG, Mythbusters, and 24 were film here. Movies too. The films used this location Die Hard2, Speed, Flags of Our Fathers, and yes even WaterWorld were filmed there.

So as we caravaned around the airfield with our escort, we drove to the location located around the aircraft storage area. Or what I would call the aircraft graveyard. Old 707's, L-1011's, 737's 747's and even some old navy warplanes and a F-100!

Our first location was set-up and went over the scene and what the director and producer wanted from us. So we went about getting ready, and the film crew was filming EVERYTHING.

In addition of getting ready, we had to make sure that we did not scratch any sensitive areas, or say any bad words or look at the camera. The last one is the hardest of them all, especially when they are all walking around you and you are trying to get somewhere!

So ok, I am NOT go to talk specifics about the scenes as you all will have to wait and watch the show, but let me say, from all the cameras and direction and different scenes they were outlining and talking about it is going to be cool. The final sequence was sooooo cool, I could not even believe it and was so glad we where there to witness it!

What is the name of this show already you are saying right? It is called WX Proof, and it is produced by NBC for the Weather Channel. They have things that are supposed to be Weather Proof and are put to the test. We were called in to be a destructive force to test an item, and let me just say, they really put us to the test.

After we were finished shooting, we headed back to the warm Arizona desert to get back to our daily grind, until next time.

After down loading the photos from the set, I started emailing them out and checking my email inbox and what did I see????

A link to the Ford Commercial we had shot, "Sound Check". (see previous blog.) All I can say is WOW!

But you can make up your own mind. Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn1JhzWPmMQ

Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Be safe and Have Fun!!

2009.........

April brought the team home for the annual Firebird Summer Spectacular event. It was the Monster Truck /Lakefest event.

Along with two days of fun in the sun, they had the Top Fuel Hydro boats, Unlimited boats, Monster Trucks, and of course the jet cars.

The Invader Jet Dragster was paired up with Al Arriaga’s Blu-By-U driven by his son, Scott. Paul Stender also brought three of his jet powered vehicles, a jet powered Jeep, a jet powered Dodge Ram, and yes a jet powered outhouse.

Saturday, we had one run scheduled with Scott, Paul in his Jet Dodge Ram ran as we were getting ready. With dusk setting, we fired up the beasts and proceeded to heat up the desert air a little more. With the two dragsters ready and eager to launch, the tree flashed and so did the jets. Scott left quicker that the Invader but they held pace for the first 500 feet, then it seemed as I missed the tune up as Scott just pulled hard.

After reviewing the timing slip, we figured out the problem.

It was not us, it was Scott! We ran a 5.56 to Scott’s 5.35 @ 301 mph.

With Sunday, it was a repeat schedule but during the day. Hotter day but brought out the crowed anyway! With a repeat of the night before except that Scott cut the light a little too much, as the red light glowed bright in the afternoon sun.

So not too bad, Scott 1, Curt 1. As they say, a win is a win.

June 13 we headed out to California, to shoot a commercial for Ford Motors. After driving across the Arizona / California desert, we finally reached our destination in Lebec, California. Lebec is located on the north side of the Grapevine, just about 40 miles from Bakersfield. This area has been used in various movies and commercials over the years, recently in Fast and the Furious.
The temperatures were in the mid 60’s when we arrived, compared to the low 100’s when we left Arizona. We checked into our hotel and went out to a Mexican restaurant.

We had a good meal, even if it was a little spicy for my dad, as he had to order a large glass of leche to cool his mouth. After twenty plus years in the southwest, you would think he can handle a little heat.

Sunday we headed out to the location. We arrived at the staging area; it was like a small city out in the middle of nowhere. Trucks, trailers, tents, air conditioned restrooms, and a fancy restaurant on the side of the road.

We met with the director and the production assistant to go over the concept of the segment. Then the crew started to go to work. Measurements and photographs were taken and they were off to various areas of the location to make things happen.

For our little team, it was polish and touch ups, and the regular routine of prep for the Invader. Fueling and chute packing and so on and so on before the production assistant came and drove us down the road to the shooting location. They had a couple of cars set up near a small building and showed our mark.

