Which is faster, a space shuttle or funny car?

Hi, race fans. Although things didn’t work out to our expectations in Houston last weekend, I was able to do something that I’ve always wanted to do – tour Johnson Space Center.

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated with space shuttles, Apollo 13 and landing on the moon. When ESPN invited me to tour Johnson Space Center, it was something I just couldn’t say no to.

I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to go on the tour because not only was it meeting the people, it also was seeing the history of space exploration. What amazes me is their aspirations of the future and what they want to achieve. It’s so motivating.

”What a place to work!” was a comment that I said to a lot of the employees. Imagine waking up every morning and working on projects that send people to the moon and outer space. We had the opportunity to meet a couple of the astronauts and had a couple of them out to the race track.

Both of them Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly (brothers) had flown multiple missions in space. Scott is heading to the space station for six months this time next year.

It was truly an honor to meet the astronauts and everybody that worked at the space center. They told us about their missions and I was amazed. Their bravery is just incredible.

While on the tour, we saw the inside of the shuttle and where the astronauts live on missions as short as two weeks or as long as six months. These men and women are just incredibly brave and it was very motivating just to be around them. Their stories were just amazing, both of the mission and the behind-the-scenes stories about what goes on in the space shuttle. I couldn’t believe what they were telling me. Things like how you go to sleep at night, and if you get sick in space, and simple things like just going to the bathroom, and how complicated a task becomes. It was an amazing experience.

I had an opportunity to put on 3D virtual reality goggles; when you open your eyes, you’re in space. It is unbelievable how realistic it was. You can look down and see Earth, look to your left you see the guy next to you and you’re navigating on the outside of the space station. Astronauts use that exact same protocol so they don’t lose their way, because there is no up and there is no down in a zero-gravity environment. They use that just so they know how to navigate around the space station when they have to repair things when they get to certain places.


After we toured the space center, it was the astronauts’ turn to tour our world of drag racing. We invited them out to the track on Friday and Saturday and brought them up to the starting line. One of the astronauts could not believe the energy, and said that it reminded him of being in the shuttle when feeling that power.

We kind of joked between the two of us. I asked him, ‘How long does it take you to get to 300 miles per hour?’ and he said, ”20 seconds.” I said, ”Well, I’ve got you beat.” Then he asked, ”Bob, how long does it take you to get to 17,000 miles an hour?” And I said, ”Now you’ve got me beat.” It was very opposite, the dynamics between the two vessels. I have all the respect for them and they had a new-found respect for what we do.

It was a blast. We made some really good friends on this trip. Next year, they’re going to give us an even more behind-the-scenes tour. We might go up in a zero gravity flight and experience weightlessness or as close to what the astronauts experience in space. We made a lot of friends.

I spent some time with Paul Page getting in and out of the space shuttle and sitting in the cockpit. I’m going to stick to driving Funny Cars and leave the space missions to the astronauts. It was a pretty neat experience.

See you at the track!

Gainesville Victory

It’s great to be back here blogging! I’ve had an exciting week and so much to tell you.

Let’s start this one with Gainesville. What a weekend! To qualify No. 1, and beat veteran Jim Head, our teammate Tim Wilkerson, the 14-time champ John Force and then my dear friend Tony Pedregon in the finals was a dream come true. What else can you say? When you beat the champions of the sport that solidifies your place as a major contender in 2009 season. For me, I keep it in perspective, it was only one win but it was a great win!

Having my family there to see my win at Gatornationals was just perfect. They don’t come to every race so it was even more special when your family, people that you love so much are around you, and it was great to have the kids in the Winner’s Circle. I know it will be a moment they will never forget.

Not to sound like a cliché, but from there we went to Disney World with Tony Pedregon’s family. I’ve known Tony since 1996 and our families are very close. We had a great time. I think our kids like the pool more than the Magic Kingdom.

When I came home to Rhode Island, I had a hero’s welcome. All of the local news stations covered my return home and hundreds of friends where on hand to congratulate us. It really hit me a few days after the race, when I received emails and comments from people all over the country, how fun it is to be a part of something like this. If there is one thing that people get out of this blog it’s that every text message, every email, and every Facebook comment I receive, I really take time to read each one. I try to respond to nearly everyone and while I can’t, I really do read everyone. I’m very blessed to be able to bring this kind of excitement and enjoyment to so many people.

