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SDBA - San Angelo, Tx. Race # 2 (June 26-28-2009)Pictured is your TFH-Winner Speed Sports!
Runner up was...TFH Hot Licks
#1 qualifier in TFH Problem Child 4.89 @ 233 and Daryl had to click it off just before the 1000ft.
Top Speed goes to TFH Liquid Quicker with a fine 239 & Change!
Friday's Show & Shine was Awesome! & when all the boat's started up at the same time...Very Cool !!! Major S/F Thumbs Up~
Racing on Sat. & Sunday was great but...Very HOT! But...it is summer in Texas!
Man...Both sides of the shore-line was jammed with on lookers, even from the houses a-long the shore-line~ It looked as if all of Texas came out to watch this event. 120 race teams showed up to do there part on putting on a fine race! I have to agree~~~Nothing But Class!! is what took place this weekend between SDBA & the fine city of San Angelo. This is one of the racing events that needs to be on everyones calender...Racer,Spectator Sponssors Etc. ;-)
As you will see as you look through my photos there was a ton of action and fine racing all weekend...Best of all~~~Was the only time Rescue went into the water was to cool themselves off from the heat and maybe a little relief :-)))
I spent all day on Sunday on a lift about 70-80ft. in the air with my partner John capturing some Very Awesome shots! that I hope many of you will enjoy especially the racers since this angle does not come around often! The right lane boat often came under me, which made for awesome photography...and did~I Loved It ;-)
That is the reason I have decided to add many more photo's than normal...keep in mind I have over 1300 photos left in my file.
With that said you driver's, owners, team-members & fans can order much more than what you see that is on this photo page! ;-)
Please keep in mind the photo's that you are looking at are in Very Low Res. cut down 95%...At full res. they are perfectly clear & can be blown up to poster sizes!
You can click on the photo's to in-large and leave comments too! Have fun with them, All I ask is keep it respectful ;-)
Special thanks to Jenni for supplying the crane on the top-end which supplied the opportunity to take this rare angle and out-standing photographs ;-)
There was also 4 or 5 women drivers this weekend...which just may be a Record~?
2-of which are in there teens~~~
Since...I was up on the crane all day Sunday I was not able to hear the ET & MPH's..So check in on SDBA, Dragboat Racing.com & The Alley for round by round action results ;-)
Once again my hat goes off to SDBA & San Angelo for a great event...I hope that next year more of the top guns in many of the pro-classes can make it out...example 2-TAH's is a sad effort.
I want to add what a great effort by Eddie Knox to make it all the way out to Texas with his Hotrod on such a low budget & pulling off a great show with 3-in a row amazing passes! and the rest of the TFH's as well for putting on a great show with some of the best ET's & MPH of the season thus far, including the rest of the Pro-Classes & Sportsman~~~
Pro-Mods...You guys are awesome with 20 of you that showed up again! ;-)
I got the corny idea to do a short story of my buddy Scotty...on one of his passes in the TFH Spirit of Texas, Photos...#146-168 It was a never ending Wild ride which Scotty...Danced, Harponed, Shreaded, and almost mowed the lawn all in one pass! Well-Scotty after looking at the series of photo's I could not help it...Man I tell you this could very easy turn into a comic strip scean which is not a bad idea for Bev.s paper~? what do you all think of that idea~?
Start off as a half page~?
It would be Fresh & Humorus :-)
I hope that in the near future...Lucas Oil will consider taking a serious look at SDBA & have there event's filmed for TV.
I can tell you once you attend a SDBA event you WILL come back for more!! ;-)
NOTHING BUT CLASS!!!!!
If anyone wants to contact me you can do so at... speedfreak439@yahoo.com or captainjtd1960@yahoo.com
I am sorry to say that my card reader with all of the show & Shine failed me & the pics are gone! :-(
I am very Sorry about that!!
See you in Ft. Worth, Tx~~~
S/F ;-) |
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Lose of a dear friend to us all... (June 20-21-2009 SLDBA)Pictured is Jim Tucker a few weeks ago in Oklahoma City Race.
Jim passed away in a incident in his awesome looking~P/E Say When...while racing in St. Louis, MO. SLDBA event on Creve Coeur Lake.
Here is an artical from the local paper...
Drag Boat Drivers Remember Friend Killed In Weekend Race
June 22, 2009
St. Louis Drag Boat Association...
