Full Steam Ahead!

This is an exciting time for us. We’re back from the West Coast Swing and I’ve been full steam ahead both at home and at work.

Last week, I went out to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh Show and it was amazing. There were more airplanes in one spot, at one time than I’ve ever seen in my life. It was fun to get out to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, sign some autographs and do a Q &A for the aviation folks. There were a lot of racing fans there. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of airplane engineers that respect what we do.

On the business side of things, I’ve been real busy with the Cash for Clunkers program. It’s been great to walk into the dealership and see so much excitement and energy on the showroom floor. Right now Ford has the number one vehicle that people are trading in for - the Ford Focus. The Cash for Clunkers program has really been great for us at Tasca Ford and all the Ford dealers around the country. Great time to buy a Ford!

There’s been a lot happening back at the dealership, and at the same time I’ve been busy working with the guys in Concord, North Carolina, finalizing the race shop. We’re busy getting ready for the grand opening in September. I’ve also been helping with the JDRF program, working to promote that great organization. The big reveal for Ford Customer Service Division’s Second Annual Funny Car Design Contest winning paint scheme will take place during the shop’s grand opening. Voting is open until Friday, August 14 at www.jdrf.org/ford



I was down at the Tasca Racing shop in Concord this week finalizing some of the graphics up on the walls in the shop. The guys have been working in the shop this week as well, getting it ready for the race fans to come and see.



In addition to working on prepping the shop for the grand opening, the guys have been working full steam on the blower dynos, prepping our Superchargers. We’ve got a couple new blowers we’re working on, getting them race ready.

I had the best surprise waiting for me when I got home this week. In addition to spending time with my family, the folks at Ford had a Taurus SHO there ready for me to drive. Ford is launching the I’m Driving One program this year with the 2010 Taurus and Taurus SHO. What’s neat about the program is that I get to drive both vehicles around and experience the great products that Ford has to offer. The boys are excited too, I promised to take them out for a ride to get ice cream. Check out the preview video at http://www.imdrivingone.com/

It’s been a busy time since getting back from Sonoma, but all in all, I’m eager to get back to racing. We only have three races until the Countdown begins, and as it gets closer, it gets harder to move up the ladder, and harder to move down the ladder. We have our sights set on the fourth and fifth slots, that’s really what we’re focusing on right now. We have a Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang that is very consistent and was only an eyelash away from winning Sonoma.

It was great to see Tim win that race!!

For our team right now, we have as good a chance at winning this Championship as anyone out there. When it comes to NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing anything can happen. You need to put your team in a position to WIN. We have done that consistently all year and willing continue to do so as the season winds up! For now we are focused on Brainerd. We want to leave there locked into the top 10 and with a Wally in our hands!

See you at the race track.

Bristol and Testing the Cobra Jet

Hello race fans!

While at the Bristol airport heading home from the race a fan stopped and asked me, “What are you going to do for the next week because you have an off week?” That was interesting question because, as a race team owner and driver, I’m never off. I’m always doing something with the race team, the dealership or my family.

Since racing takes me away from my wife and children a lot, spending time with them is my first priority when I get home. It’s always nice to get back and spend some time with them. Then it’s back to work. I’m in the dealership from 7 o’clock in the morning until whenever the job gets done. I’m working on a lot of different fixed operation strategies for the dealership. Then I’m on the phone throughout the day, doing an interview or talking to Chris and the guys. We talk about a variety of things, our performance of the past race, what adjustments we want to make going into the next race, what do we need to buy, and where we are with budgets. We run a race team similar to the way a lot of people run their businesses. We’re keeping track of parts life, investing in blower and clutch technology and moving Mustang bodies around the country. While one body is being repaired, another one is being fitted for something else. Trailers have to get serviced, guys have to be flown in and out of different places. Logistically, there’s a lot of stuff going on. Then it’s the mundane stuff like paying bills. We’ve got the same type of stuff that goes on as any business goes on. What happens between races is a lot and there’s always something going on.

Since I last blogged, I had another test session up in Empingham, New Hampshire; this time with the Cobra Jet that we’re building. My Uncle Carl made his first nine-second run; he went 9.91 at almost 140 miles an hour. That was a great sense of accomplishment for both of us. It was something that he worked hard on, and as a new driver has made mistakes and has learned from them. I was proud to see him make his first nine-second pass; it was really a special day. Now he’s ready to get to a NHRA track and make his licensing run because he needs to do that three more times to get a Super Gas license, which I know he will.

From New Hampshire, we went and raced in Bristol. The weekend had ups and downs, like they all do. One thing about racing, nothing goes the way you expect it to go. It is either a lot worse or a lot better. The weekend wasn’t what we wanted it to be but the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang ran the best of any car on the track on Saturday, where we had the quickest runs of the day. We measure ourselves session by session. A lot of people will focus on who qualified No. 1 for the weekend, but that might have been one run and that person might not have gone down the race track the other three times. You always like to gauge yourself on how you did each session of qualifying, and ultimately, how did you do on that day.

