Hey Everybody,
Sorry to disappear on you but things got crazier than I ever would have thought or for that matter, would have liked. We ended up qualifying 6th in a field of 19 cars and felt confident going into round 1 of eliminations. Round 1 of eliminations were rained out on Saturday so eliminations began on Sunday. We ran a 5.59 in round 1 to take the win, and we were all very excited as we prepared for round 2. We set the car up for round 2, where Marty left the line first. The car slowed to a 5.62, with Tony Bartone's car getting the win with a 5.54 @ 259mph. At that point, everything changed. The parachutes failed to blossom, so the car was not stopping. Marty was pulling on the brake, the car started bouncing, the end of the track was getting closer, the end of the track came, and the car went into the gravel pit and then into the catch net. Thankfully, Marty was okay. I spoke with him today, and he's gone for a run and not hurt at all. That's whats most important. The body of the racecar is badly damaged and we are going to bring the chassis down to Kurt at Pro Start Racecars in New Jersey to have it checked out. Hopefully, we'll know that the chassis is a-okay by the middle of next week. We are still working diligently to figure out our options with the body, so we can get back on the track as soon as possible. I believe we will miss the next two races on our schedule but hope to be back for the National event at Maple Grove later in the summer. From what I'm told, there is TV footage of this mishap that will air on ESPN, Sunday, June 21 @ 11am.
The most important thing about all this is that everyone is okay. This is just an unfortunate part of the sport. Don't you worry for a second, we'll be back and stronger than ever.
Will touch base again soon.
Jay
About Me
- Jay Blake
- I'm the team owner and crew chief of Follow A Dream, Incorporated. A 501 (C)3 non-profit NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car race team. A horrible industrial accident in the late 90's left me clinging to life, and left me blind and without taste and smell. Now, I'm following my dream of being the crew chief of a NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car and spreading the word of the power of self-determination and the power of positive thinking. Come along for the ride of my life in my daily blog!
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2008 Pro Start Chevrolet Impala SS
2 comments:
Glad to hear Marty is ok, it must have been very scarey. Any idea as to why the 'chutes didn't deploy???
We are still reviewing the footage. There is a high pressure area over the car and a low pressure under the car and in order for the chutes to deploy properly "good air" needs to be present at the rear of the car when the chutes deploy. This was not the case last week and is an inherent problem with funny cars. I hope this answers your question and thanks for reading the blog and have a GREAT Day!
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