A Texas man died after crashing his boat at the St. Louis Drag Boat races at Creve Coeur Lake in Maryland Heights this weekend. It happened about 4:30 Saturday afternoon. The races went on as scheduled Sunday, minus one of the circuit's best drivers, Jim Tucker, 52, of Kingsbury, Texas.
"He was one of my best friends," said drag boat driver, Greg Carr, choking back tears. Carr said he and Tucker became very close, racing and traveling together for events across the country.
"We all got together and went out to eat Friday. He said, 'man I'm ready to go Red Lobster'. I did get to buy him his last meal. Yeah, we're going to miss him," Carr said.
Tucker won the World Championships in his class in Arizona last year. His wife, Yvonne, told Fox 2, he'd been racing boats since 2003.
Investigators weren't sure what went wrong Saturday.
Witnesses said Tucker's boat teetered or "chime walked", then went into the water nose-first, ejecting Tucker, who died after suffering multiple broken bones and head trauma.
Police said accidents this severe were rare in boat racing, even with drivers typically reacing speeds near 150 mph.
"It is uncommon to actually have accidents out there," said Maryland Heights police lieutenant, Mike Klos. "The majority of the time when they do, they're not overly serious ones."
"He died doing what they loved," his wife told Fox 2.
She was there when rescuers brought him out of the water. He was bleeding, so badly he couldn't communicate. Someone said he was struggling to breathe, she said no, he was trying to talk to her. She seemed pretty certain about that.
Before Sunday's races, the other drivers prayed for Tucker's family and the safety of everyone involved in drag boat racings.
They took up a collection for Tucker's wife.
The two had no children. "Just 10 dogs," she laughed.
"We're all like family here," said Raffael Saleca, a driver and Vice-President of the St. Louis Drag Boat Association which sponsored the event.
He said the races went on as scheduled Sunday partly in tribute to Tucker.
"That's the way Jimmy would have wanted it. Make no mistake. That's the way Jimmy would have wanted it," he said.
"We're all going to miss him," Carr said, crying. "I know he's up in heaven somewhere looking down on us, saying, 'go'."
An organization called RESP, Racers Emergency Response Program, donated $5000 toward funeral expenses.
Copyright © 2009, KTVI-TV
All of...US wish the intire Tucker family & friends our heart felt prayers~~~
REST IN PICE JIM! You are in good company in Gods hands and the rest of the racing fella's up there ;-)
Special Thanks to DRAGBOATRACING.COM for a copy of this artical.
Joe S/F Dutra |
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SDBA - Oklahoma City Race # 1 (June 5-7-2009)Pictured is Daryl Ehrlich taking the win in Robert Mills TFH-Disorderly Conduct.
It was great to see Daryl back driving again where he belongs! The man is one of the best drivers in the sport.
Rumor has it that Daryl may be driving The TFH Problem Child in San Angelo,Tx. in a few weeks~~~
In TAH Mike Robbins in his awesome looking "BLOWN To The BONE" took the win!
In TAF...All Lite Up took the win over Don's Habit Forming...Don Red Lite!
Don in his HABIT FORMING made three straight passes showing that a TAF can fly with-out crashing!
On Sat. SDBA did a fine job of keeping the race going with the eliminator classes due to the wind blowing most of the day.
By 5pm on Sat. the call went out for the pro-classes which one pro class round was completed.
The TFH show was all Disorderly Conduct! The remainder of the TFH's found themselves dealing with minor issues that kept them from making passes down the track.
The new race course location was great for spectator viewing...the Sat. crowd was large numbers that filled the bank for a mile ;-)
Sunday mother nature was still blowing but not as bad that took place on sat.
In all SDBA pulled off the race in fine style, and with the wind acting up often...Team Recue enjoyed watching three days of racing without no racing incident's, which made for a perfect safe weekend of racing ;-)
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NJBA - Lake Elsinore,Ca. Race # 2 (May 30-31-2009)Hello Everyone,
Well...I have to say that NJBA put on a great event again this weekend, with a great boat turn out! and the spectators came out in large numbers!
I am sure that when all is said & done and the final tally is in...NJBA will be very satisfied with the out-come!! ;-)
I would have to say that the town of Lake Elsinore should be very glad with the addition of having drag-boat racing and the amount of money that is spent by the racers and visiting fans!! Which in todays economy should be welcomed with open arms by many of the towns business owners.