On Friday, we were good but we weren’t the best. Then on Saturday, we were the best and that was on a 120-degree track, which is the type of summer conditions that we’re about to head into for the next three months. Then Sunday rolled around and it’s a whole new world. It was like we went to another state. It was 48 degrees when I woke up on Sunday morning. Then in the first round, two out of 16 Funny Cars made complete runs. I was sitting in the Mustang Shelby and had a front row seat to see John Force almost hit Jack Beckman. When you see something like that coming and every other car smoking the tires, you know that you’re about to hit the gas and most likely pedal the car, which is exactly what happened to us on Sunday. The reason why we had an issue in the first round was because we discovered we had an ignition malfunction that caused the car to smoke the tires. We think our Mustang probably would have won if the ignition didn’t malfunction. I pedaled it and Head pedaled it; for him, he was further down track before he lost traction. That was the difference between winning and losing. That’s racing.

We stayed in Bristol on Monday to test. I think, hopefully, we have gotten all of our bad luck out of the way. On Monday, we had a catastrophic engine failure at about 800 feet. It was the worst fire I’ve ever been in. It wasn’t anything like some of the fires that can happen in these cars but it was hot enough to burn my fire suit and certainly get my attention. We lost the crankshaft, it threw the rods out of it and pretty much melted anything that was plastic underneath the body.

Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt and we didn’t hurt the body, but we wrecked pretty much everything else. Unfortunately, it was a massive amount of work for the guys to rebuild the race car. We were able to get one more run in but we just went to 300 feet just to test and it went great. The car ran good after that explosion. The bad news was the explosion, but it happened in testing and not during competition. If it didn’t happen at testing, it would have happened in Topeka because it was one of those things that it was going to let go. The crank was well within its life range; it just failed. That type of stuff happens and I’m glad it did during testing and not during a race. Unfortunately, we only made three runs and wanted to make five during the test session. These cars are very serious business. They can be as evil as they are fun, and they can be as violent as they are awesome.

For me it was another step in the learning process. I haven’t been through anywhere near some of the situations that some of the other drivers have been through. Chris Cunningham and my team don’t let me go to the line unless they think that car is going to down that race track safely but in this sport inevitably things happen and you just hope no one gets hurt. I’m looking forward to Topeka.

Visit to Coca-Cola World Headquarters

On the Wednesday before the Atlanta race, I was invited to tour the Coca-Cola World Headquarters. Brian Kelley, who oversees the division of Full Throttle (series sponsor of the NHRA), and I started talking last December and we were able to arrange, not only for me to be there, but for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang as well. It was great to see Brian and his team and hundreds of people over at Coca-Cola.

I really enjoy talking to people about drag racing – and this visit to Coca-Cola was one of the most fun places to be. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to explain what we do and to showcase the great platform, and also what NHRA, and the Motorcraft and Quick Lane brands have to offer. It’s always amazing to see people’s reaction and disbelief when they hear how fast we go in such a short period of time.

A lot of people were amazed that the Shelby Mustang we brought was the actual race car and not a show car. We took pictures, signed autographs, and were able to invite a lot of people out to the race track on Friday and Saturday where they were able to see all of us in action.

Brian came out with a lot of members from his team and it was fun for me to give back and show our appreciation of Full Throttle being our series sponsor, in addition to getting to interact with a lot of people from Coke. We look forward to working with Full Throttle in the future and meeting a lot more of Coca-Cola employees out here on the race track.

Wally Goes to Dearborn

Last week Ford invited me to participate in “Take Your Kid To Work Day.” I had a lot of fun with the kids, answering their questions and signing hero cards for them. It’s always neat to see their reaction when they hear what you do because it is really hard for people to believe just how fast these car are! It’s always fun when you have them guess how much horsepower our Shelby Mustang produces and you hear all sorts of numbers.

In addition to talking with more than 200 kids, I was also a guest judge at the Ford Flex decorating contest. There were several groups, each with kids on a team, and they painted a fiberglass miniature model of the Flex. The heartbreaking part of it was having to judge it in front of them. I thought it was going to be a secret ballot, but to judge the winning Flex and take pictures with the winners was a fun time.

Then on Friday morning I achieved a major goal that I set for myself when we started this program. We had a celebration in Dearborn, and I delivered the Gainesville trophy to Ken Czubay, Brian Wolfe and Brett Wheatley, the key Ford people in our program. It was great to be there with them and their team. I was able to share with them my story, how I got into racing and about the win down in Gainesville.

To give them a Wally, for me, was kind of a small mission, but certainly a mission accomplished on that front. Our whole foundation for our program is “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday,” and we’ve accomplished the win on Sunday, so now we got to keep going. I’m certain that there are more wins in our future, but the first is certainly one of the sweetest and to leave that trophy behind and have Ford put it up in their case is a very rewarding experience.

