HAYNES JET RACING
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News... 2011 US Tour comes to an end at Rocky Mountain Raceway, Salt Lake City, Utah Back up North to close out the Canadian 2011 season at Medicine Hat Dragstrip Back Home at Yellowstone Dragstrip in Acton, Montana The Good, The Bad at Mission Raceway at Mission,British Columbia, Canada Hot Times at Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! Way Up North to Gimli Raceway in Manitoba, Canada, eh! Fire Action in Anaconda, Montana! Good Times in Lewistown, Montana! Burner pops and Fireworks at Bandimere Speedway for the 4th of July! Up North to Saskatoon to Celebrate 45 years of Racing at SIR! Kicking off the 2011 at PCMS in Malta, Mt! It's the Start of the 2011 Season! End of the Season at Rocky Mountain Raceway, SLC, Utah - Night of Fire and Thunder | Heating it up at Perth Motorplex, Australia Could it get any better then this? What a way to spend Boxing Day, but racing at Perth Motorplex in beautiful Australia. Nobody pinch us because don't want this dream to end. December 26th found Volcano and Gravity Storm ready and eager to go after the long trip across the ocean. With Chuck and Andy at the controls, it was looking to be a great event. And you don't get much better fans then those in Perth. First round of the night at this great venue showed that the girls were wanting to run. Chuck in Volcano ran a solid 5.230 ET @ 304.05 MPH defeating Andy and Gravity Storm running a 5.654 ET @ 285.71 MPH. And the crowd went wild. Second round results are still forthcoming, but were very comparable to round one. Actual details will be posted soon. Last run of the night, and you wouldn't have wanted to miss it!! Andy again in Gravity Storm ran a 5.530 ET @ 283.10, losing to Volcano with Chuck piloting as always running a 5.196 ET @ 310.34 MPH. What a show these guys gave the fans. And again it was great catching up with old friends and making many more new ones. None of this could be done if it wasn't Gary Moichevich, Kevin Prendergast, Peter Pike and the great staff and crew at Perth Motorplex. Also thank you for all the help and hard work to Ryan, Kim as always. A big thank you is going to our Aussie help: Daryl, Julie and Sammy Treasure, Dave Green and the best sales gal out there, Robin. You are all what makes this happen. So for now, we relax, enjoy the wonderful sunshine and get ourselves all geared up to do it all again on Febuary 11th. Joining Chuck for this event will be Curt at the controls of Gravity Storm. So start making plans to "Be There, Be There, Be There!!!!!" 2011 USA Tour comes to an end at Rocky Mountain Raceway, Salt Lake City, Utah This weekend brought a close to the 2011 US season and where else would it end but at Rocky Mountain Raceway, Salt Lake City, Utah. Featured this weekend was a field of 16 jets cars, the wheelstander of Ed and Wendy Jones, couple of nostalgia funny cars, plus a full field of bracket cars. How could you not have a great time? The one thing missing was Darrin Bay and crew. We are thinking of you all: Darrin, Bill and Barry and wished you had been here. Speedy recovery Darrin! First round of the evening placed Chuck piloting "Volcano" up against Curt at the controls of "Gravity Storm". Curt as going to make the boss catch up by leaving on him first, but Chuck was not going to be defeated, running a 5.670 ET @ 285.35 MPH to Curt's 6.022 ET @ 270.02 MPH. And how about our nominee for the "Rookie of the Year"? Way to go to Sportie Bandimere for achieving your jet car driver's license. Great job! Getting ready for second run of the night, it was discovered upon inspection slight unusual engine clearances. For safety precautions, we decided to pull "Volcano" out of competition for the evening. So on the line was Curt up against "Strike Eagle", driven by Craig Eierdam. And was a great match up it turned out to be. Curt ran a solid 6.067 ET @ 264.55 MPH losing to 5.965 ET @ 267.53 MPH. A difference of .0062 ET. What a match and a positive end to the 2011 season. Good driving job as always, Curt!! Thank you to Ron, Jane and everyone at Rocky Mountain Raceway for having us be a part of this fun weekend. Thank you to Bart,Lisa and Mark for all your hard work and help. Couldn't get down the track without you guys! Now it is time to head home, regroup and get everything in top notch shape for the girls long trip overseas to Perth, Australia. The US jet's return for another season,bringing an end to 2011 at Pertht Motorplex on Dec.26th and will kick off the 2012 "" on February 11th. Back up North to close out the Canadian 2011 season at Medicine Hat Dragstrip Hate to see it coming to an end, but this was to be our last race weekend of the 2011 Canadian track season and what a good time we had. We had the fun of spending Sept. 9th and 10th weekend at Medicine Hat Dragstrip in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Chuck and Andy with "Volcano" and "Gravity Storm", would be making 1 run Friday night and 2 Saturday evening. . Friday night run under the lights was Andy in "Gravity Storm" up against Chuck piloting "Volcano". Unfortunately for Chuck, one of those darn "red light" bugs must have gotten in the way of the beam turning on the red light on the tree. Victory went to Andy at an 5.782 ET @ 277.71 MPH, against Chuck's 6.021 ET @ 284.50 MPH. Still two good straight passes. At the track Saturday, the Medic Vac Helicopter made a landing right next to the staging lanes just below our pit. This great asset to the community was rasing funds and giving a chance for someone to get a ride in the helicopter from the track to local airport and back. We are pretty sure that Chuck was one of the first in line to make his donation. But no such luck on winning the ride, yet still how cool it was to be able to talk and compare rides with the pilot and be that close when she landed and took off. What power!! Saturday night, and time for round one. And against all dis-believe another one of those dang "red light bugs" got in the way again for Chuck. We are going to have start spraying the front end of the car with Raid before the runs. Add in that the burner did not light at first hit, Chuck ran a 6.79 ET @ 281.95 MPH to Andy's winning 5.891 ET @ 271.95 MPH. Second run of the night to close out the day's event had it's own slight hiccup. The starting line crew, with safety foremost and first as should be, noticed a small fluid spot under Gravity Storm and made the choice to shut Andy down. Chuck with "Volcano" gave the fans a great show and ran a pass of 5.599 ET @ 289.04 MPH to end the day of numerous great passes by competitors in all classes. Thank you to Mike, Randy and everyone involved with Medicine Hat Dragstrip for having us as part of your weekend. You guys a great race and facility. Thank you as always to Kim and Ryan for all you do. We are getting a pretty good routine going! And with that, we say "Good Bye, Eh!" to all our friends and fans up North. 2011 has come to a close with a lot of great passes, great memories and many new friends. Stay in touch both via website and facebook: haynes jet racing..Look forward to hearing from you over the winter and seeing you all again for the 2012 race season. Back Home at Yellowstone Dragstrip in Acton, Montana What a great weekend this looked like to be. Back home this weekend to be racing out at Yellowstone Dragstrip. Joining Chuck and Curt with "Volcano" and "Gravity Storm", was Ed and Wendy Jones with their "Jelly Belly Wheel Standing Stage Coach", the "Northwest Funny Cars" and a full bracket field. The weekend started with being on display at "Burn the Point" in downtown Billings. We were joined at the display by Ed and Wendy, as well as some of the best cars to be found at Yellowstone Dragstrip on any given race weekend. This also gave us the opportunity to promote the race for Sat night and hand out numerous free tickets to the races. Then Sat. morning we were joined again by Ed and Wendy to do a display for our driver, Curt at the "Grand Fireplace Center". It was great to be able again promote the races that night as well as catch up with many good friends that stopped by to say "Hi!" After a quick reload of cars, it was time to head out to the track.