I get most of the glory being the driver, but in truth I’m a very small piece of the equation. I couldn’t be successful without all of the hard work that the team puts in and the support we get from Ford, Motorcraft and Quick Lane. Everyone wants to be associated with a winner and to be able to capitalize on a successful asset, I’m just fortunate to represent Ford, Quick Lane, Motorcraft and a great group of guys on my team. Chris Cunningham said in the Winner’s Circle that he was glad he was able to give me my first win. And let the truth be told, I’m just so glad to give him, the guys and Motorcraft and Quick Lane their first win because of all of the hard work that goes into one of these programs.

Cobra Jettin’ in Charlotte and Gainesville

Everyone thinks that drivers go on vacation when they’re not racing, but that’s certainly not the case for us. Since the race in Phoenix, We have been really busy getting the Tasca Racing shop together in Charlotte. A couple of the guys came right back to Rhode Island from Phoenix to load up a lot of the equipment that we had at our race shop in RI. I’ve spent a couple of days down in Concord, NC with Chris Cunningham, Marc Denner and the guys working on where to place the equipment and a lot of the odds and ends that go into building a racing shop.

We also had the opportunity to bring our 2008 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet down to Charlotte to zMAX Dragway, and it was pretty cool because it was opening day for the race track. The track has been closed all winter and the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet that my uncle, Carl Tasca Sr., drove was the first car down the race track. That was pretty cool for him because he hasn’t been in a car like the Cobra Jet in a long time.

The interesting thing is we operate in a 60 mile per hour world. When you put somebody in a Mustang that goes 145 miles per hour in nine seconds, the car is so far ahead of you, that you’ll do things you don’t realize you’re doing. On one of the runs my uncle left before the tree came on and he said that he didn’t even know it because it’s so fast. It was fun for me to spend some time with him and take him through some of the pointers that were passed onto me along the way. By the third or fourth time in the car, Uncle Carl was going up and down the race track. It was fun in a multitude of ways to see him have a great time in the car and to see the Ford Cobra Jet back on the track, it was great to just be a part of that.

The next couple of days are going to be kind of action packed for me. I’m heading out to Los Angeles on Monday to meet Jay Leno and to tour his garage. I’m bringing a helmet for him, which I think will be pretty neat to have him put into his garage, which I hear is just incredible. I’ve been on the website and seen some of the neat cars. I know Jay has always held Ford close to his heart, so it should be fun to go out there and spend a little time in his garage. I’ll be with my wife Therase and Chris Cunningham and his wife, Sheila. Chris is already out on the West Coast disassembling the blower dyno we purchased from Del Worsham that will be sent out to our new shop in Charlotte.

Tuesday night we are going to see American Idol. It’s a show that my wife has watched regularly and I get to watch it when I’m in town. It’s a great show, and great fun. Hopefully, we’ll get the opportunity to meet Ryan Seacrest or Paula, Kara, Randy or even Simon. I brought a Motorcraft shirt with me, so maybe on my next blog you’ll see Ryan in a Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing shirt.

After Idol, it’s back home to switch suitcases and head out to Gainesville. I’m taking my son Austin; this is the first time we will be traveling alone together. My wife is bringing the other two boys down on Friday because we are going to spend some time in Disney World after the race with the Pedregons, Tony Pedregon is my dear friend, and his wife and my wife are great friends. I’m looking forward to taking Austin down on Thursday, it will be fun for my four year old to spend a little time with his dad. When people win the Super Bowl they always say, “I’m going to Disney World,” hopefully we’ll win the race and we can say the same thing. Last year Pedregon won in Gainesville, so I think the Disney trip brought him a little bit of luck, hopefully it brings me a little bit of luck this year.

For all the race fans going to Gainesville, be sure to stop by Nitro Alley and The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience. I’m a fan of the car that is parked out in front of the display – the Tasca Cobra Jet. The display is such an important part of our program with Motorcraft and Quick Lane and Ford. The fans have an unprecedented access to us and the sponsors have unprecedented access to the fans. That’s the wonderful thing about NHRA racing. The midway display allows the fans to have a pretty cool interactive experience. Whether it’s the pit crew contest on the Quick Lane side or the Holeshot contest on the Motorcraft side. Then you have the Custom Accessories display where you can win a lot of prizes and have some fun there. We’re also going to have the Cobra Jet there and this one is special to me because it’s the Tasca version. Our CJ was in the area, so Motorcraft and Ford asked us to have our Cobra Jet on display. It’s lettered up like the nostalgia one was lettered up back in the 60s. I know there’s a lot of buzz going on. A Cobra Jet won at Pomona, not our car, and a lot of people want to get up close and see one of these things. We’re happy to have it out in front of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Experience display.

See you in Gainesville!