June 27, 2008

I knew when this year began it was going to be good. 2008 brought many exciting things and some new challenges. The great news is as June comes to a close I’m still as optimistic as I was in January.

Our Lucas Oil/ Dixie Chopper dragster came out strong this season. It was great to enjoy some success as a result of all our hard work. The biggest obstacle was mother nature as we headed into our first two weekends. One was washed out completely and another prematurely ended. We have already raced on 90 degree track temperatures and as high as 130 as well. Finding a different combination for these extremes is my focus at this time as I anticipate those higher temperatures this summer.

Race two of the schedule I was qualified exactly where I wanted to be. I was very happy with my driving and very comfortable in the car as it had been a while since I had competed with this car. My reaction times only varied five thousandths of a second over two days and five rounds of racing. In the first round I was off the line first and ran right on my index for a win. In round two I was off first again but misjudged the finish line and managed to give it back to my opponent by four thousandths. The worst part was I knew it immediately, I didn’t even have to look at the win light on in his lane.

The rescheduled race one was a lot of fun. I was fortunate to drive the dragster belonging to Jim and Mitch Elliott. Mitch was less than a round from winning the championship last season so I knew the car would be good and fast. I had a great time racing with Mitch and his wife Heather. My driving was okay again. I was quicker off the line in the first two rounds and able to back into my opponents and safely run above the index. In the semifinals I was matched up against my own car with Dan Morgan driving. Dan had been stellar all day by winning two huge rounds to get to the semi’s.

After some good trash talking prior to the run we were set. I had posted a four thousandths of a second reaction time in the round before so I asked Mitch to put another five thousandths in our delay box. Dan went the other way, he removed five thousandths delay. Our cars were dialed very close with Dan receiving a small starting line advantage. I posted a ten thousandths reaction time but was able to see Dan’s red light on as he fouled by only two thousandths.

In the finals I was four thousandths behind on the starting line and the car slowed three hundredths. I knew I was off as we approached the finish line. There is no worse feeling then knowing you’re not going to get there and there’s much you can do.

I’m excited about heading into this weekends race. Again, the weather will be our biggest obstacle. However, we did a lot of work to our car since the last weekend and I am hoping to test before Saturdays qualifying sessions.

Apr 22 2008

Schippling Motorsports just announced it’s new partnership with Dixie Chopper. I am very excited about working for this company. Dixie Choppers are The World’s Fastest Lawn Mowers and they look awesome. Our team has some really cool apparel we’ll be sporting with the Dixie Chopper logo this summer.

We’re still working on getting the Lucas Oil/ Dixie Chopper Dragster ready for it’s first race in May. Things are going much better now that Ontario has finally thawed and we’re into spring weather. I can’t wait to hit the track in May, there is plenty of more exciting news we’ll be releasing before then.

The KonRodz funny car is progressing as well. Everyone on the team has been working on that operation non-stop. The plan is to have everything checked and re-checked so that we can make the most of our next test session. With a new team and me being new to driving funny cars I’m certainly in no rush. I think the more methodical we are and to be prepared the best we can will benefit everyone involved. Team owner, Spiro Kontos is anxious to go racing so you know it’s going to be great when it happens.

Mar 25 2007

While the rig was on it’s way back from Georgia we had them make a detour over to the International Centre in Toronto. We were fortunate enough to have the KonRodz Racing Funny Car appear in the Lucas Oil booth at the Performance World Car Show. The car was on display from Friday through Sunday and was quite a hit.

People who attended the show would have noticed a sneak preview into some exciting news we are about to announce at Schippling Motorsports. It’s also on our website tjschippling.com. On Sunday Marquis and I went into the show and after it was over we loaded the car to send back to shop and get ready for our next test session. We have not determined exactly when that will be but it will be soon.

The last few weeks have been very busy. We are continuing to prepare our dragster for this season. And I have been working on a lot of marketing programs we will be activating this season.

Mar 18 2008

Last weekend the KonRodz Racing Alcohol Funny Car was at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Georgia. We arrived in the sunny south on Wednesday and were ready to run on Thursday. Our first shot at the track with our new team and my first time in a funny car. The team blew me away, we have a group of people that have known each other for a very short time but no one would have known by how professional this team is.

Once I’ve pushed in the clutch and have a hand full of brake lever I give our Crew Chief Marquis Smieriak the signal I’m ready. Cassandra Simonton opens up the injector and pours in the methanol. Marquis gives the starter a spin and the 3000 horsepower engine comes to life. Marquis hands the starter off to Joe Roy and Mark Savage gives me that final nod of confidence as he lowers the Monte Carlo body.

At this point I was a little freaked out. This particular car has a very high injector on top of the supercharger and visibility was far less than I could have imagined. Mark was there to guide me straight into the burnout area and signals me to start the burn out. After I’ve backed up, Mark brings me close to the staging beams and I’m ready. It was very different for me to stage a 250 mph car when I could not even see the score boards at the other end of the track.