We were scheduled to shoot after lunch, but typically someone missed their time slot and we were asked to jump ahead. One final check out and we were off….. But we had no power!!

Panels were flying off, wires and connections checked, battery voltage checked but no power. We found that the igniter batteries had shorted internally, while they charged and checked good, once a load was applied almost no voltage showed.

Did I say we were in the middle of nowhere?? As a quick scramble on location for a suitable battery, with all the cameras, sound equipment, portable electronics, and so forth not a battery to be found, I quick search on the blackberry showed a motorcycle shop ten miles away on the top of the Grapevine. So a quick trip to the shop and we found a suitable replacement that would work with a slight rewire and we were back in business.

So we were of towing down to the set, with a caravan of vehicles, cameras, and equipment. The Invader was positioned on its mark, along with the other vehicles, and the director went over again what he was looking for. He had expressed concerns with the location of this small building off to the side of the Invader. It was around 20 – 30 feet off to one side of the Invader, and looked fine. I had told him that it was no problem as we have stuff similar between to cars on the starting line and it should be fine.

I never even gave it a second thought. They wired me up with the hopes that I might be able to hear the director while I was doing the fire show and I was strapped in. Cameras were positioned and they called for action. The Invader was brought to life, and guess what, radios did not work. So I proceeded to watch for directions as I belched out the flames. After a minute or two, I was supposed to stop and go to idle as they reset their cameras and then continue with more fire. But the best laid plans, so they say…

A look of panic on the director’s face, and the frantic waving arms of the production assistant gave me a clue to shut down. As I jumped out of the car, I felt a little sick, as a large section of the building seemed to melt off the building. They called a break for lunch as we towed back to refuel the Invader.

Someone forgot to tell me that this was movie magic, and that the building was not brick like it seemed but very malleable plastic that can be formed with a hair dryer. Here I am the world’s biggest hair dryer blasting away near it. I figured we were done on the set, but everyone for the most part was in good spirits about it.

After a lunch of stuffed crab and a filet of beef, we were back on the set and ready for take two. This time all was good, the building was moved a bit farther back, but all went well. Then they had me in the car for the still shot segments. After an hour in the hot sun, fully suited up and strapped in, we were again on the way back for fuel.

Fuel and a quick charge on the batteries we were back for the last take. More fire and more noise were in the script, and then they asked if we could do a quick launch at the end. So after the fire, while I idled for a few moments, they pulled all the cars out of the shot and I brought the power up and launched a couple hundred feet.

Everyone loved it and we excited that all went well.

We loaded everything up and said our goodbyes and headed home. With an uneventful return journey we were ready for a small break.

Our break lasted until the 3rd of July when we headed out to the new El Paso Motorplex located just outside of El Paso in Clint Texas. This is a new track with all concrete strip and state of the art wireless timing system. It is not finished yet, but is well on its way to being an excellent track.

We pulled in on Friday night, and hung out with Donny Huerra and his Mexican Jumping Bean wheel stander and our competition, Gary Fore and the Super Cobra jet funny car.

Gary is a nice guy and really down to earth, we played the “Do you know…” game as we have never met before. So as the weather cooled off, we headed to our hotel for the evening.

Bright and early on the 4th proved it was going to be a hot day early on. We were scheduled to run starting at 8 pm, but we were there when the gates opened. Slowly towards the afternoon, the crowd started to pour in ready to celebrate the holiday.

Around the eight o’clock hour we were in the lanes ready to get the show started. We pulled in and strapped in, and kick the tires and lit the fires. Gary and I traded fireballs for a bit, and then brought up the power for the burner pops. Once I did this, the Invader started to slide, as the track being so new there was not much traction for me to grab on to. So I had to lay of the pops, as I slid into the lights as not to red light. Gary pulled in and the lights flashed and he was off. I followed in pursuit of Gary, and as I went by I shut off the Invader. This was a safety run as there are not many lights in the shutdown area, and I wanted to get a feel for the track. It felt fine! Gary shot by me and took the first win of the night.

