Jets

I spent the weekend at Mission raceway park dabbling about with the jet funny car of Derek Snelson. Why? I am so glad you asked.

I am currently building a very cool car for a client of mine, Barry Prescott. This will be a street legal pump gas car with an all original design full carbon fibre body. It has an all aluminum fontana V8, with 650hp, plus a 150 shot of Nitrous, giving a total of 800hp. the car will run an easy 8.90, on pump gas, and you can drive it home. Anyway, more on this build later, back to the jets. Barry has been looking at the jet cars for a while and has bought the NightHawk Jet Funny car after it crashed in Boise two weeks ago. Beside needing the have some chassis repairs, which I will do for him, it will also be needing a driver. I will be doing some driving for Barry.

A totally different type of vehicle to drive, with hand throttle, and two brake pedals. I was surprised to see sixty foot times in the 1.05 second range, because they don’t seem to launch very hard, but their top end is phenomenal. Gaining seventy and eighty miles an hour in the top half of the track. This is going to be fun!

Laundry 2

After the shroud lines are untangled, the panels of the ‘chute are held together, carried back to the car, and then folded in half. The shroud lines are carefully laid in a pattern on the panels, to allow them to unroll easily, before “s” folding the panels up into a nice little bundle, that squeezes into the pack. Once it is all squeezed into the pack, this is where my daughter Casey is a big help, (it can be done on my own, but way easier with two people). When I release the parachute, it is pulled out of the pack by the ‘pilot chute’, which is mostly a large spring. This spring has to be compressed on top of the already packed ‘chute, while the flaps are pulled over it to have to release cable threaded through.

Now that Dennis’ car is in the 200 mph range we will have to have 2 parachutes on board. For the local tracks, Mission and Ashcroft, one is plenty to stop me, because we have plenty of braking area, these are nice long tracks. Some tracks can be very short, and you can cover a lot of distance at 200mph. Two parachutes will definitely be required.

As a side note, in the last photo you can see the red on the hills in the background. That is fire retardant, still there from the fires that threatened the track back in mid June. It was quite a spectacle to watch the bombers line up and drop the retardant right on the target. Now those guys are good!

Doin’ the Laundry.

One of my duties, as a driver, is to pack the parachute.  There really is no magic to the packing procedure. Different manufacturers have different folding techniques, and I have seen many drivers pack the same ‘chute differently. Some say “just stuff it in the bag”, but I am not a believer in this procedure. I do like consistency, so I follow the same procedure every time.

First, I make sure the shroud lines are not all tangled. This actually starts in the shutdown area, when I roll the ‘chute up to bring it back to the pits. If it is not rolled, and unrolled carefully, the lines can be in a horrible tangle. Untangling them will test anyone’s patience.

Video

We are still getting used to using video, from recording it to getting it up onto the website. I apologize for the quality, but it is improving.
I like the sound. Turn it up loud!
I have a couple more good videos I have yet to edit and publish, but they are coming. Check back often.
If anyone can suggest a program that is easy to use for editing video off my video camera I would love to hear about it. I am using the program that came with the camera and finding it a little difficult to navigate.

Eagle Motorplex September 19, and 20

After our great finish this past weekend we will be returning to the ‘plex in September with several other of the Blown Alcohol competitors.
http://www.eaglemotorplex.com/
Drop by the pit and meet me and the crew, I can give you a tour of the car, and answer all your questions. We will have a selection of fan cards. . . pick your favorite and get an autograph or two.
Cost for spectators $10, (Children 12 and under free if accompanied by an adult) , $20.00 for the whole weekend.

Insider’s tip. . . Rumours are there’s a movie being filmed in the area so book accommodation in advance. (Not sure where to stay? Send me a note, I can suggest a few places)

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Coast Reporter, Obalek feeding his passion for speed.

Local Sports
Obalek feeding his a passion for speed

- Gibsons Jim Obalek won The Wally, drag racing’s most sought after trophy with a recent race win in Ashcroft. – Photo submitted
Photo submitted

Gibsons Jim Obalek won The Wally, drag racing’s most sought after trophy with a recent race win in Ashcroft.

Ian Jacques/Editor
posted: August 7, 2009

Sechelt – At just over one foot tall with a classy brass finish, he stands on a solid wooden platform and is the most sought after man in the world of National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) full throttle drag racing. He is elusive and only the very best can catch him.

Recently, Gibsons’ Jim Obalek became the very best and caught that elusive and prestigious prize.