There were 2-TAH's that showed up to play...Mike Fry's Mean Streak & World Champ Kent Prices Black Draggin.
These two are fast becoming the sports Ted Faggart & Tim Stokes rivalry of past years!
There was also a few TAF's & Pro-Mods as well...The sportsman classes came out in full force which provided great racing all weekend.
On Sunday the event went off like a fine tuned watch~~~Between NJBA & the racers the fans were treated to a great event!! :-)
S/F ;-) |
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IHBA-LUCAS OIL Phx. Az. Race-1 (April 24-26-2009)Hello Everyone!
Well here we are Finally!! the first IHBA/LUCAS OIL Series event race of 2009!
There are 6-TFH's in attendance
SPEED-SPORTS, HOT LICKS, TOXIC ROCKET with there New Carbon Fiber Lite-Wieght Hull, then...SPIRIT of TEXAS, DRAGONATOR,& PROBLEM CHILD.
At this time there are also 6-TAF'S & 6-TAH's...more may show up tomorrow on Sat. ?
The Hot topic for the day was TFH...TOXIC ROCKET's first pass with there brand new carbon-fiber super lite wieght hull...
The boat launched Awesomely! then the trouble began~~~As you will see in some of the photo's I captured that the front end began to skate to the left & right and hop/bounce like a wild horse! coming down track Glen peddled but basicly kept his foot in it, all a-while the boat had blown out the back of both sponsons, which the splash plates ended up in the sponsons including the left rear, & On top of that a major break in the hull on the right side just below the capsule lid...WOW!!!
After all this the boat ran a great 5.10 @ 217...AMAZING!
With this said...My take is that the boat even though there was major damage during the pass...she stayed together & Glen was safe ;-)
In my 27 years in this sport this was an amazing sight to see a boat not just coming apart without anyone realizing it including the driver, But...also a wild hair raising ride!! & On top of all this...The boat stayed in it's own lane and hauled azz down the track!!
This may of been the New Toxic Rockets first & last pass...But she fought and stayed together...Like a soldier.
I am sure that Glen/Joe and the rest of the crew will re-group and be ready for the next race in Chowchilla :-)
You have to give Major credit to the Toxic Rocket crew & the boat builder for stepping up to try a Lite wieght hull in carbon-fiber! Personally...I would like to see stringers,ribbing and strong-backs added.
In the Marine Industry we had this same problem with the 35-65ft. seal boats twin 1500 HP Turbo Diesels!
Long story short...Ribbibg every 3 ft. with strong-backs added in certain area's greatly improved the situation!
In drag-boats ribbing every 12-18 inches, espeacially in the sponsons & with stringers for a chassis for the engine and capsule would be huge! and strong-back's in certain area's would help greatly ;-)
What do you think Dan...?
If anyone can make this work it would be Dan & a few others I know out there ;-)
Anyway..I hope that they will not give up just yet!
It may not be cheap!!! But this carbon-fiber hull will work just needs more work!
Remember not all that long ago many said twin props...Yeah Right!! and longer hulls No way!!
Look at them now!!!
Give major credit to men like Wolf! for years he has tried to get the Big Hull on the water but you cannot blame people not wanting to change...then again were would we be today if not for those that have pushed and stepped outside the limits!!
There still is much more to learn and improve...But we are heading in the right direction ;-)
As we all know everything in our sport has been by personal trial & error!
With that said~~~
Sat. The day started off ok till 11am when TFH was just starting to get ready to make it's first pass the wind came up~~~The remainder of the day belonged to the Sprint Boats & Hydro Lites!
I have to admit that the Sprint Boats are a blast to watch, I for one hope that they will return!
Don Ermshire & his wife went for a ride in these little But...Wild Machines ;-)
All effort's were made to get the Pro-Classes in at the end of the day...which at one time all pro-classes were called and TFH warmed up again! Unfortunantly 2-TAH passes is all that got done before the day was called.
Needless to say that Sunday was a perfect day for racing, and everything went smoothly.
The final in TFH ended in a side-by-side Blazzz for both Hotlicks and Speed Sports...with John Haas in his Famous Amos tuned hotrod taking the win with a great~4.68 @ 250.32 vs Hot Licks 5.07 @ 198.32...Hot Licks was right there with John till the motor went away about a 1000-ft.