Round two came and we had to do something about the traction, so just before we ran we loaded up the tires with some traction compound and crossed our fingers.

She seemed to like that, after we started they gave me the signal to start the show, so I hit the first fireball and wait for Gary’s response. And waited. So I did it again and waited… and waited… Gary was having a problem starting, so after a couple minutes they gave me the signal for a single. A couple fireballs and burner pops later, to give a show but not shake Gary too much, I pulled into the staging lights. Then I saw a flash reflecting from behind me. Gary got her started, so I waited as he did a few pops and fireballs to lighten the load before pulling into the beams.

Both of us staged, we waited for the tree forever it seemed, the Gary just left and I followed behind. Again I squeaked past Gary but at about 800 feet the Invader ran out of fuel, but I held him off enough for the win.With one win a piece, the final round was an all out battle. Blasts were traded back and forth until we slid into the beams. Tree was activated and we were off and running. A word to anyone running at the new track, a little piece of advice I learned, the ET boards are not the finish line! I clicked it off at the boards, and barely held of Gary for the final win of the night!!!

The Gaps…

When I last left off, we were back from the Texas adventure; I spent a little time at home before having to head out for work.

Off to a conference in Providence Rhode Island for a taste of the cool weather was awesome. The only drawback to the trip was the 18 hour travel with weather delays and missed flights and rude airline personnel. At least once I was there they had plenty of tasty seafood for me to enjoy.

Since I was on the east coast already, I extended my stay to hang out and help my good friends, Chris & Elaine Larsen. They run a little known car on the east coast, some of you may have heard of it, The Embry Riddle Jet Dragster. They were running at the NMRA race at ATCO Drag way in Atco New Jersey.

Three fun-filled glorious days of Sun, Food, Girls, and Mustangs!! Wow how could I get so lucky!!
I met up with The Larsen’s just outside of the track at a nice little restaurant for lunch. But typical Elaine, like on the tree, she was late. Sure she gave me some excuse of a traffic accident or some unbelievable story, but hey at least they brought Andrew and Nitro so all was forgiven.

After lunch, Elaine and I followed the Larsen boys out to the track. After their week at Oshkosh and the rain through Illinois and Ohio, they rig needed a serious washing. So out came the hoses, buckets, and soap. So what would your friendly west coast jet jockey do?? But hold Nitro’s leash and point out the spots they missed! Bet they were glad I came to help! What would they do without me!

With the rig all sparkling clean, the trailer reconfigured for the next days’ display, we loaded 10 tons of luggage into my teeny tiny, 5 horse power rental car for the trip to the hotel. Mind you, the Larsen’s had booked me a full size upgrade, but hey I am cheap, and all the scooters were out!

Into the Hampton Inn, beautiful room, wifi and breakfast included! Whoo even a bunch of restaurants next door. A quick bag drop and we are off to dinner. Nice Italian dinner at one place, then of for drinks at another. Can you say networking…. After a closing that place, we head to sleep. Busy day with a display already planned.

Friday came, sun shining, cool east coast weather again!! The Larsen team pulled into the Wal Mart for a display. Out came the dragster, the stool, and the girl. Elaine proceeded to hand out photos and talk about the NMRA race and the wonderful world of aviation. In the middle of this Chris and I had found a salvage yard down the road with tons of old aircraft pieces. We were trying to figure out how to get in there, and Elaine pulled through again. In the middle of talking to people, she found the sister of the owner of the yards. A few phone calls later, we have an appointment at this closed yard.

Once the display was over, we dropped the rig back at the track and headed to the hotel and food. We were planning on eating, relaxing by the pool, and hitting the yard later that evening. Just as we sat down to eat, the phone rang. By the look on Elaine’s face, it was not good. Seems to be a mix up, and the advertising had gone out with Elaine scheduled to make a run tonight! So a quick lunch, a change of clothes and we were off back to the track.