While in Michigan, I went to the AutoWeek offices to meet Mac Morrison and Roger Hart to talk about racing. Whenever you get the chance to talk about what we do and how we did and what the experience is like as a driver, it’s always a great time. I know the guys at AutoWeek enjoyed our conversation. While I was there I met Keith Crain, he’s a pretty cool guy and he’s really a legend. He and my grandfather were friendly when he raced back in the ’60s. Keith has an appreciation for what we do. I had some time to spend with him and share some stories for what we do here today in 21^st century drag racing versus back in the ’60s.

Before heading to St. Louis, I spent a couple days back home with my wife and children in Rhode Island, tested the Cobra Jet at zMax Dragway in Charlotte and checked in on the guys in the Concord shop. I’m working with my Uncle Carl to get him a Super Gas license. He is making great progress but it is not easy to jump in and drive a nine-second racecar. After lunch I had to jump in and make a pass, I ran a 9.88ET at 140mph! What a fun car to drive.

Although it was an off week for me, I was busy. I’m looking forward to racing in St. Louis this weekend. St. Louis is neat place and we had a solid Mustang there last year. We’re about two rounds out of second place, and the top 10 cars are really tight in the points. I think we’re due to go a few rounds off there, and St. Louis is as good a place as any to get a few rounds under our belt and another Wally!

California Dreamin’

Hi, race fans. March was a busy month for us and almost too busy for me to blog. But since this is an off-weekend for us, I can tell you all about my trip to see Jay Leno and the American Idols.

In my Gainesville winner’s speech, I thanked the women of the program because they let us chase our dreams of racing. Sometimes we get caught up in this sport because we just love what we do. There’s a huge price the women of the sport have to pay and we couldn’t do it without them.

My wife, Terri, crew chief, Chris Cunningham, and his wife, Shelia, scheduled a trip to Los Angeles before the Gainesville racefor Valentine’s Day. Chris and I were trying to think of something cool for our wives for Valentine’s Day. So, Chris and I thought going to see American Idol would be fun. One thing led to another, and through the brilliant efforts of the people at Ford and Motorcraft, we were able to take a pretty neat tour of not only American Idol, but we went to The Tonight Show on Monday night, met Jay Leno and gave him a helmet. That was real special; I’ve never been to anything like that.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck was one of Jay’s guests that night and she’s from Cranston, Rhode Island, believe it or not, where I’m from. We talked with Elizabeth after the taping about home, and she knew Tasca Ford as soon as I said my name. Before we left that night, I gave Jay one of my Motorcraft/Quick Lane helmets. It was pretty cool because he knew who we were, he loves drag racing, and he’s friends with John Force and Ashley Force Hood.

Tuesday morning, Jay knew we were touring his garage, and he had already taken the helmet down on Monday night after the show, so it would be on display when we arrived. I got there Tuesday morning. We got a first class tour of Jay’s garage. What can I say about it? I think you could live there; all you needed was a mattress. It had a kitchen that was right out of something you would see in Las Vegas and the history of cars that he has there was beyond words. It was absolutely remarkable. Every car was registered, ready to go and detailed to perfection.

In the other building, he had a complete restoration operation where he can restore a car from scratch and had all of the equipment needed. The people that he has working there, you can just tell, that that’s their passion. With Jay’s lifestyle and schedule, and the incredible amount of hours that guy puts in, that’s his sanctuary where he goes to unwind and enjoy the fruits of his labors, his cars.

Then Tuesday evening it was off to American Idol. What was really cool, for me anyways, was to meet a lot of celebrities. It’s amazing how many people know drag racing, know and follow what we do as drivers. What was even more amazing, and it was a very interesting comment, the people who don’t know who we are, they know we go fast.

I met Simon Cowell, of all places, leaving the bathroom. We didn’t have a lot of time together because it was during a commercial break, but I introduced myself to Simon and he said, ‘Man, you guys go fast.’ That’s all he really knew, and I told him how fast we drive and he grabbed my arm and he said, ‘Impossible, I can’t even fathom that.’ I told him we go 300 mph, and he asked how long it took us to go 200 mph, and then I told him we go about 267 mph in about three seconds and he couldn’t believe it. That’s the reaction people who really don’t know what we do, when we tell them what we do, they don’t believe. They can’t believe that an object can accelerate to 300 mph in four seconds flat. It’s pretty neat explaining it to people, and I have to be honest, I see these fuel cars come through the finish line, and I drive one, and I can’t believe there’s somebody in it, that’s how fast they are.

American Idol was an amazing experience and I met all of the Idols backstage. A lot of them saw that I brought a Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew jersey with me. I had all 13 of them sign it, which I’m going to get framed and put up in our shop in Charlotte. I invited Lil Rounds and her family to the Memphis race in October because that’s where they live. Hopefully she wins American Idol and will be too busy on the tour and won’t have time to come to the race. But even if she wins it and has time, we would love for her to come out with us and see what we do. Some of them were just as excited to meet me, as I was to meet them, it just goes to show how far our sport is coming.

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.