And now the fun is really getting started. Chuck behind the controls of "Volcano" and Curt strapped in "Gravity Storm", we sent out to deliver the show the fans were there to see. Curt gave it everything running a solid 5.891 ET @ 273.27 MPH, losing to Chuck who ran a 5.589 ET @ 288.77 MPH. The crowd was not disappointed judging from their reaction when we came back down the return road. Second round of the evening did not go as well for Chuck. We had the ignitor batteries die, resulting in the car shutting down. Curt and "Gravity Storm" gave the crowd a spectacular fireshow and ran a 5.833 ET @ 259.56 MPH to close out the night for us. Thank you to Denny Menholt, Dennis McKnire and the numerous staff and volunteers for putting on a great race weekend and inviting us to be a part of it all. Also, a big "Thank you" to Rick Koehn and Dave "Ollie" Scott for your help on the starting line. Could not have gotten down the track without you. To Tyler and Taylor for all your help fueling, holding flashlights, wiping tires and everything else you both did. You were both awesome. Next event, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada on Sept. 9th and 10th. Come by and say "Hi!" The Good, The Bad at Mission Raceway at Mission, British Columbia, Canada It has happened! Chuck is starting to say Eh! Guess that is what happens when you are back in Canada. Which is where we were over this last weekend.Uu at Mission Raceway in beautiful Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Joining Chuck and Andy this weekend at the track were the jet funny cars "Warhawk" with Derrick Snelson, "PraireGold" bio-deisel with Kevin Therres, the wheel standers "One Night Stand" with Rick Markam and the Jelly Belly Fire truck of Ed and Wendy Jones. Now what do you want first? The Good or Bad News? Okay, the Bad News...Gravity Storm had a bit of an issue starting, so it took a little bit of extra cranking with the batteries. This resulted with a battery post melting off at the hit of the switch starting to Volcano. So much for run #1. After a quick scramble in the pits on the batteries and a recharge, we went and attempted round #2. No glitches right? Wrong!!Again after a slow start on Gravity, Chuck did everything he could to get the car going, but alas, not enough battery charge left to get her going. Semi- disastrous night for poor Chuck. Now the good news,While she might have had a little issue in getting started, once Gravity Storm got going, she went. With Andy at the controls, round 1 was a 5.588 ET @ 286.44 MPH. And it only got better second round running the second fastest MPH in Gravity Storm history (our records of course) at 5.559 ET @ 289.48 MPH. That was great to see for both Gravity Storm as well as was an awesome run for Andy. A huge "WAY TO GO"!!!! Now it is back home to the garage to see what we can figure out the starting issues and get everything ready to rock and roll at the home track in Billings. Make sure you come over and say"Hi". We will be on display Friday night at Burn the Point, Grand Fireplace on Sat, then running at the track Sat evening. Look forward to seeing everyone. And as always, we would not again be able to do any of this without the following people to thank! To Wally, and all the staff and crew at Mission Raceway, "Thank you" for having us at your event. To Andy, Kim and Ryan for getting everything from Edmonton to the track here. And a REALLY Big "Thank you" for the scrub down on the truck and trailer. Also "Thank you" to Ed, Rick and Gavin for all the extra help during the scramble. We owe you all big time.' Hot Times at Castrol Raceway, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ! If we keep this up, Chuck will soon be talking Canadian! We are back in Canada for Hot August Nights at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. And could get very use to this flying to and from the track. Thank you again Ryan, for driving everything over from Gimli. This is always a fun mid week event and being able to catch up with a lot of friends makes it even more enjoyable. Joining Chuck and Andy, was Kevin Therres with his "Prairie Gold" funny car, Tony Franco with the "Terminal Velocity"drugstore, Brad and Heather Janie we ski with "Rollin Thunder", "Her-a-Cane" and their "Tank" and "Half Track" jet cars. Add in alcohol funny cars, a couple of wheel standers and a full bracket field, there was lots for the fans to see. Just to make it fun, first round found Andy with "Gravity Storm" up against Tony Franco with "Terminal Velocity". A good run with "Gravity Storm" of 5.901 ET @ 275.22 MPH to a quicker 5.516 ET @ 288.64 MPH. Next pair up was Chuck piloting "Volcano" running against Kevin Therres and "Prairie Gold". "Volcano" ran a 6.00 ET @ 264.39 MPH to "Prairie Golds" 6.780 ET @ 235.29 MPH. Second round of the evening this time had Andy running against Kevin. Andy again had a solid pass at 5.809 ET @ 276.83 MPH to Kevin's 6.854 ET @ 231.18 MPH. And Chuck was up against Tony this round, unfortunately coming up a little short with a 5.680 ET @ 276.75 MPH to a faster 5.497 ET @ 290.60 MPH. Weather had been skirting around us all evening and finally made her presence known at the track, resulting in losing third run. That's okay though, as the fans had gotten a great show. And now thank you's. First to Rob and Kim Reeves for having us back up again this year. To Brad, Heather and Sam for the chauffeur service from the airport and for the loan of the tracker. To Mark and Ronnie for driving all the way over from Saskatoon and the ride to the airport. To Kim, Ryan and Colin for all your help. You guy's are all the best and worked way to hard. We could not pull it off without your help. Next event, Mission Dragstrip in Mission, British Columbia, Canada. See you there!!! Way Up North to Gimli Raceway in Manitoba, Canada, eh! This was going to be a whole new adventure for Chuck as we have been invited to run at Gimli Raceway, in Manitoba, Canada. Having never been to this area of the world before, one never knows what to expect. And what a great time it was. Joining us at the track, was Andy and Kim, who at this event would be behind the controls of gravity Storm, but also maintaining a field of 4 Nitro Fueled Harley's. And something new for us with the main event being held on a Sunday-Monday. Saturday morning gave us a little time to go check out Lake Winnipeg and the town of Gimli, while we got everything refueled and cleaned up. It was their Icelandic festival in town ,so lots of unique scenery. Back at the track that afternoon, it was time to get back to work and start getting things in place for Sunday's first run. Sunday morning we woke to what promised to be a beautiful day at the races with a very enthusiastic crowd. Chuck , piloting Volcano and Andy in Gravity Storm headed to the line to give this great group of people a great show, and of course, they delivered. To the crowds delight, Andy ran a solid 5.876 ET @ 279.78 MPH while Chuck was a little ahead with a 5.457 ET @ 283.07 MPH. Second run of the day was not any type of disappointment for the fans in the stands. Chuck and Volcano wowed them with a 5.495 ET @ 294. 56 MPH. Andy seconded the show with a good run at 5.814 ET @ 275.60 MPH. Everyone that we talked to were very excited for Sunday's runs and said they would definitely be back for Monday. And they were. Monday seemed a little warmer, so Chuck and Volcano ran a solid 5.819 ET @ 286.60 MPH. And while we were laughing at the rarity of no mosquito's in Manitoba, Andy unfortunately got bit by the red light bug, so no actual ET and such, but still looked like a great run to end the day for us. After a quick trip to the airport, we had the rare privilege to fly home from an event as Ryan Batty offered to take the rig over to Edmonton for us as our next event is Hot August Nights on August 10th at Castrol Raceway. So as always, we have a ton of people to thank for helping make this event work. First to Blaine and everyone at Gimli Raceway for inviting us to be a part of this fun weekend. And a big thank you to Larry,Sandra ,Kim and Darren for all your help. Could not have pulled it of without you. And would not have made it to the airport on time without Larry and Sandra. And again, "Thank you" Ryan for getting everything over to Edmonton for us. Looking forward to catching up with everyone on August 10th in Edmonton. A good time will be held by all, we are pretty sure of that. Fire Action in Anaconda, Montana! You have got to love small town tracks. Coming off a fun weekend in Lewistown, this promised to be as much of a good time at Lost Creek Dragstrip in Anaconda, Montana. Again running one car, Gravity Storm found Chuck behind the controls for this weekend. This is