The Wally is named in honour of late NHRA founder Wally Parks by the thousands of NHRA competitors who seek it. Winning the Wally, which Obalek described as drag racing’s Oscar, was a dream come true. He won the Wally at a recent race in Ashcroft, a track that has a special place in his heart.

“It’s a tough event to win because the best come out and everyone wants to win,” Obalek said. “In the drag racing world, it’s the ultimate trophy. We worked so hard for it and to take it home is really special. The folks up in Ashcroft treat me really nicely, so to win it at their track felt really good.”

Obalek also had his daughter Casey on hand for the win, which was also a proud moment.

“Casey has as much passion for the sport as I do. She’s done a lot to help with the car and my racing. To have her there and share in that moment meant a lot,” he said.

From the moment he saw his first race, Obalek knew he would do what he had to do to get in the driver’s seat. His deeply-rooted passion is what drives him to be the very best driver he can.

At the age of 16 he received his driver’s licence and moved to Australia where he worked in a shop specializing in race engines. He began crewing for different race teams before branching out into his own race shop. He prepared cars and engines for racing and was finally able to build his first race car: a 12-second Sedan. Racing the Sedan for a few years, he then upgraded to a nine-second Altered. Meanwhile, he had begun building complete race cars from the ground up. He was able to get involved with some top fuel teams in Australia and was slated to drive the NEC top fuel dragster, but lack of funding put the project to an end. Shortly after, he moved to Gibsons to raise his family. He’s been living on and off on the Sunshine Coast for the past 12 years.

In 2007 he reignited his passion for the sport and took off full throttle in search of a world championship.

“Casey was about to graduate, and it just felt like it was a good time to get back into racing and pursue this with 100 per cent commitment,” he said. “Once racing is in your blood, it never goes away. Although I took a break for a few years, I always knew I was going to return and begin the chase for a world championship.”

Obalek travelled back and forth to Florida to gain seat time and reacquire his competition licences. Working with Frank Hawley, known as the best drag race driving instructor in the world, he earned his licence in both top alcohol dragster and top alcohol funny car.

He is now driving a front engine dragster for Dennis Hicks in the Nostalgia series.

“Things with this new car have been going great,” he said. “We have a fantastic car and a fantastic team with Dennis. We’ve just started to step up the engine program and the goal is to maybe race with three different cars next season depending on sponsorship and funding.”

Last weekend the team was at Mission Raceway testing the car. On Aug. 22, Obalek and the team is in Ashcroft again for the third and final race in the Blown Alcohol series. Obalek is first in the standings and is one winning round away from winning that series.

Last on the calendar is a stop in Bakersfield, Calif. in October bringing the season to an end.

“Our season is almost over, but we’re certainly getting things going for next year,” he said. “The sky’s the limit and I’m really excited with what we’ve been able to accomplish and what we hope to accomplish going forward. There is a passion for these things. You just live and breathe it. Everything about drag racing is very satisfying. I get to meet great people, build cars and travel the world. I’m living the dream.”

The Money Shot.

I have to mention Larry, behind us in this photo, and always behind us. His efforts on the team are huge, he just gets everything done. Thank you Larry.

Dennis Hicks

Dennis Hicks. Our team owner and leader. He is a true pleasure to work with always, even when we have to make difficult decisions like we did this weekend. It makes me very happy to be able to give him the success we have had this season.

Crew-chief Jim

I was doing double duty this weekend as crew-chief and driver. Very difficult to do without a good crew to tell me what is going on outside the car. Some great video footage from Rebecca, (I’ll get it posted soon) was great to refer back to after the run. . .

Let me lay my hands upon this motor and it shall be healed and run 200mph. . . Yeah right.

Ok, Ok,  Maybe it will work better if I add more timing and take out some fuel.

And of course I need my daughter Casey to handle the controls of the car while I am doing the tuning.  With a competition license of her own, I love having

her on my team.

Burnout!

This is the beginning of the burnout. This new motor has so much power the burnouts are just a blast. When the car owner will allow I will try for a full track burnout. Got one to half track this weekend. The tires are doing about 200mph during the burnout.

This is the middle of the burnout, the car disappears in a cloud of tire smoke. By the end of the burnout I am doing about 60 miles an hour. So in reality it is like driving on ice at 100 kilometers per hour. There is truly an art to doing a good long burnout without losing control of the car. The scenery in Ashcroft is beautiful, with the mountains in the background. Photographers on the side of the track have to watch for rattlesnakes, I feel safer in the car thank you very much. I like the “V” shape to the cloud of tire smoke, caused by the exhaust out of the zoomies.

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