So out come the blue and grey SwissTrak flooring, the Embry Riddle Awnings and Flags, and finally the Beast herself. Then we roll the car out too. Just joking Elaine! A primary and reserve parachute selected and mounted, batteries charged, tires serviced, and the dragster is inspected for any abnormities.

This is a good time for me to also look over the car. Most people might not know, but each jet car is basically a one of a kind machine. Little differences here and there, and the people who build them like certain things a certain way, as there are differences in the Embry Riddle car and the Miss-Ta-Fire car. Both of these were built by Chris and there are differences. Now as I looked over the ER car and compared her to the Invader, I find differences but nothing major, and nothing in the area of safety. Chris builds a solid, safe car for his wife to rocket down the track.

So now with the Riddle ride readied, Andrew, Chris and I are off to the salvage yard. Once we got there we saw mounds of old aircraft, cars, jet engines, and even a train. We spent some time climbing, sifting, and just looking in amazement at the old stuff. We will have to come back again, now we have a better idea of what was there. As we were deep into the piles of aircraft, a shower of rain came through and soaked us all.

We quickly hurried back to help Elaine keep the car dry. She had it all under control and covered with a plastic cover. As the time for the run approached, I stood back an observed their pre run rituals. We all have them, some you just really have to pay attention to notice.

As we rolled up to the line, I noticed something very unusual for me. My shoes almost came off. What was this? It was sticky? Hmmm maybe they should try this on the west coast! My god it was prepped great! So my job for the weekend was something a little different for me. I was the air guy, and I also guided Elaine to the beams.

All is readied, Elaine is ready, here we go… Air on.. Ok starter is spinning… 12% she starts to growl… idle… air off, power unplugged… She is alive!!

Chris does a quick look over and leak check. (They have radios and talk back and forth. Sounds like a cool idea, but hell when the Invader is lit, that’s my alone time!!)

I stand back and also look for leaks, all is good. Elaine starts to do her show. Running by herself, she uses the radio over the PA to talk to the crowd. That was cool! So while she is doing that, I really feel out of place not in a car! So out comes the camera and I snap a few photos until she starts to roll towards the beams.

Here is another thing, some people like help, me I don’t, but not my deal so I do my best to let her know where the beams are. Bulbs lit, and she is off. Oh yeah I forgot to turn around, and was blasted by heat and rocks! Elaine ran a 5.59 at 281 MPH. Nice solid run!

Towed back to the pits, and then she signed photo after photos for all the fans! Boy it is sure different from this side. I always thought about stepping away from driving and just tuning and training, but I am not sure anymore. I think I like to drive too much.

Well back to the hotel for the night, and it’s an early day tomorrow!

Saturday brought more people, more sun, and more heat to the races. The NMRA puts on such a cool race. I think I like them better than a national event. They have the midways, the cars, and the fun but with real people. Not that the Forces, Herberts, or Capps are not real, but you get the feeling that this could be you. Just a good ole person having fun going fast!

First run of the day was just as nice as the night before, little wiggle at the end and a burst parachute panel had Elaine hitting the reserve in a very professional manner! She made Chris’s eye pop out but already hitting the reserve before he could tell her on the radio of the failure. Heck she might make a good driver yet!

Weather cooled down, and the darkness started to come for the last run of the night. Looking to improve her ET, but not quite, but let me just say she could run that car in a bracket class for as on index that the car runs, 5.59, 5.61, and 5.61!

Give her a trophy! Oh and I cannot forget the wonderful racers at ATCO. They would feed us, and feed us, and feed us some more! I think I gained ten pounds!

Sunday comes and so does the clouds! Then the wind! Then the tornados and lightning! Then the word that it was called off. So with that bit of news, I jumped into the go kart of a rental and headed to the airport after saying my goodbyes!

So sitting in the airport, trying to jump on an earlier flight, after that failed I waited for my flight. This was delayed, and delayed again, and again. I was supposed to get into Phoenix at 9:45 pm, I eventually arrived at 3:50 am. I even had to buy a bottle of water on the plane for $2. Ya think after a 6 hour delay they would at least give you a bottle of water. Noooo! Geesh!

Finally home right. Wrong!