an 1/8th mile track ran by some of the greatest group of volunteers. Chuck on his first pass ran a 190.91 MPH @ 4.224 E.T. Second pass on the evening was a 193.48 MPH @ 4.237 E.T. We could have been bracket racing! Thank you to Rich for inviting us to be a part of this weekend. We had a blast! Also thank you to Kevin and Tiffany for all our help at the track. Also a big thank you to everyone at the track! It was great to be back and enjoyed making a lot of new friends and fans. We have next weekend off and then head way up North to Gimli, Manitoba. This will be a first time event for us and are looking forward to it. Will keep you posted, eh! Good Times in Lewistown, Montana! "What a week!" We made it back home and had a week to get everything ready to go again at Lewistown Raceway in Lewistown Montana. We finally figured out what happened to all of our lights. Seems that where we were having some work on the trailer done, the shop accidentally pulled the wires out from the plug. So after a little research and lots of troubleshooting, we got her re-wired correctly and everything is back up and running. If you want to have a great time, Lewistown i she track to be at. Kevin would be behind the controls of Gravity Storm for this single car event. Also featured at the track this weekend was another of our drivers, Andy, but this time he was going to have his hands full with four Nitro Harley, teams. Sat afternoon was a beautiful day at the track and Kevin was able to get two solid runs down the track for his hometown. Sunday afternoon, it was decided to try to get Sylvia some more seat time. Unfortunately she had issues on her first pass running only at 199 mph and was unable to get in a second pass. Just more practice, practice needed. Thank you to Kevin, Tiffany and all of the volunteers at Lewistown Raceway. You guys run a great race track and are the best. Burner pops and Fireworks at Bandimere Speedway for the 4th of July! "What can happen next?"And we almost hate to ask the question, because the answer could scare us!! After three weeks of thrashing on the cars, we are loaded up on heading to Denver CO. to take part of Bandimere Speedway's "Jet Car Nationals and Family Festival" to celebrate the 4th of July. This has always been one our favorite weekends, for the fireworks on and off the track. And what would a trip be if something didn't happen. Just over halfway down Thursday night, we lost our trailer lights, so guess what we are working on next week! Featured with Chuck piloting Volcano and Curt in Gravity Storm, were the jet cars "Thunderbolt" & "Terminal Velocity" with Tony Franco, "Earthflight" and "Thunderstruck" driven by Mark, Stevens, "The Focus" of David Douthit's, and "Blu-By-You" driven by Scott Arriaga. Also adding to the entertainment factor was Ed and Wendy Jones, with their wheelstander. First round found Chuck and Curt pairing off. Unfortunately, the gremlins bit us and Chuck accidentally shut the car off, losing the run. Curt was able to make a solid pass, redeeming Gravity Storm after our issues in May. Second round again found this dynamic duo pairing off. Curt and Gravity Storm put down a solid run at 250.04 MPH @ 6.275 E.T. Chuck and Volcano can back with a vengeance, running a 280.02 MPH @ 5.837 E.T. Great to see these two running side by side with great passes each. The evening closed with one of the most spectacular firework displays ever seen. Thank you to the Bandimere family for again having us be a part of this cool event. And again, we have many special thanks to send out: Tom, Shane, Harry, Tyler,Les and Troy for helping us out this evening. And to Ricco, Danny and Jim for trying to figure out the trailer lights. Greatly appreciate the help. We also owe a HUGE Thank you to Redd and Rich for the new vinyl wrap look on Volcano and all your hard work in a short period of time."Taz" was a big hit!!! And another thank you to Dana for the getting the chassis repairs needed turned around so quickly. And to you, Stan for all the welding work on the replacement pipe. You guys are the reason we were able to make this event. Next event finds us close to home, heading over to Lewistown MT. Will have more news soon. Up North to Saskatoon to Celebrate 45 years of Racing at SIR! "Are we having fun yet?" Seems every trip is an adventure and this one started out the same. We had left the trailer in Malta after the previous weekend since our next event was in Saskatoon at Saskatchewan International Raceway. And would you know, the most direct route to retrieve the trailer was again under water. So after a scenic detour of 150 miles, we were able to retrieve the trailer and be on our way to be a part of SIR's 45th anniversary weekend. And would a time it was going to be. How cool to have NHRA announcer Bob Frey in the tower calling out this event with Division six track director Jonathan Adams at the track as well. This event found Chuck at the controls of Volcano and Andy piloting Gravity Storm. While the first run was a good solid pass for Gravity Storm after issues in Denver, Volcano and Chuck had a bit more of an "interesting" run down the track. The primary chute on Volcano came out shortly after launch and didn't survive long on the car with her in full afterburner. Needless to say, when Chuck pulled the levers back to shut off the car and pull the parachute, there was nothing left. The next thing Chuck saw was fence posts and cottonwood trees. Turning Volcano sideways, he put her in a slide, taking out three fence post and landing on his lid. Fortunately Chuck was fine, and once we got the car flipped over, had Chuck checked out by EMT's, it was time to access the damage. And minus two parachute canisters and a tailpipe, Volcano was still looking pretty good.
While this put Chuck out for the evening from driving, Andy again with Gravity Storm ran a great pass at 266 MPH @ 6.314 E.T. Nice to see two good passes for the night. Thank you to Skippy, Shawn and everyone at SIR for the great time. We have to give an extra special thanks to Kim, Mark,Colin, Alex, Casey and Brett for all your help in the pits and on the track. Could not have done it without you guys!Also a big thank you to the safety team and the EMT's for taking such good care of Chuck. Kicking off the 2011 Season at PCMS in Malta, Mt.! After a trip of "how are we getting home?", this one was starting to look like a "how are we going to get there?"! But Mother Nature decided to play nice, and the floodwaters receded, giving us a direct path to our next event at Phillips County Motor Sports "Hi-Line Dragstrip" in Malta, Montana. And based on our last endeavour with this nifty little town and it's great group of drag racers, this was going to be a fun weekend. Saturday kicked off with a group at the track hitting both the truck and trailer with brushes and a pressure washer so that everything looked good at the car show in downtown Malta. Thank you guys so much and how do I arrange to have this done everywhere? Just asking..... We finally get everything in place on display for one of the coolest car shows. There was everything from JR dragsters, race cars, some beautiful classics, modern sport cars and even a classic tractor display. Something for everyone. Chuck behind the controls of Gravity Storm added a little heat to the event with a fireshow teaser of what going to be seen at the track that night and Sunday. And that is where we headed next. With some thought, we decided instead to run Volcano at this 1/8th mile track. Unfortunately, while the run went great, Chuck deep staged and red lite , not giving us times for this run. But we guess about a 230 MPH run. No matter what, the crowd loved it. Back out to what was looking to be a beautiful day on Sunday!! Chuck again with Volcano, set out to make sure that we knew what the ET and MPH was going to be. And he nailed it with a 225.01 MPH @ 3.670 ET. For the many that had never seen a jet car before, they were not disappointed. Second run to close out the show was a little slower running a 208.33 MPH @ 3.953 ET. Still a pretty impressive run. This was a great weekend and we have so many people to thank. Starting with Greg, John and Jim for inviting us to be a part of this weekend. Also to Shawn, Rick, the racers and all the volunteers at the track for all the help you gave us this weekend. And Greg, you can let your buddy know, we will get that "spark plug" issue taken car of. On another note, we want to send our apologizes and get well soon wishes to a resident of Malta We are sorry we scared your dog when you came out on your front parch to listen to the fireshow. We feel so bad that he tripped you in his panic, causing you to fall, hitting your head and slicing it open. But