TAH-Final was a great race as well with Mike Fry's Mean Streak vs. Andy Reynolds Daju Vu, with Andy taking the win with a 5.63 @ 212.30 vs Mike's great...5.49 @ 216.16
If you would like to be included in my racing page updated e-mail...Please e-mail me at... speedfreak439@yahoo.com or captainjtd1960@yahoo.com and I will add you to my list.
Feel free to make comments to the photo's all I ask is to keep it respectful ;-)
S/F ;-) |
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NJBA - Lake Elsinore,Ca. (March 21-22-2009)Finally!!
Racing returned back to Lake Elsinore after 10-years!
About 3-Thousand fans showed up on Sat. to witness this great event!
There was a Awesome turn-out of boats that showed up...including 6-TAH's & TAF'S as well specially with...Lucas Oil putting up some Good Money in the kitty ;-)
Thunder in the Channel (Lake Elsinore) has the making to be a premiere race course for drag-boat racing, evrything is close by, lodging, all kinds of places to eat, major shopping centers & Huge Outlet Mall. The race course is 1/2-mile from the HWY exit! Great view from any area of the race course!! Huge shut-down... ;-)
Next time there is a dragboat race event scheduled..Do-Not miss it!!! ;-)
With a few modifications there is no reason that we can see side-by-side Top Fuel Hydro Racing!!
On Late Sat, afternoon as the pro's was just starting to get ready to run second round when a lite breeze head wind came up...and the race was called for the day~~~
With Frank Nagor unfortunantly blowing over in the morning, after hitting the finish-line light pole which caused the front of the boat to lift catching major air :-(
On a Cool Note...Rex's Nitro Burgers stand went so well on Sat. that by 11am they were out of everything!! :-o And some of the Nitro Burger Crew...(NBC) had to make a Top Fuel Run to the store close by to get more food supplies to feed the crowd & racers. :-)))
The next race will be the IHBA opener in Phx. speaking of which I will be taking the New PC and uploading photo's at the races ;-)
Till the next one~~~
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Nostalgia Drag Racing-Bakersfield,Ca. (March 6-8-2009)Here are some of the many photos to come over the next week or so...
Getting use to the new PC & programs is taking a bit of time! All Good though ;-)
This was an Awesome event, which over 600 cars showed up to race.
There was over 30 Nitro Nostalgia Dragsters & 30+ Nitro Floppers as well ;-)
I spent most of Friday in the shut down area doing Chut-Shoots.
Awesome event!!!
S/F ;-) |
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2008 IHBA AWARDS BANQUET (Jan. 24-2009 LAS VEGAS,NV.)Welcome everyone :-)
The IHBA Awards Banquet was great and everyone had a great time.
To enlarge the photo, just click on the photograph...
Enjoy the photos!
S/F ;-) |
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2oo8 Highlites Hello Everyone :-)
I have put together photo highlites of the races I attended in the 2oo8 season, alone with some of Desi's picks that are from the starting-line.
Pictured is...TFH-Speed Sports
Your...2005-2007-2008
TFH World Champion
With...John Driving & Amos Wrenching how can you lose...
In 2009...Amos will attempt to capture his 20th TFH World Champion Title...AMAZING!!!
On this pass in round-1 on Sunday...John won in his Amos tuned Hot-Rod the 2008 TFH Champioship in a Blazzz of Glory!
Keep in mind that there will be some BIG guns...Hot Licks, Toxic Rocket and others that want the prestigious title of TFH World Champion.
Then again with the economy getting worse buy the day! :-( who knows which race teams will be able to make the tour in any class...?
We will see~~~
I will have photo-CD's highlites of the 2oo8 season ready soon!
You can contact me at...speedfreak439@yahoo.com
See you all soon ;-)
S/F |
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The Fast & Furious & Cool :-) (Updated Quarterly)I will be working on this page over the next several weeks!
S/F ;-) |
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Speed Freaks Personal Page... (June...2007)Hello Everyone!
I invite you to come in and check-out a few of my latest adventures~~~
Featured are some of the SpeedFreak toys of the past and presant.
I hope to get the boat out a few times this year...with the assistance of Mike Schiller as the main driver & tuner.
Like everyone else pends on the ecomony!
See you at the races~ :-)
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Joe-S/F |
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