Less than two weeks later, I am jumping on to one of our planes from work heading to Germany for two week to work with NATO. While I was there I was able to get in contact with a fellow jet guy and talk about his jets. Donald Pottier, he has two j-85 jet funny cars, one of which has two cockpits to give rides. We spoke at great lengths of ideas and such, and I can’t wait to go and visit again and see the cars next time!

So I am finally home, caught a cold, and getting the Invader ready for our final race of the year. Tucson’s Southwestern International Raceway’s Jet Car Nationals on October 4-5th.

It will be a blast! (Pun intended!!)

BTW my favorite sign in Germany!!

Texas Tour

The Texas Tour 2008 was back to back races in Lubbock, Texas and then a week later in Abilene, Texas. We started off on this journey on the 27th of June, headed out to Lubbock. Trying to beat the Arizona heat, we left at 4:30 in the morning. A stop for fuel along the way, and we were rolling along.

After an unexpected stop for a few hours, we finally pulled into Lubbock at almost midnight local time. With the last 140 miles of it being rain and an enormous lightning storm. Reaching the hotel, everyone was completely exhausted.

The weather had brought cooler temperature to the area, but required us to rewash the entire rig. So we were off on a hunt for a car wash to clean everything up. With a quick detail, a run for ice and we were off to the track.

We reached the track and set up for the nights events. Ken Marley and his Rocky Mountain Thunder jet funny car were already there. We slowly prepared the car for the night’s events, while still in the trailer. The weather report was not very good, a 60% change of rain!

When the gates opened at 4pm, with the rain drizzling and wind picking up, it was totally questionable as to the event going on as scheduled. As we all sat in the rigs with our fingers crossed, the weather would clear, and then rain, clear, then rain, then finally cleared up.

It had cleared enough for the event to go on, but would a crowd show? As it slowly crept up to the scheduled time for the jets to run, people started to drizzle in. The only real problem is that now the track was dried but too cool to really prep it to run the full length.

After a driver meeting with all of the participants, it was decided to go on and race but only to 1/8 mile.

First round was finally set and weather cleared, and Ken and the Rocky Mountain Thunder jet were in the right lane, while the Invader was in the left lane. Since it was not going to be a full run, they both decided to put on a larger than normal line show. By the time both cars were fully staged, the starting line was now fully dry!

Ken was off first, with Curt in the Invader rapidly chasing him down. At the stripe, it was the Invader by a nose!

Both cars were brought back to the pits to be readied for the next match up later in the evening. Within a short time both cars were back in the armed position, as the fans came for handouts, t-shirts, and autographs were given out.

The jets were brought back out for the final runs of the night. Again it was only 1/8 mile runs so it was the face of the sun fire show. The rainy cool weather was dried up rapidly as they both traded blasts from the afterburner.

As both cars staged, staging bulbs lit, and oops Ken slid through and launched! Curt hesitated for only a moment before screaming down after the Rocky Mountain Thunder again! With no tree activation, the Invader had the automatic win, making the first event of the Texas tour 2-0 for the Invader.

As the event rapped up, the Invader was loaded up and the team headed out to Midland. Craig had a flight to catch in the morning to go home.

As the sun came up, Craig was dropped off, and the rest of the team started out towards Abilene. An easy drive from Midland of only 160 miles, mostly flat with some small rolling hills, no problem! RIGHT! A measly 10 miles from the track, Curt looks out the window at the trailer, and what is that!

It looks like a fin sticking out of the trailer! Pulling off the highway, the team gets out and inspects the trailer. Oh, an easy find. Only a missing center wheel and tire assembly. The whole tire, wheel, and hub are just plain gone!

After inspecting the rest of the trailer, we carefully limped in to the track. Making some calls, and deciding that it will have to wait until Monday, we dropped the trailer and heading to Dyess Air Force Base.

We had reserved a room at Dyess Inn lodging, using Curt’s military benefits for once.
Monday morning we went and drove the trailer over to Western Trailer. They inspected everything and determined that a new axle was the correct was to fix the problem. A few phone calls later, and a new axle was on the way from Dallas. The other axles were all checked and serviced while the new axle was installed. All was completed by Wednesday afternoon.

