Post by turbochris on Jul 9, 2011 9:19:42 GMT -5
When I was in Iowa I went to a drag strip with my van. It was NHRA and they wouldn't let me run. I'm spoiled by all the outlaw tracks down south. The track owner said if it's jet powered, it has to be certified for 300 mph. If I dropped my van from a plane it wouldn't go that fast, I would have to drop it from low earth orbit. Besides, it is NOT jet powered.
I really didn't care, it was comical, I almost made it to the starting line before they saw the turbine. they were dicks about it at first but after they calmed down they told me what happened-
Paul Stender did a show with his Boeing 502 converted to thrust mounted in a porta potty. This thing is slow. The track owner got fined $5000 because it was jet powered and did not meet the safety requirements for 300 mph.
The track manager asked if I would be interested in trying to work with the NHRA and get certified. He said the porta potty was a real hit and he thinks acts like my van and the porta potty are the future. I gave him my name and number but I think the NHRA is more interested in becoming like NASCAR than worrying about acts like me. I have people begging me to do shows, the NHRA can kiss my ass!
I look at it this way- it's a low 11 second car, I'll gladly go by those rules and then some.
The "pro" jet racers were enjoying the NHRA rules as it kept lower cost jet acts from taking their revenue. Now I hear the jet racers are starting their own organization supposedly to be run by Chris and Elaine Larsen and rumor is it's because they want to tap into the low cost jet freak show market. Running all out NHRA jet cars is just too expensive.
This old man in his 2 car garage is really enjoying himself. The van is getting more attention than ever and the promoters are starting to call. When it comes to fans and what they want, the NHRA will yield to the fans money eventually.
I really didn't care, it was comical, I almost made it to the starting line before they saw the turbine. they were dicks about it at first but after they calmed down they told me what happened-
Paul Stender did a show with his Boeing 502 converted to thrust mounted in a porta potty. This thing is slow. The track owner got fined $5000 because it was jet powered and did not meet the safety requirements for 300 mph.
The track manager asked if I would be interested in trying to work with the NHRA and get certified. He said the porta potty was a real hit and he thinks acts like my van and the porta potty are the future. I gave him my name and number but I think the NHRA is more interested in becoming like NASCAR than worrying about acts like me. I have people begging me to do shows, the NHRA can kiss my ass!
I look at it this way- it's a low 11 second car, I'll gladly go by those rules and then some.
The "pro" jet racers were enjoying the NHRA rules as it kept lower cost jet acts from taking their revenue. Now I hear the jet racers are starting their own organization supposedly to be run by Chris and Elaine Larsen and rumor is it's because they want to tap into the low cost jet freak show market. Running all out NHRA jet cars is just too expensive.
This old man in his 2 car garage is really enjoying himself. The van is getting more attention than ever and the promoters are starting to call. When it comes to fans and what they want, the NHRA will yield to the fans money eventually.