Our first launch we spun the tires immediately. I moved the car over to the wall as to not drip any fluids in the groove and coasted down the track trying to see anything that would help me know where I was on the track. I remember I was very surprised when I finally saw the score boards.

We lost Friday and Saturday to inclement weather, so when Sunday rolled around we and 150 other teams were trying to cram three days of testing into one. Sunday’s two passes yielded more spin but we diagnosed a problem. Our team owner Spiro Kontos stepped up and arranged for us to spend another day testing. This was no easy task as each team member had obligations waiting for them at home, flights hotels, and truck drivers all needed to be coordinated but by 10 PM we were set to run again on Monday.

Monday was about trying to get the car off the starting line. We made a lot of changes to the car’s setup. By the second pass we had the right transmission gear and close to the right clutch setting. When I let the clutch out I was pleasantly surprised as it set me back in the seat and I got to experience the rush of driving an Alcohol Funny Car. I managed to get the car close to half track so we were pumped. Unfortunately our third pass encountered a transmission problem and we didn’t get any further down the track.

I felt really good about how our new team performed this past weekend. I think we all demonstrated we are capable and more than willing to excel. The only negative from this weekend other than the days we lost to weather was that we didn’t make the necessary runs to complete the licensing process. This will ultimately effect our chances of racing in San Antonio, Texas in a few weeks.

Mar 03 2008

It is time to head south. It’s been a long cold winter for us folks here in Ontario and I am anxious to get to Georgia and back to racing. I just finished dictating some quotes for our testing preview report. The team is ready to leave.
Last weekend Spiro had the entire team at his home to kick off the new season in style. He gave each one of us a really cool watch with the team logo and the funny car on the face. It was also the first chance we all got meet each other. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the KonRodz Racing shop working on the final details of the car. The team came together really quickly, everyone started working on their area immediately. We have a young team but everyone brings a number of years of experience in racing. You can see how much they enjoy what they are doing.
The body arrived on Saturday from the paint shop. It looks wild and very close to the rendering. We spent some time getting me fitted to the car and moved a few of the controls. I installed a new tach, shift light, and oil gauge from Auto Meter. Joe Roy built a really nice dash to hold everything. Sitting in a funny car with the body down is a whole new experience for me. It is way different from the dragsters I’ve driven. I’m just happy I have a lot of good people around me that are making this easy.
I am certain we will have a successful test session. The team will have a chance to gel more and we will be another step closer to our 2008 race season. The KonRodz team has put a lot of effort into this already and I know everyone can’t wait to see the car go down the track.

Feb 21 2008

Race season is almost here. I am less than two weeks away from letting the clutch out on the KonRodz Racing AFC. I really can’t wait. My interview went well with Stevie LeTempt. We were joking before it started about the snow storm we were experiencing in Ontario. Stevie was traveling through sunny Florida and could have done the interview under a palm tree. We were talking about drag racing so we were on common ground, only we had 65 degree’s of temperature between us.

I am extremely excited that everyone of the companies we have had on our team are back for 2008. I am also excited about the new companies we will welcome to our team. It makes our team very strong when you rely on the products and all the employees of these great companies. I am proud to promote and represent these fine people.

This weekend the entire team will be in Barrie putting the finishing touches on the car so it’s ready for it’s trip south. It will also be the first time some of the team members meet. I look forward to introducing you to the team in the future. I am excited about all the young hard working people Spiro has put together. I’m sure we’ll all have a lot of fun.

Jan 31 2008

I think the opportunity Spiro has given me is really starting to sink in. I’ve been very busy preparing to race this season. Testing time will be here in one month.

The news of me being hired to drive the KonRodz Racing Alcohol Funny Car has been larger than I could have imagined. I have witnessed some really great internet articles on various motor sport websites. Some of the interviews I did for print publications are starting to appear as well. And, I was just invited to appear on Steve LeTempt’s Straightlining With Stevie next week.. The show airs on Wednesday nights at 8 pm. on the internet at http://www.realracinusa.com/html/straightlining.shtml#

Jan 16 2008

Happy New Year everyone. I will try to kick off 2008 with some regular updates on how programs are developing. The first announcement you will all be reading about soon is Spiro Kontos has selected me to drive his funny car. Spiro is the owner of Kon Rodz Racing, they compete in the Professional IHRA Alcohol Funny Car class.

I really have to thank Spiro for this opportunity. He has assembled some of top people in the sport and has all the best equipment. He wants to have fun and I’m certain we will. I admire his passion for racing and commitment to family. Spiro does everything to honor his late father, Steve. I appreciate that, as it is my father Thom who has made all my racing possible.

It’s been a dream of mine for a very long time to drive an Alcohol Funny Car. I remember going to Chicago back in 2000 because I wanted to research funny cars. And later that year I was traveling to California for my Super Comp licensing dreaming of building up to a funny car ride.

Last week I received the great news that Lucas Oil in Canada will once again be the primary marketing partner of Schippling Motorsports. We have a lot of neat promotional things coming up for them. And of course we’ll have lots of news on our dragster.