a thank you on our behalf to the Malta Fire department that came to your aid. Hope you get feeling better soon. Next event at SIR in Saskatoon next weekend. Hopefully will be as good as this last weekend. It's the Start of the 2011 Season! Are you ready? Because we are!! Ready to get 2011 started and there is no better place to kick off a season then at Bandimere Speedway for "The Night and Fire and Thunder" in beautiful Denver, CO. After an interesting trip down,with everything from a rain, fog, snow and cold, a battery cart issue in the trailer and a lack of generator due to a dead battery, it was great to get to the track again! Saturday proved to be a busy day at the track. After a long winter, one never knows what little gremlins are waiting. And we had a couple! But none the less, Gravity Storm and Volcano, as well as pilots Chuck and Curt were soon ready to rock and roll it down the track to get this season started. Also featured this evening was "Thunderstruck", driven by Bill Decker,"Earthflight" with Mark Stevens,the Nitro Harley of Korey Hogan as well as 8 nostalgia fuel cars and a full bracket field. Lots for everyone to see and enjoy. First round of the night and the season! Would everything go without a hitch? That was the question on everybody's minds. Alas, it was not be! Chuck with Volcano ran a solid 5.914 ET @ 274.44 MPH, while Curt with Gravity Storm had a issue with the burner not lighting and ran a disappointing 10.139 ET @ 146.96 MPH. There was another one of those gremlins needing to chased down. So back to the pits it was for some quick "between rounds" troubleshooting. After throwing around a few ideas, a couple of quick double checks, and repack of parachutes we headed back down for second round. Unfortunately for Curt and Gravity Storm, the solution we thought we had wasn't the one for the problem as again we had issues with the burner not lighting, resulting in a 9.847 ET @ 162.00 MPH. Volcano picked up the pace, running 2 5.796 ET @ 282.24 MPH pass. Considering the warm night and the strong head wind, it was nice to get those two solid passes in, but still disappointing for Curt. Now for a interesting and proven long trip back home. Sunday morning started with a wake up call to let us know that I-90 from Sheridan to Hardin was closed to flooding. So down the road we went, not knowing how and which way to detour to get home. One thing about the truck and 48 foot trailer, not every secondary road is an option. Toss in a hour delay in traffic outside of Fort Collins and this was guaranteed to be a long day on the road. In the end, detoured at Casper, Wyoming over to Cody, through some major construction and finally back home to Billings. This was definitely a "Are we there yet trip"? No matter the journey, we could not do any part of it if it wasn't for all of the great people that help us all along the way. To start with, we owe a huge "Thank you" to good friends Tom Willis and Dave Scott. We never would have gotten everything loaded in the trailer if it had not been for all your help. Another big "Thank you" to the wonderful crew we have in Denver. Shane and Les, you guys are the absolute best. As well, "Thank you" to Sportie Bandimere, Tom and to the entire staff at Bandimere Speedway. You guys run and put on the best show there is and we really appreciate you having us to be there to be a part of all the fun. Looking forward to being back on July 2nd for the "Family Fun Fest" and catching up with some of greatest fans out there! Here we go. All fun and games in the garage. Gravity Storm is stripped down to bare chassis and ready to go to the powder coaters for the beginning of her make good. She will be completely rewired and everything checked over for the 2011 season. Volcano is also in the garage for a routine check over during the winter season, just to make sure everything is in top notch shape for next season. Hopefully 2011 will start off better than 2010. At this time we wanted to take a minute and say "Thank you" to everyone who helped us out this past season, We could not have made it without you guys: Curt & Greta White, Kevin & Tiffany Olson, Andy & Kim Beauchemin, Clint, Heather & Tyler, Tippy & Shawn Zezula, Mark Hendricks, Rick & Lynn Koehn, Reno, Cleo and Lakota Jaton, Darrin Bay, Billy Heresford, Shane Gadsby, Les & Keith Jackson, Stan & Jan Swenson, Lisa Haws, Bart Beck, and Alex, Matt & KC Bastian. Also the tracks and all the great staff at these facilities: Bandimere Speedway, Rocky Mountain Raceway, Catrol Speedway, Saskatchewan Raceway, Mission Dragstrip, Medicine Hat Dragstrip, Acton Dragstrip, Lewistown Raceway. You are the all the best and looking forward to seeing you again in the upcoming season. May you all have a great off season and may your 2011 start with much joy and blessings coming your way! End of the Season at Rocky Mountain Raceway "Night of Fire and Thunder", SLC, Utah Well, here it is. The end of the season and what a place to finish it out. Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt lake City, Utah for the "Night of Fire and Thunder". And what a beautiful weekend it turned out to be. Featured with Chuck piloting "Volcano" and Curt behind the controls of "Gravity Storm", were 10 other jet cars as well as Ed Jones with his wheelstander ,Nitro Harleys and a full bracket field. There was lots for the fans to see. First round of the night found Curt and Gravity Storm ready to go against "ThunderStruck" with Bill Decker. Not missing a beat , Curt ran a 5.977 E.T. @ 269.78 MPH to ThunderStruck's losing 6.186 E.T @ 249.37 MPH. Next was Chuck with Volcano going up against Darrin Bay's "Incinerator" with Barry Richter at the controls. As these two renewed their friendly rivalry, Chuck would have had tis round with a 5.429 E.T. @ 295.66 MPH to Barry's 5.531 E.T. @ 291.35 MPH. Unfortunately, Chuck left a little early resulting in a red light and the victory went to Barry. Second round of the night Curt and "Gravity Storm" were again matched up with Bill Decker and "ThunderStruck". After a short delay to clean the track and cover a broken light, they were ready to be fired up. Gravity Storm had a glitch on the starting line and Curt wisely shut the car down, unfortunately losing the run. But as always, safety comes first. After a few friendly jokes, Chuck and Barry were again matched together at the starting line. This had the possiblity of not only being the first 300 MPH, but perhaps a side by side runs in the 3's. But the red light bug hit again, only this time both drivers were bit. Chuck and Volcano ran a 5.531 E.T. @ 297.12 MPH to "Incinerator's" 5.539 E.T. @ 291.82 MPH. At the end of the night, everyone had a safe evening, the crowd was given a great show and the right for the first 300 is still up for grabs. We want to thank Ron and Jane, and all the staff at Rocky Mountain Raceway for again having us be a part of your "Night of Fire and Thunder". Looking forward to seeing you all next spring. As well, we could not have does this if it wasn't for friends like Lisa Haws, Bart Beck and Greg and Lynn Wiseman. Thank you all again for everything. Always a Good Time to race at Home - Yellowstone Dragstrip What a fun weekend this one promised to be and we were not disappointed. It is always great to race in front of the home crowd and it would not have happened if it wasn't for the support of the race track from the Menholt family. Thank you for all you all did to make this weekend happen. Also, we need to thank RimRock Auto Group for making it possible for us to get there. It was all your hard work and support in getting the truck turned around with the motor repair, that we were able to have every thing we needed for a successful weekend at the track. Sat afternoon, we were on the road out to the track. Nice to only have to drive the 15 miles from home. After getting settled in our pit, it was time to get to work and get the girl's ready for a fun night. Unfortunately, the rain god's decided to play a little havoc and send through a rain shower. Undeterred by the weather, the track was soon dry and time to head to the line. After dazzling the numerous first time fans to the track with a spectacular fire show, Gravity Storm with Curt at the controls ran a solid 6.000 E.T @ 266.06 MPH., losing to Volcano with Chuck behind the wheel, running a 5.479 E.T @ 296.63 MPH. With the challenge coming from both the fans and the track, Curt gets ready to take on the boss in round two of the night. Giving it everything that they could, Gravity Storm with Curt came up a little short of the win, running a 5.865 E.T. @ 270.70 MPH to Volcano with Chuck's 5.627 E.T. @ 289.45 MPH. It sure felt great to see both of the girls head straight down the track.
