Hard To Not Focus On The New Car!!!

 What a good problem to have! I am having to work on the old car and not the new car,ha!

I know some of you may get tired of hearing how blessed I am but I just want everyone to understand that I am aware of the blessings God has given me!

I recently listened to a podcast done by the promoter for one of the highest paid ProMod races ever done. The race happened in early March and 62 of the best cars/drivers on earth were invited to participate. Only 32 cars were allowed to qualify for the big money race ($100,000 for the win). 

The promoter (Wes Buck) was blown away at how close the racing was and how well the event went. My friends (The Jainis’s) had one car qualify and one that didn’t make the show because of a small malfunction. They are top tier racers and had to work hard to get in the show.

Wes also talked about how many racers do not understand how blessed we are to get to do this stuff. ProMod is so unique because the cars are so quick/fast, they have a short wheelbase (squirrely to drive), have doors that open/close, look like a “real’ car, and has so many unique power combinations. That is what makes it such a fan favorite as well. Wes pointed out that there are less than 600 ProMod cars on earth that could compete at this level. The coolest thing about the race was the bottom qualifier (#32) actually won the event. From the top qualifier to the bottom qualifier there was less than 0.05 second separation. That  is crazy!

Now here is the really cool part. Traci and I own one, if not two cars capable of competing at this level. We are best friends with one of the best crew chiefs, engine builders, and driver/coaches in the world. We have a chassis from one of the best chassis builders in the world. How cool is that? The only thing missing is an experienced driver!

That could only happen because of my relationship with God. There is no way I could have put this scenario together on my own! Just saying!

As for the driver, I know I have a lot to learn but my desire and faith will get me through that. I have never failed at anything I have done and I don’t plan on failing at this either! I have a wonderful God, best friend by my side, and coaches that are second to none.

With each day that passes, we get closer to lining up next to the best racers in the world at an NHRA event on national television. Traci and I were laughing today about how nervous I will be in that first round at my first big race. How cool will that be! Hopefully I won’t mess that moment up!

In the meantime we have a long way to go. I am focusing on getting “The Resurrection Project” done first. That is a very difficult thing to do when a brand new engine and chassis are sitting there waiting to be worked on. I am staying focused, being disciplined, and working as fast as I can. ‘The Salvation Project” is just going to have to wait a little longer!

I am getting close to finishing up the chassis on “The Resurrection Project “. All of the NHRA safety updates are done on the chassis and I am currently stripping the old paint off so I can finish the chassis and start reassembling the car. The new screw supercharger is about to be shipped from the Janis’s so I can mount it on the old Hemi engine. It will replace the supercharger that is currently on it.

New NHRA legal seat pan is built and welded in the car. This protects your back side and back in the event of a crash where the car slams down hard onto the track (usually from getting airborne at high speed). It provides a barrier and crumple zone to absorb some energy before your back side hits the pavement.

Fitted to the shape of the chassis

Tack welded in with new style seat belt retention bars. These replace the old bolt in type of seat belt mounts. The straps wrap around the round tubes and are super strong!

Seat pan and two wear tubes to prevent the seat pan from wearing through from grinding on the pavement. These also crumple to absorb energy!

New carbon fiber roof panel attached with high strength permanent tabs welded to the chassis. The old panel was attached with clamps that could wear through if the car is sliding on its top and come loose. This panel is to prevent your arms from getting outside the car in a crash if the body is torn away.

Bottom view of roof panel. The ugly wrinkles are just protective film.

New carbon door panels attached according to NHRA rules.  

Inside view. Leg panels are flush to keep your legs from hitting chassis tubes in a crash. Also keep body parts inside the car

Outer edges of panels cannot be mounted with screws. They must be a slip fit to allow a safety crew to cut the roll cage cross bars from the chassis and easily remove the whole side of the chassis to get the driver out of the car. These steel tabs hold the carbon in place but it can slide out of the slots. If the carbon is attached all the way around, it is very difficult to cut the side of the chassis and get it out of the way to extract the driver.

Now I have started the dreaded and timely task of stripping the old chassis paint with a chemical stripper and lots of elbow grease. Crappy job!

Long ways to go but looks new again once you get the paint off

Looking pretty much new again

New screw supercharger and injector hat ready to make the trip to Texas. Yes, screw superchargers are ugly as can be, but are very efficient. Mine has been modified by the Janis’s to be even more efficient! World class stuff here!

The new supercharger will replace the old roots type supercharger (black parts on the upper half of the engine) on the Hemi.

Hopefully I can get “The Resurrection Project” back together when the new hub dyno arrives so we can start working the bugs out of the engine/chassis before we actually go to a track to test.

As always, thanks to Jesus, Traci, family, friends, Axis staff, the Janis family, and RJ Race Cars for making my dreams come true!

Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God”