Other Addicting Hobbies: Drag Racing! with Steve Roberts...

[300EVIL]

I had to cut my trip short this year to the NHRA US Nationals held in Indinapolis this year but , as usual, it was a blast! I called up Steve, AKA MixedGas on the way down and he was game. Who else would get in a car and drive 300 miles at a moments notice! Talk about hard core! Luckily I had drivers tickets as usual so we were able to get the best seats in the house.



Here we are in front of the tower...



8000+ HP up close...



Here is Antron Brown's dragster...



Here's Steve with the winning top fuel dragster driven by Larry Dixon...



Pit crew getting ready to start the engine...



Yeah, We were that close...



Steve, chillin after the race...



My dad also chillin out...



Look what showed up!!

[JohnYayas]

Pretty cool to see other folks interested in cars. If anyone has a copy of the August 2010 issue of Hot VWs, my car is in there. It was a VW drag race /car show so there was drag racing but with only 1/2 the cylinders.

[mixedgas]

The cracked oil/nitrometh fumes wreck havoc with my blood pressure medication, but I had a blast.

I need to drop lasers and switch to racing.

Unlike this laser hobby, there are women at racetracks. A good percentage of them are on crews teching or driving. Women who know their hardware. You do not find that in ham radio or lasers. It is a family friendly spot, which is very nice. No insult intended "J", but I tend to join things that are more monastic then the priesthood, and I'm a bit tired of it.

What, no pics of Crew Chief Lady? I'm very dissatisfied if there are NO pics of CCL?

There is this stunningly beautiful gal who wears a black minidress on the track, black leather boots, carries a radio and sets up this one team's cars...

One is also impressed with the NHRAs 52 minute engine rebuild rule. You would not be allowed to watch and ask questions while a crew pops a engine at a F1 or Indy race. Oh wait, at a F1 or Indy race the engine is just a LRU module and they never touch it. These guys have a crew stripping the engine and rebuilding it, including the turbocharger, while you watch, in between races.

The raw mount of horsepower from a uncooled top fuel engine is stunning,

Steve

[smogthemog]

I part built and messed around with this in my spare time

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...aser-stuff-WHY

[RGbee]

What sort of power output are we talking about for the top fuelers, around the 2000Bhp mark?

[araugh]

Looks like a great time, auto racing always is!

[dnar]

Pure blokie pr0n. Thanks for sharing.

I used to drag race modified street (muscle) cars when I was younger (15 years ago). The adrenalin rush is addictive (and exhausting believe it or not).

Our local strip holds public races on Wednesday night, I have been meaning to get my Hemi down there for a blat.

[ireedz]

Pretty cool to see other folks interested in cars. If anyone has a copy of the August 2010 issue of Hot VWs, my car is in there. It was a VW drag race /car show so there was drag racing but with only 1/2 the cylinders.

What car is yours Gary?

[JohnYayas]

What car is yours Gary?

Mine is the blue Karmann Ghia on page 76. After re-reading my post it kind of sounds like I was part of the drag racing. I wasn't. I was just part of the normal car show.

[mikkojay]

Hey wait a second- Karmann Gia sounds kinda like "car man Gary", did I connect the dots?
Cool ride
This was my daily driver when I was in the USN in San Diego:
http://members.cox.net/mnorth1a/
It could do 13 flat in the 1/4 mile, but unfortunately I sold it about 7 years ago (cop magnet, money pit) I knew every bolt on that thing, it was made from a combination of no less than 4 parts cars. I was addicted/obsessed with that thing.
-Mike

[JohnYayas]

Hey wait a second- Karmann Gia sounds kinda like "car man Gary", did I connect the dots?
Cool ride
This was my daily driver when I was in the USN in San Diego:
http://members.cox.net/mnorth1a/
It could do 13 flat in the 1/4 mile, but unfortunately I sold it about 7 years ago (cop magnet, money pit) I knew every bolt on that thing, it was made from a combination of no less than 4 parts cars. I was addicted/obsessed with that thing.
-Mike

Yea, that's where the name carmangary came from.

That 68 Firebird brings back memories. My friend had one of those and it was a fun car.

[Howie]

This may not be new to some but it might be for others...

http://www.vadriven.com/forums/archi...p?t-16447.html

I can't think of anything that compares to seeing a top fuel dragster in person.

[mixedgas]

This may not be new to some but it might be for others...

http://www.vadriven.com/forums/archi...p?t-16447.html

I can't think of anything that compares to seeing a top fuel dragster in person.

SR71 blackbird.

Steve

[Phredy1]

I missed my yearly dose of nitro fumes this year. Kinda brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I worked on several drag cars in my past. A pic of a Super Comp car I worked on. I hand built everything from the windshield forward. 67 Cougar with a injected methanol 427 side oiler.

lfcat.jpg

Gene

[JohnYayas]

Did you all (SELEM attendees) see my bad ass station wagon at SELEM? I gave ireedz a ride. I know he was impressed.

[JohnYayas]

This may not be new to some but it might be for others...

http://www.vadriven.com/forums/archi...p?t-16447.html

I can't think of anything that compares to seeing a top fuel dragster in person.

Probably not. But, I've been behind the throttles of a Nuclear Powered ship. They don't exactly move fast but there's nothing quite like throwing it in full reverse from a flank bell and creating your own personal earthquake. Buffo, did those subs shake and rattle from flank to back full? Or were you guys even allowed to make that much noise?