We now have a couple of weekends to get everything caught up at home, before heading to Salt Lake City to Rocky Mountain Raceway on Sept.. 25th. This is always a great time and a perfect end for the 2010 season. See you there1 Back Up North- Mission, British Columbia And here we were on the road again, all the way out to beautiful British Columbia to Mission Raceway Park on August 28th. Featured with Volcano, with Chuck at the controls and Gravity Storm with Andy, were the jet funny cars "WarHawk" with Derick Snelson and "Prairieland Bio-Diesel" with Kevin Therres at the controls. Also including the "keep em up, guy's" Rick Markham with "One Night Stand" and Ed Jones with the "Wheel Stander Stagecoach". Include alcohol funny cars, stunt bikes and a full bracket field, it gave the fans a lot to see. Following the wheel standers and the jet funny cars, first round of the night put Gravity Storm versus Volcano. And heaven forbid, we have a night without drama. Upon first hit with the battery pack, we thought that perhaps we had broke a starter. Not missing a beat, we removed the one starter and replaced it with the starter from Volcano. With the same reaction, we then determined that we had a battery go bad and was not giving the amp's that we needed to start the car. After a quick discussion, we pushed the cars back into the staging lanes, took the battery pack back to the pits and after a quick rewiring job, headed back up. Back to the starting line again, primed and ready. At the hit of the starter, we had lift off. Gravity Storm with Andy ran a 5.652 ET @ 280.19 MPH to Volcano's 5.179 ET @ 312.71 MPH. After a quick turn-a-round, we were back on the starting line to close out the show. No drama, right? Wrong! We had an issue with the starter on Gravity Storm. But again, we grabbed the starter from Volcano, plugged her into Gravity Storm and hit the switch. No issues this time. Put the starter back on Volcano, gave her some juice and she was ready to rock and roll. Aiming to set a new track record of ET and MPH, Volcano and Chuck gave it everything but came up a little short. Running a solid 5.127 ET @ 313.26 MPH, to Gravity Storm's with Andy's 5.638 ET @ 280.54 MPH. After a loading everything back in the trailer, it was time to say bye and start on the long journey home. But we have to say thanks for all your help to: Rick Cohen, for making the long journey with us; Ryan, Kim, Tippy, Shawn and Lyle for all your help with everything. None of this could happen without your help. Next event, at home at Acton on Sat, Sept 4th. We will also be on display down at "Burn The Point" Friday night, so make sure you stop by and say "Hi". Under the Northern Skies - Medicine Hat , Alberta And the luck just keeps coming and coming and none of it is good! The motor in our 2005 Chevy Kodiak is gone, and GM coporate isn't willing to help us in anyway with warranty. So much for customer service! Even when they admit that they have had issues with enjectors handing open. Thank heavens for great friends like Curt White, who willing lent us his 2001 Ford F-250 3/4 ton pick up so that we make the rest of this season's commentmints. August 21 and 22nd, found us back under Northern Skies at MHDRA in Medicine Hat, Alberta. This gave us the great opputunity to give the fans at MHDRA a great show, as well as catch up with family and friends. First round of the night found Gravity Storm with Andy in the seat, on the line against Volcano with Chuck at the controls of his girl. Running to 1000 ft, Andy ran a 5.898 ET @ 264.71 MPH to Chuck's 5.501 ET @ 241.60 MPH, due to shutting off a little earlier then planned. Second round was set for right at nightfall, so to give the fans a great fireshow. After lots of bangs and fireballs, Volcano with Chuck ran a blistering 5.415 E.T @ 290.21 MPH. As the luck continues to go on, after a bit too big of a fireshow and Andy ran out of fuel on the starting line. Not to be undetered, after a quick trip back to the pits and a fast fuel up, we headed back to the starting line. Keeping the fireshow a little smaller this round, Gravity Storm ran a it down the track, but not recieve a time. A successful night in the end We awoke to grey, rainy skies that looked to be here for awile on Sunday morning. Out to the track we went to await word and unfortunately, Sundays runs were not be. Thank you so much for all the help to: Mark - for driving from Saskatoon to give us a hand at the track, Kim and Ryan - for all your work; Alexandria and Cassidy - for the cleanest driest tires. And again, a huge debt of graditude to Curt for the use of the truck for the rest of the season. We couldn't make it without any and all of you. Next weekend finds us at Mission Speedway, in Mission, British Columbia, Canada. If weather conditions are right, this could be Chuck's chance to reset the track record. Will keep you posted. Pinks All Out - Bandimere Speedway What a trip we are having now! After running Weds night in Edmonton, we were back on the road at 2 a.m., heading for a quick pit stop at home then on to Denver to be part of Pinks All Out. This was a extremely fun event for us as it was re-uniting Chuck with good friends, Reno and Cleo Jaton. And also the revival of one of the best stunts that we have ever been a part of. Chuck with Gravity Storm was again going to pull Reno down the track behind the car, hopefully breaking their previous record of 236 MPH. Friday morning found us at the track, getting the prep work done on both Volcano and Gravity Storm , as Chuck was pulling double duty and would be making a pass in Volcano as well during the event. Always lots to be done in getting the cars ready, as well as the washing of both the truck and trailer. Add in the preparation of getting Gravity Storm ready for the pull, and it was a full day. That evening Chuck and Reno did a 1/8 th mile test to ensure that everyone involved felt that every safety measure had been taken care off. Saturday morning, we were out to the track bright and early as Chuck and Reno had been invited by Debbie Bandimere to be part of a "meet and greet" session in the tower promoting "Track Chic". This is a great program dedicated to female race fans. For more information go to www.TRACKCHIC.com As always in TV land, it is the hurry up and wait deal. After pulling down to the staging lanes, we waited for our call to the starting line. And waited, and waited, and waited. Which was all okay. It gave us all time to catch up with old friends, tell a few adventure stories and have some laughs. When we finally got the go, it was Volcano with Chuck running a single pass. Setting the gauntlet high, this dynamic duo ran a 5.535 ET @ 291.89 MPH. Following this was the jet dragsters of David Doughit and Mark Stevens. Unfortunately, Mark had a problem on the starting line and was unable to make his pass, while David ran a 6.204 ET @ 260 MPH. After a quick trip to the pits to exchange cars and pick up Reno, Cleo and crew, we headed straight back to the starting line. While we got Chuck all strapped in and ready to go, Cleo prepped Reno for the ride of his life. After a second review of their check list, we were given the thumbs up "Good to Go". But as in TV land, always need some extra drama, right? Upon the hit of the switch, we again broke a starter shaft. Without missing a beat, we grabbed the spare out of the truck, got it and place and fired Gravity Storm right up. After a short fire show, Chuck headed down the track with sparks flying from Reno's titanium plated suit. And they did it!! Chuck and Reno broke their previous record by almost 13 MPH, running almost 249 MPH. You guy's are both number 1!!!
We could not have made this trip without the help of Rick and Lynn Koehn. Thank you both for all your hard work. Also a big thank you to Shane Gadsby, Les Jackson, Curt White, and Tom. A special thank you also to the entire Bandimere Family and staff for again inviting us to be a part of such a great event. You are the best group of people to work with and more importantly, consider Friends. Next weekend we will be off to the great North again, heading up to MHDRA, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Will have more news soon. Hot August Nights in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Weds, August 11th Here we were in beautiful Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for "Hot August Nights" at Castrol Raceway. And what a journey it has been to get here to be a part of the show. After leaving Billings at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, we drove straight through to Edmonton, only stopping to change the tire that we blew on the trailer about a mile out of Shelby, MT. Once in Edmonton, it was time for 6 new trailer tires, to help make sure we made it to Denver the next weekend, a good washing of the truck and trailer, a bite of supper and finally off to bed. We awoke Weds morning all ready to go and have a great day at the races. Alas, things don't always goes as planned. First round of the evening, found Gravity Storm with Andy up against Volcano, with Chuck behind the controls. Unfortunately, at the hit of the switch, we broke a shaft in the starter. Not giving up easy, we quickly grabbed the starter off of Volcano and proceeded to try again. But as the luck continues, we then melted a post off of the new battery pack and had to miss the run. Back in the pits, Shawn worked at repairing the battery pack while the rest of the crew worked on getting the cars ready for the next run. And back to the line we went in hopes of making up the run. We were able to get Gravity Storm going, but again had battery issues before we could get Volcano lit. Gravity Storm had the possibility of a single, but as the luck continued, Andy got his glove caught on the controls and accidentally shut Gravity Storm down. Not to be undeterred, we again headed backs to the pits to do everything possible to make next round. After a quick assessment, we determined that we could not use our battery set. In steps Kevin Therres with the PrarieLand Bio Diesel Jet funny car team. He loaned us his back up set of batteries so we could make next round. Back to the starting line and thank you for the crew we had. To make things work, Mark and Shawn, after starting Gravity Storm had to carry the starter over and attach it to Volcano to start her. As this was going on, Sylvi and Rick carried over the battery set from the one car to the other. Lots going on on the starting line. Gravity Storm with Andy ran a 5.804 ET @ 267.77 MPH to Volcano with Chuck's 5.736 ET @ 280.11 MPH. Last round of the night, after a quick turn-a-round, posted Gravity Storm a 5.835 ET @ 274.72 MPH to Volcano's 5.687 ET @ 280.19 MPH. We could not have done this without the help of some very special people: Rick Koehn, who gave up a week's holidays to help us drive and worked exceptional hard both at the races and in the prep work. To Tippy and Shawn Zezula with Mark Hendricks for driving over from Saskatoon to give us hand at the track. You are all the best! Also thanks to Rob and Kim Reeves and all the staff at Castrol Raceway for having us be a part of this fun event. See you all next year! Night of Fire and Thunder Jet Car Nationals Wow, what a great weekend! July 3rd found us at the magnificent Bandimere Speedway for the "Family Fun Fest Night of Fire and Thunder Jet Car Nationals". This has always been one of our favorite events and this year looked to be as much fun as always. Along with Chuck doing double duty piloting both "Volcano" and "Gravity Storm", featured also was the "Incinerator"dragster of Darrin Bay, Bill Decker and "ThunderStruck", Tony Franco with "Terminal Velocity", Scott Ariaga in "Blu-by-U", Mark Stevens with "EarthFlight" and David Douthit with the "California Smoky". Also, Ed Jones with his "Jelly Belly" fire truck wheelstander, top fuel bikes and a full bracket field gave the fans lots to look at and see. First round matched Chuck in "Gravity Storm" against Bill Decker in "Thunder Struck". Considering the warm conditions and the altitude of the track, Chuck laid down a solid 6.204 E.T. @ 261.57 MPH. After leaving the car at the top end and a quick trip through the pits back to the staging lanes, Chuck was back behind the wheel of his girl, "Volcano" going up against Tony Franco with "Terminal Velocity". Not to be outdone, Chuck ran a 5.689 E.T. @ 285.77 MPH to Tony's 6.130 E.T. @ 236.88 MPH. Second round of the night found "Gravity Storm" up against Darrin Bay's "Incinerator". Darrin decided to sit out a round, so instead we found Barry Richter behind the controls. Unfortunately, we had to forfeit the round as we broke a starter shaft. Last run of the night was to feature the two fastest cars from round one to close out the show. This found Chuck in "Volcano" going up against Scott Ariaga in the "Blu-by-U" dragster. Chuck ran 5.633 E.T @ 286.80 MPH, unfortunately running a single as Scott blew a fuel line on the starting line and had to be shut down. Thank you to John, Sportie and the entire Bandimere family for including us to be a part of this great event. Special thanks to Tom for always taking such good care of us, and to all the Bandimere employees for your professionalism in all areas. And we could not do this if it wasn't for the help of Shane Gadsby, Les and Keith Jackson. Also a big thank you to Tyler for all your help in getting ready to go to Denver as well as for at the track. We could not have made it without the help of Billy Hosford and Darrin Bay in getting the motor fixed and returned to us in such a quick manner. Also a big thank you to David "Ollie" Scott in the garage getting the motor back in the car and everything re-connected. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for great friends like you! Now, we have time to get things back together, regroup and get ready for our next event. We will keep you posted and remember, check us out on facebook! On another note, we have had some email issues. Our friends and fans are one of the most important things to us. If we have not answered you back, please resend. You are the reason's we are able to and do what we are able to do!