While all this was happening, the team took a much needed break and saw the sights of Abilene. We toured the static displays at Dyess Air Force Base, looked around some of the salvage yards, and even hit a movie or two.

After picking up the trailer, we went and washed the truck and trailer, and then set up the trailer in the pits ready for the 5th of July race.

On the 4th, we headed out to the track to meet Craig, who flew into Midland and rented a car to get to Abilene, and watch the races. As the truck started, a load bang and smoke came out from under the hood of the truck! Our 4th of July fireworks started early! The air conditioning unit let loose.

What a wonderful thing to happen on the 4th of July, in the middle of Texas, in the heat! SUPER!

Out at the track, with tools in hand, half of us ripped the truck apart, and while the rest made calls trying to locate the needed parts before everything totally shut down. Believe it or not, they did just that! A very quick run to the parts store, netted the team everything needed to repair the system.

All that was needed was a quick evacuation and recharge, and all was blowing cold.
Abilene’s crowd for the show on the 5th was huge! The Southwest Superchargers were running as well as the Invader and Rocky Mountain Thunder.

At just about dusk, the first passes were made. Ken in the Rocky Mountain Thunder was first up on a single run. He belted out the fire and heat before blasting down the track for low e.t. of the meet. So far.

Curt in the Invader was up next. Last time the Invader was here, they were just off the pace for Ancel Horton’s track record, and Curt could taste it! This first run was a tune run for what would come later. The July heat had not cooled off as much as they had hoped but still ran a respectable time.

Both cars could hardly make it back to the pits, with all the fans waving and stopping them on their return. Once back the routine of turning the cars was in full motion. The vehicles were readied and a quick look at the weather, and a quick final tune was made.

Everything was readied for the record attempt as both cars pulled to the line. The Rocky Mountain Thunder and Invader blasted the night air for the second time of the night. The Invader slowly pulled into the beams, brought the engine rpms as much as the track could hold, and waited a split second for Ken to leave before lighting the afterburner and screeching down the track.

Through the finish line, chutes out, barely slowing hit the reserve chutes rapidly slowed the Invader but not enough. A quick pump or three on the rear brakes, and the Invader came to a stop inches from the sand trap.

Across the desert night, the crackle and creaking of hot metal was all that could be heard. As the crew came up, they shook their head no. We missed it by two tenths!

Better luck next time!

Once again in the dead of the night the team loaded up and headed for home.

At the 740 mile mark of an 860 mile trip, boom! Middle tire on the trailer blew! Will this trip never end? Quick tire swap and we were off limping for home.

We finally made it home with no more problems, but the season is not totally over for us. We do have a small gap do to everyone’s work requirement but we will be back in the fall.

The long and winding road.....

We set out for Albuquerque National Dragway on Friday May 23, with the rest of the country and their plans for the holiday weekend. After a later than plan start, we found our selves in the middle of the holiday rush and nature’s freak climate changes in the Arizona desert.

Earlier in the week we had hit record 110* weather, and as we were leaving the cloudy, rainy weather only reached into the low 70’s. After the initial bumper to bumper rage fest, at the two hour mark found us only 66 miles from home. Pulling through the Flagstaff area, we were shocked to actually see snow on the side of the road!!

We should have seen this as a sign of things to come!

We finally reached the Albuquerque city limits; we stopped for fuel needed for the Invader and the generator. We also contacted the track to ensure we could drop the trailer off before going to the hotel. They said they would still be there and not to mind the road.

Mind the road? What was that all about? When reaching the road, we found a light cart and a security guard waving us through. There were cars, motorcycles, buses, and even a semi truck scattered all over looking like a war scene had just gone off.

After parking the trailer, we found out that they are shooting the Terminator 4 movie around here and that is a set they are using!

After a quite night at the hotel, we gathered our stuff and head out to the truck to go to the race track. But what surprises were in store for us?? Someone had broken into the truck and stole some stuff!