[ireedz]

Did you all (SELEM attendees) see my bad ass station wagon at SELEM? I gave ireedz a ride. I know he was impressed.

I was impressed. Who wouldn't be impressed with the power of that 260 V-8 engine? It is a real sleeper.

[Laserchik]

Don't know ANYTHING about it, but I enjoy watching drag racing.....I also like car shows.....all those cars all tricked out and shiny. Very cool.

[ckilgore1]

Hey wait a second- Karmann Gia sounds kinda like "car man Gary", did I connect the dots?
Cool ride
This was my daily driver when I was in the USN in San Diego:
http://members.cox.net/mnorth1a/
It could do 13 flat in the 1/4 mile, but unfortunately I sold it about 7 years ago (cop magnet, money pit) I knew every bolt on that thing, it was made from a combination of no less than 4 parts cars. I was addicted/obsessed with that thing.
-Mike

Very nice car. I had a 1968 black Pontiac GTO. Loved that car, but to be honest it scared the hell out of me. . . no power steering, handled like a truck, but sure was fast and the girls all liked it. By the way I bought it new so I assume I am a "bit" older than you.

[mikkojay]

Yes- goats are wicked. My brother had a '66, it just looked mean. I met Jim Wangers at a Pontiac show one time. I was 22 in 1992 when I bought my Bird, so I'm getting there
My uncle has a '67 Malibu convertible that he bought new, and he STILL has it! AND he is a mechanic by trade...
-Mike

[300EVIL]

What sort of power output are we talking about for the top fuelers, around the 2000Bhp mark?

Try approaching 9000BHP.... It takes 1000HP just to run the supercharger and 450HP to run the fuel pump.

As an example... This will show you how much fuel is used by ONE CYLINDER during a run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGTbQ...eature=related

What, no pics of Crew Chief Lady? I'm very dissatisfied if there are NO pics of CCL?

Oh, you mean Alice Bode, Bob Bode's wife AKA "Drag Racer Barbie"



How about John Force's daughter.... Shwing!



Here's a pic of Connie Kalitta to calm you guys down... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Kalitta

[300EVIL]

I missed my yearly dose of nitro fumes this year. Kinda brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I worked on several drag cars in my past. A pic of a Super Comp car I worked on. I hand built everything from the windshield forward. 67 Cougar with a injected methanol 427 side oiler.

lfcat.jpg

Gene

NICE!

I miss my Super Comp days...





And Super Street...







Sponsoring a TFD is cool though!!



My next move, when I can afford it will be Top Alcohol Dragster.

[buffo]

Great pics Adam! Would love to see that in person one day. The sound is supposed to be incredible. (Though admittedly, so is the sound of an SR-71 taking off on full afterburner, something else that I always wanted to experience but never did...)

Probably not. But, I've been behind the throttles of a Nuclear Powered ship. They don't exactly move fast but there's nothing quite like throwing it in full reverse from a flank bell and creating your own personal earthquake. Buffo, did those subs shake and rattle from flank to back full? Or were you guys even allowed to make that much noise?

Hi Gary;

Sorry for being so late getting to this thread. Still playing catch-up.

While on patrol we almost never went above a standard bell, and most of the time we were at ahead 2/3 or slower. (We hide with pride, remember?) We never answered any backing bells while on patrol, and I can only think of one time when we answered a full bell while we were alert. (And that was only for a few minutes.)

Though once during sea-trials right after a refit we did answer a back emergency from a flank bell. That was some serious shit! The boat made some awful sounds, and the prop cavitated like mad despite the fact that we were at a considerable depth. (Deep enough that I didn't think cavitation was possible!)

The main engines were visibly shaking in their mounts! (Remember, everything on a boat is sound-isolated, so things can move a bit...) Was a mighty impressive drill, but I wouldn't want to do it again. The planesman was a little slow figuring out that the fairwater planes work in reverse when you're answering a backing bell, plus we were a bit heavy to start with. (Damn chief of the watch didn't trim the boat very well before we started.)

Pulled a pretty serious down-angle before they got their shit together, and with all the noise and shaking, I was ready for it to stop long before it did. (Though in fairness, with the screw pointed towards the surface it was holding us on depth and would have pulled us up if needed. It was just the big down-angle at serious depth that was so disconcerting.)

Can't remember what reactor power peaked at during the maneuver, but for sure it was way the hell up there. Our reverse turbine was nothing more than a pair of curtis wheels (impulse blading only), so we could dump a shitload of steam through them. (Much more than with an ahead bell, because of all the reactive blading at the rear of the ahead turbine.) Plus we had to be running 2F-2F to start with, so the SSTG's were running close to full-load too.

Had a mother of a crud burst shortly thereafter. I remember, because I pulled the sample, and the DGA was hot as hell. (Even the recirc line was hot!) Not sure if it was from shifting to fast speed MCP's before the event or if it was just the vibration through the hull from such a violent maneuver, but it sure got my attention! Still, activity came right back down when I pulled the midnight primary later that night, so all was good. (Probably all got caught up in the resin!)

And yeah, you probably could have heard us in the water for 30 miles or more when we did that. It was a hell of a sound.

Adam

[ImageLight]

Damn,

That sounds scary just reading about it..

[Laserman532]

MAN!!! This is freakin weird... I was just surfing around youtube last night and found this video that someone posted of Adam and Steve back stage...dang....those guys ARE NOT WORTHY!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unyCs0aQFbw