Newest Crew Member Has Arrived Izzie arrived this afternoon at 430 pm. Heather and Izzie are both doing great! What an absolute blessing to this season.7lbs, 11 ozs of beautiful baby girl! Poppa now has a new fan Congrats to Clint, Heather, Tyler and Raylee on the new addition. Love and Blessings to you all and we are so proud of our precious new member. Wow, is great to be able to let everyone know how this year has started out. So far we are slightly better than the bang we started the 2009 season out with, but not by much. First event of the season found us in Denver at the beautiful Bandimere Speedway for their seasoner opener on May 15. It was great to catch up with everyone after the busy off season.This was a one car event, so for a change, we found Chuck in the pilot seat for Gravity Storm. Unfortunately the night did not go off as we had hoped, as she would not fire up first round. A quick trip back to the pits, we tried everything we could think of, but again, we were unable to make second round. After a long trip home, we found that we had an electrical short with an ingintor wire. Thank you again to all the fans, whom had offered their support that night and since. You are the best part of everything. Also, a great big thanks to the Bandimere family and the great staff at Bandimere speedway for again having us be part of your night. Special thanks to Shane, Les and Keith Jackson and to Tom. It was great to see you all again and are looking forward to the chance to redeem ourselves on July 3rd. Back home, finished getting Volcano ready as the next event is Rocky Mountain Dragstrip in Salt lake , Utah on Memorial weekend, May 29th. Gravity Storm, with Curt White back behind the controls showed everyone what she could do. Running against Tony Franco in Terminal Velocity in the second round, Curt laid down a solid 5.585 ET @ 269.86 MPH, out ET'ing Tony by a good tenth. Awesome job, Curt! Unfortunately, we didn't have a time slip from the first run. That was the good news...now the other have of the story. Volcano, with Chuck at the wheel, came down to the line for her first run of the evening. That was a far as she went. The electrical goblins got us again, causing her to shut down on the starting line. We again tried everything we could think of in the pits between rounds, but could not find the problem. Upon inspection when we got home, it was a bad ground. But the other news is that we had a problem with the motor and it will have to be pulled when we get home. This has to be it, right? Again, big thanks to Ron and Jane and the staff at RMR for having be a part of the event. Also a thanks to Bart Beck and Lisa Haws for all your hard work. Could not have done it without you. Next event found us at Saskatchewan International Raceway on June 5th. Unfortunately, Chuck is going to have sit this one out, but gave him the chance to be on the starting line with Haynes Racing newest driver Andy Beauchemin for his first event since licensing last fall. The weather gods played havoc with the day, having a short shower come through. For safety reasons, the track officials decided for first run to only go to the 1000 foot, so the run results aren't near what Andy and Gravity Storm would be able to show. Second run, Andy ran a 6.052 ET @ 266.32 MPH. Thank you again to SIR Board and the staff for having us be a part of this event. Also big thanks to Kim Beauchemin, Alexandria, Matt and Casey Bastian for all your help in the pits. You all did great! It was fun to be able to check up with everyone, both friends and family. Next event will be one car. Gravity Storm with Kevin Olsen at the controls at Lewistown dragstrip on June 19th. Will have more details soon... Haynes Jet racing is now on Facebook
Hey Everyone! Haynes Jet Racing is now on
Facebook. We would love to hear from friends, fans and racers. 2010 is
looking to be a great year and we look forward to being able to share with
everyone.
As this years racing season has come to a close, we want to take a chance to say "Thank you" to so many for all your help and support both at the racetrack and at home. We could not have done this past year without you:
Also to the great tracks:
...... and to the great staff and crew who work so hard to give us these great places to run safe and fast. We had chances to set new records for both track MPH and ET this year. There have been many people who have not only become new fans, but good friends throughout this year. Thank you to the safety crews who are always there, and thankfully, this is another year completed where we didn't need you! And may there be more to come. Through out the off season, we have many plans for the girls. Staying home for the first time in 15 years, the girls will be going through extensive make overs. We will keep you posted on the progress. Haynes Racing Announces a New Driver - Andy Beauchim Oct 17th and 18th found the team in Lewistown, Mt. to license Andy Beachim in Gravity Storm. This is the hardest license to obtain with NHRA as is consist of 12 passes, done in three sessions over two days. Now that's a lot of driving, a 1/4 mile at at time. After a quick lesson and a blindfold test, Andy was strapped in and ready to give it a go. The first set of passes are with out burner, to give driver time to get use to the controls and the cars. Time to light her up on Sunday. Conditions were a little cooler at the track and Gravity with Andy at the controls ran very consistent runs varying from 245 to 251 MPH in the 6.50 ET range for the qualifying burner power runs. Congrats to Andy for all the hard work in reaching this goal. Now let's see what the futures bring. Special Thanks to Kevin Olson and everyone who came out to LDRA to give us a hand. You guys are greatly appreciated.
Sat, August 26th found us back at Rocky Mountain raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah for the final event of the season. And what a show this was going to be. Featuring at this event was: Volcano: Chuck Haynes Gravity Storm: Curt White Incinerator: Barry Richter Rollin Thunder: Brad Janishewski Her-a-Cane:Heather Janishewski The Tank: Joe Brown War Wagon: Steve Cooke Silver Fox: Bruce Andrews The Beast: Jeff Atamian Earthflight :Mark Stevens California Smoky: David Douthit Thunder Viper: Terry Rosberg Terminal Velocity: Tony Franco Rocky Mountain Thunder: Ken Marley Thunderstruck: Bill Decker and if that wasn't enough, Ed & Wendy Jones with the Jelly Belly Wheelstander. Add in a full bracket race and there was more than something for everybody in this show. First round of the night found Curt piloting Gravity Storm up against the "Boss", Chuck with Volcano. Curt left the line first, running a 6.478 ET @ 243.37 MPH. Unfortunately, Chuck came around him running a solid 5.460 ET @ 296.40 MPH. Second round placed Curt and Gravity Storm up against Terry Rosberg with the Thunder Viper dragster.Curt ran a solid 6.345 ET @ 261.55 MPH to a losing 6.046 ET @ 259.96 MPH, as Terry redlight on the starting line by -.180. Chuck was lined next to Barry Richter in the Darrin Bay owned dragster "Incinerator". Barry ran a 5.670 ET @ 282.57 MPH, while Chuck unfortunately ran out of fuel and ran a 25.156 ET @ 19.50 MPH. One day, we promise you, we will beat the curse and get the 300 MPH pass. Thank you to Ron and Jane, for having us again be a part of this event. As well as to all the staff at Rocky Mountain Raceway. It is all your hard work that makes this event so enjoyable for both the fans and the racers. Also a big thank you to Bart Beck and Lisa Haws for all your help. Could not have done this event with out you. Looking forward to seeing everyone next spring.