After a brief call, with no law enforcement coming out, and a review of the items missing, we also noticed the inside rear tire was flat! A quick trip to Discount Tire, who in record time, inspected and installed a new tire and sent us on our way. Thanks guys!

At the track the weather was cool and very breezy, most of the day. We prepped the car, and caught up with Joe Zaccaro & “Fearless” Davy Gonzales. Joe currently has a few different jet cars, but he had brought with him, the Thunderbolt and the White Lightning. The White Lightning used to be the Final Option Jet Dragster of Jimmy Gonzales, who was Davy’s brother. Until recently the car was called Too Much and was owned by Greg Nickleski.

Some maintenance was performed on the White Lightning, so they took it out to the top end for a test fire. All was good until just at shutdown, and the main burner line split and sprayed fuel down. What a mess! They brought her back a made brand new lines and replaced the defective ones to ensure a good safe show.

As the sun went down, and the moon came up, the winds died down, it was time for the jets. First up was “Fearless” Davy against Curt in the Invader. At the signal both cars went for start and the Invader just sat there. She would not light…A scramble check….Power yes….Igniters yes…air pressure yes…. Starter yes…. Just no start.

Davy had a single as the Invader was pushed back to the pits. Joe Zaccaro then performed a single pass also to end first round.

Back in the pits, the body panels were flying!! Craig was checking all the electrical, while Curt was checking the fuel system. A small leak was detected on the fuel control in a vital area, so the car was lifted and the two guys were flying around working on the problem. Just as they were wrapping up the repair (which should have taken 4 hours with a removal of the control from the engine) the lights on the trailer flickered then went out!

An electrical smell could be found inside, and was traced down to the shore power switchbox. That was quickly disassembled and bypass in the dark, and we were back in action. The repair on the Invader was completed and pressure checked good. Within five minutes of setting the car back down they called for us to race.

Again the Invader was paired with the White Lightning for a little payback for the embarrassment of the first round. Both cars again went for start, and this time both did! Fire shows battled back and forth, with the Invader prestaging first. Both in the lights, flash of yellow, and a flash down the track as the Invader rocketed down the track to take the win with a 5.88 at 265 MPH. Not too shabby for 7200 feet corrected altitude!

Joe in the Thunderbolt closed off the night, barely missing the Invader’s ET, leaving Curt and the Invader as Low ET of the night.

Sunday morning, brought a new day and sunshine to the track and the team. The weather was a little warmer, a little winder, but the same fun!

As the time for the show approached, it was decided to have Davy run the Thunderbolt against the Invader. With the wind still blowing on and off, it was going to be fun to stop these beasts at the finish line.

Dusk approached, so “Fearless” and Curt suited up and strapped into their dragsters to come to battle over bragging rights in the desert. Hometown hero vs. the Invader!

Once the vehicles were brought to life, the fire battle began. Each driver trying to outperform the other, and letting the crowd decide. Both slowly snaked into the staging beams, and with a glint of yellow, they were out of the gate screaming down the track. At the end of the run, the winner was… The Invader!

The Thunderbolt and The Invader were brought back to the pits and turned for the next and last pass of the night. After a quick refuel, chute repack, a quick once over the cars were ready, but the drivers were not! They were too busy eating some of the wonderful food that Davy’s family had brought out to the track. (Maybe if Curt was too stuffed, he would be slower on the tree?? Maybe need a little siesta?)

Darkness had fallen, the lights dimmed, and the earth shakers were brought back to life! Again a repeat of the fierce fire dual commenced, with both cars carefully sliding into the beams. With a flash Davy was off and the Invader was right behind him, maybe the food did work? But at the end of the run, the Invader was again victorious.

The pits were crowded with fans who had loved the show the two drivers put on. They were already talking about a rematch were the local boy would slay the Invader.

The Team then loaded up, and before heading out across the desert home took a minute and could hear the sounds of Iron Maiden rockin across from the concert pavilion! With “The Trooper” stuck in their head, they rushed home to spend the rest of the holiday with their family.

Til next time….

Be Safe & Have Fun.