Sept 19th found us only 15 miles from home, at the Huntley,Mt. "Last Chance Car Show". It looked to be a beautiful day and it always fun to be able to do an event in support of a project close to home. Approxiamately 55 classics parked on the grassway of the Huntley Musuem, giving local car enthuasiats a great variety. There was definitely a little something for everyone. Thank you to Bill and the members of the board at the Huntley musuem for inviting us out to be a part of this event. Next stop, Salt lake City, Utah to Rocky Mountain Raceway on August 26th. Tthis is the last stop for the year and is always a lot of fun with approx. 14 of the best jets in North America, all going after bragging rights. Look forward to seeing you there. Way up North to Medicine Hat, Alberta Sept 12th and 13th found us back up North in Medicine Hat, Alberta at MHDRA. This promised to be a fun weekend, being able to catch up with family and friends, as well as the possibility of a new track record. First round Sat night did not quite go off as well as we had planned. Kevin, behind the controls of Gravity Storm, had a slight fuel leak on the starting line and for safety reasons, needed to forfeit the run. Chuck, piloting Volcano, did not want to leave the fans disappointed. After a magnificent fireshow, Chuck ran a 5.249 ET @ 301.00 MPH. And the crowd went wild!!! After a quick turnaround and a small fix, we were back at the starting line. Kevin,again at the controls of Gravity Storm,and Chuck in Volcano, gave the cheering crowd a great fireshow. Kevin ran a 6.201 ET @ 202.91. Chuck ran a 5.419 ET@238.49 MPH. It was a big sigh of relief to see Gravity coming down the track without a problem. Sunday morning, we were back at the track to open the show. Strapping in on the starting line, the guys were pumped by the crowd yelling and cheering, and we hadn't even started the car yet! Chuck, with Volcano and Kevin in Gravity Storm, again gave the crowd a great line show followed with Chuck running a 5.409 ET @ 228.52 MPH. Kevin ran a 6.385 ET @ 239.86 MPH. Way to go guys!! After a quick crew discussion and approval from the track, we decided that we wanted to do a adjustment on the car and run a "jet car test and tune pass. Chuck, behind the controls of Gravity Storm, brought her up to power on the line. Again, remembering this was a test and tune ran, Chuck gave the fans a great line show, but shut off early running only a 6.809 ET @ 141.46 MPH. Thank you to Randy and all involved with Medicine Hat Dragway. You run a great race and facility. Also, a big thanks to Mark Hendricks, who drove all the way from Saskatoon to give us a hand. We couldn't of done this weekend with out you. Next event find us close to home at the Huntley,Mt. "Last Chance Car Show". Stop by and say "Hi". Sept 5th found us out at Billings Motorsports Park for something a little different. For the first time in Billings, Chuck with Gravity Storm is going to start a little fire.......and incerinate a Cadillac. Yep, that is correct, we are going to do a car burn and cook that caddy! Down to the infield of the circle track, we backed Gravity Storm in to place and chained her together to the front of the cadillac. A quick hit of the switch and the motor starts winding up. Let the fun begin. A few fireballs and a couple of bangs later, we had the car in full flames. It was a real pretty thing to see. The hood had completelyblown off and there was a couple of pretty good bangs when the front left tire and the air bags blew. Special thanks to RimRock Auto Group for the donation of the car. As well to Sly, Les and everyone out at Billings Motorsports park. Also, a big thank you to Heather and Clint Parker, Rick Koehn,and Dan and Casey Volk for all your hard work to make this event the sucess that is was. Next stop will be Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada on Sept 12 and 13. Looking forward to seeing you there. On the Road Again.....To Mission, B.C., Canada August 29th and 30th found us back up North at Mission Raceway in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. After 17 hours in the truck, it was great to see the sign pointing to the track. This great facility promises to let Volcano and Chuck lay down some good times. Joining us at the track was Derrick Snelson with the WarHawk jet funny Car, Twig Zeigler with The Pizza Haven Nostilgia Nitro funny car, and the two wheelstanders of Rick Markham and Ed Jones. Volcano with Chuck behind the controls went up against Gravity Storm with Kevin Olsen for the first run of Sat night. Kevin laid down a 6.104 ET @ 257.21 MPH, while Chuck ran a new track record of 5.139 @ 312.82 MPH. And the crowd went wild. And there was oh so much more to come. Second run of the night, Gravity Storm had a problem with the afterburner and only ran a 7.957 ET @ 155.92 MPH. Volcano again showed off what she had and ran a 5.003 ET @ 314.57 MPH. So close to the 4 sec mark, but still a new track record. Sunday morning, the sun is shining and it looked to be another beautiful day at the races. Chuck with Volcano started the day with a solid pass of 5.134 ET @ 314.02 MPH. Kevin in Gravity Storm, after some quick repairs, ran a 5.999 ET @ 261.47 MPH. Last run of the weekend, Volcano and Chuck again left no question as to who is the badddest hot rod out there with running a solid 5.169 ET @ 312.17 MPH. Gravity Storm and Kevin came off the line to run a 6.106 ET @ 258.76 MPH. Thank you to Wally and everyone invovled with Mission raceway. You guys have one of the best ran facilities from the starting line, the tower and all the way down to the consession stand. Also a big thank you to Rick Koehn, for making the 17 hour trip with us. Could not have done it without you. As well thanks to Andy and Kim for all your help. Next event will be something different for us. We will be performing at home at Billings Motorsports Park on Sept 5th. Come on out and check out the fun.
August 12th found us back under the Northern skies in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for Hot August Nights at Castrol Raceway. This promised to be a fun filled evening of smoke and fire. Chuck with Volcano and Curt behind the controls of Gravity Storm were primed and ready to take on the other 6 jet cars for the evening. Featured as well were Heather Janiewsheski in the Her-A-Cane dragster, Brad Janiewsheski with the Rollin Thunder funny car, Steve Cooke with the jet half track, Derrick Snelson with WarHawk funny car, Bryan Ford with the NiteHawk funny car and Kevin Therres with the Prairie Gold funny truck. Fiilling out the show were Alcohol funny cars, harley nitro bikes and a wheelstander, as well as full bracket field. Defenitley something for every fan in the house. First round was Curt in Gravity Storm ready to give Chuck (the boss) with Volcano everything he could. Running a solid 6.218 ET@ 245.09 MPH, Curt gave the fans a great show, but came up a little short to Chuck's 5.274 ET @303.23 MPH. Second round of the evening again found us in the battle of Gravity Strom against Volcano. Again, Curt gave it everything. Gravity Storm ran a 6.158 ET @ 260.11 mph, to Volcano's 5.534 ET @ 287.35 MPH. Last run of the night and we are ready to get this show going. Unfortunately, for the track, they had an issue in the right lane and had to shut it down leaving the rest of the evening running singles in the left lane. Safety must always come first. Fifth jet car of the round, Kevin Thierres with the "Prairie Land" jet truck had an problem on the top end reuslting in the vehicle crashing. Thanks heavens for the safety equipmrnt that the drivers are requiered to wear and for the car requirements, as it was great to see Kevin walking around the pits an hour later. Special thanks to Rob and Kim Reeves for inviting us to be a part of this fun event. Also a big thank you to Tippy and Shawn Zezula and Mark Hendricks for all your help. You guys are the best!!! Next event will find us in Mission, British Columbia, Canada on August 27th. More news to follow....... Home Track Racing in Lewistown Montana July 11th found us in Lewistown, Montana. This is the home track of driver, Kevin Olsen and what a fun weekend this promised to be. We were able to chain the car down on their burn out pad, and after a few turns of the wrench, Chuck was able to get the fuel control set up and ready for the run. Kevin, piloting Gravity Storm was ready to go and give the home crowd a show unlike anything they had seen before. First run of the afternoon, Kevin laid down a solid pass for the hot afternoon conditions. Later that evening, Kevin and Gravity Storm followed it up with another great display of fire and thunder with a suceesful run down the track. All around a successful afternoon, but still more fun to come. Sunday afternoon, back to the track to open their show. Kevin, back again with Gravity Strom opened the afternoon of racing with a good run. All in all the weekend showed that Gravity Storm is back and as good as new, leaving the weekend with a best run of 6.50 ET @ 271 MPH. It was a great afternoon to be able to catch up with some old friends and to make some new. Special thanks to Kevin and Tiffany Olsen, as well as the Lewistown Drag Racers Association for inviting us to be a part of your weekend. As well, thanks for all your help to Rick Koehn and Andy and Kim Beauchem, who travelled all the way down from Edmonton, Alberta, Canade.. Next event is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on August 12th for "Hot August Nights". Look forward to catching up with everyone there. Ard i hope everyone has their calendars marked for the "A Storm is Coming" event at Billings motorsports park on Sept 5th.This will be a great weekends of cars, fire and thunder in Billings. Don't miss a moment of the weekend!!
July 4th found us back at Bandimere Speedway for the Jet Car Nationals- Family Fun Fest" in beautiful Denver, Co. This is always such a fun event as you met so many people who have come to the dragstrip for the very first time, and after they see the jets, they are hooked for life. Featured at tonights event is Chuck pullind Double duty piloting both Volcano and Gravity Storm. Also pulling a double was Tony Franco, driving Terminal Velocity and Al Arriga's Blu-By-U. Rounding out the show was the husband/wife team of Brad and Heather Janieshewski with Rolling Thunder Funny car and the Her-A-Can dragster. The rain gods threw in an afternoon rain shower, but it wasn't long until the clouds cleared,Special thanks to the guys at the starting line for getting the track dried and re-prepped so quckly. First Round was Brad and Heather. Unfortunately Brad had a mis-function and Hearther ended with a single pass. Chuck with Volcano lined up against Tony with Blu-By-U. Tony ran a solid 5.748 ET @ 278.46 MPH, but lost the round as Chuck laid down a 5.549 ET @ 293.22 MPH. After a quick turnaround, we were headed back to the starting line. Again first up was the Janieshewski's. As luck of the day would have it, this time Brad ended up with the single pass as Heather had some minor problems on the starting line.Facing off for the second time of the evening was Tony with Terminal Velocity against Chuck with Gravity Storm. Chuck unfortunately came up of the losing end of this match. Toss in an awesome display of fireworks, and it was a great evening to be had at the races. Thank you to the Bandimere Family:John Sr, Sporty and to all involved in this great facility. It was a pleasure to be invited to be a part of this event and can't wait until next year. Special thanks to our crew: Shane Gadsby as well as Les and Keith Jackson. We couldn't have done it without all your hard work ,especially in getting the girls back in the trailer for the long trip home. Next trip is to Lewistown, Montana on July 11th. But now for the big news! Please mark your calendars for a big show on Labor Day Weekend. Satuarday, Sept 5th will find us at Billings Motor Sports Park. Gravity Storm wil be burning a car to the ground. It is a sight to see! Thanks to RimRock Auto Group and Barnett Optical for sponsoring this unigue event. It is unlike anything you will have ever seen before, so make plans to be there and not miss it. And make sure to come and say "Hi". See you then!!!!
On the road again, heading up North to Saskatchewan International Raceway in Saskatoon, Saskatechewan, Canada. And what a trip it has been. We headed out on Thursday afternoon after spending a fun couple of days with friends, Chris and Wendy, all the way from Perth Australia. We have spent the last couple of weeks working on Gravity Strom to get her ready for this weekend. Thanks to Heather and Clint Parker, Stan Swenson, Joe Zaccoro, Tim Arfons as well again to Bill Heresforf and Darrin Bay. We couldn't have done it without all your help. And a very interesting trip it has been. We had a little issue at the border causing us to take a 400 mile detour to get across. But we made it. This is a favorite event as this is Silvi's home track and it always fun to catch up with family and friends.Along with Chuck and Curt White, were Kevin Therres with the "Prairie Gold" jet truck and Rick Markham with the "One Night Stand" wheel stander.
The Latest News .......... Are we having fun yet???? In case your keeping track, the answer would be NO!!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts go to Darrin and Leah Bay as well as to Billy Hersford and Allen for getting the motor back together and shipped back home. It is due to arrive by Mon or Tues, the 8 or 9th of june. You guys are the best. Now, all the funs begins here at home in the shop. We will be slaving away in the shop putting the motor back in, getting everything rewired back together and figuring out the fuel control issues that have been Australia. All this will be done so that we can ready to go to Saskatoon for June 26th. Hope to see you all there at the races. This is always a fun event as this is Silvi's home track. Talk to you all soon......... The Adventures of Running a Jet Car Team Are we having fun yet???? After a successful evening at Rocky Mountain Raceway it was an early morning start to Portland, Oregon to meet with Darrin and Leah Bay to drop of the motor of Gravity Storm to have rebuilt. Darrin and Billy Hersford are going to go over her with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything is in top notch shape for Saskatoon. Afetr we drop the motor off and a quick visit, it is time to start the long trip back to Billings to be home by late Monday evening. Upon completetion of the rebuild, Darrin will get the motor shipped back to Billings were the fun starts again. Having to be packed up and ready to go by the24th, there won't be a lot of time to get the motor back in the chassis. But as things must be done, and done right, there will be some long evenings in the garage. Again, will keep you posted as things progress with the repairs. So Close and Yet So........ May 23rd found us in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah at the "Jet Car Spring Nationals" at Rocky Mountain Raceway. Participating at this year event with Chuck were Heather Janieshewski in "Her-A-Cane" dragster, Brad Janieshewski with "Rollin-Thunder" funny car, Jeff Atamian with "The Beast" dragster, Ken Marley with the "Rocky Mountain" funny car and Tony Franco with the "Terminal Velocity" dragster. Rounding out the show was Ed Jones with the Jelly Belly wheelstander. All this with a full bracket field promised the fans a fun filled evening of drag racing. Chuck was primed and ready to get the first 300 by a jet car at Rocky Mountain Raceway, if only the weather would cooperate. Behind the controls of "Volcano", Chuck was paired up against Tony Franco for a rematch from Denver. Tony gave it a good show by running a 6.079 ET @ 263.92 MPH, but was a little short against Chuck's 5.515 ET @ 292.30 MPH. Let the rivalry live for another match. Which would come around for next round as agin it was Terminal Velocity against the Volcano.
Next race is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on June 26th at SIR. But there is still the adventure of Gravity Storm. Will keep you posted on all the fun.
After a long journey across the seas, the girls "Volcano" and "Gravity Storm" were safely tucked back into their trailer to head home to Bilings for a quick regrouping and then it was off to the races..... May 16th, race day is finally here, the kickoff to the North America portion of the "Force be with Us tour-2009" and with great excitement we head off to Bandimere Speedway in beautiful Denver Co. This is always one of our favorite places to go, not only for the facility that the Bandimere family run but also for all the many friends and fans that we get to touch base with again after a long winter. Alas, the evening did not go exactly as planned. First run found Chuck back behind the wheel of "Volcano". Proving that he always on his game, Chuck cut an 0.010 reaction time ending with a 5.540 ET @ 282.13 MPH. Next to the line was "Gravity Storm" with Curt White at the controls. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as hoped. "Gravity Storm " was unable to get above 30% on startup and we had to lose the run. Back to the pits for a quck turn around and a little mechanical work, we are ready to head back to the starting line with "Gravity Storm". This time we were able to get past the starting issues and thought everything was going strong. Curt did a spectacular fire show for the fans and was heading in to stage the car to give it everything against his oppenent, when all hell broke lose, And we do mean literally broke lose. Following a unplanned fire show, the first stage turbine wheel had a problem and proceed to take apart the car motor from the inside. Chuck came back to line for the finale of the Chicago style face off. Again, Chuck laid down a 5.546 ET @ 291.63 MPH with another great reaction time of 0.048 . We do want to thank the Bandimere Family: John SR, "Sporty" and families for inviting us to be a part of event, As well as to "Tom" and all the staff at Bandimere Speedway. And "Thanks" again to everyone for your help at the races: Les Jackson, Keith Jackson, Shane Gadsby and Bobby Nickerson. And a big "Thanks" to all our fans who come to the races. You are all the reason why we are able to do what we do. Next event will be on Sat May 23rd at Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chuck and "Volcano" are primed and ready to give the fans a great show. Look forward to seeing you there.
Welcome Down Under – Perth
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