Landracing Forum
Misc Forums => NON LSR Posting => Topic started by: Duramax on May 09, 2014, 03:40:36 PM
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At age 82. Yes, he drove an electric dragster into the record books:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c90_1399241480
(yeah, I know quit LSR, but I think this is so cool, I thought folk should know)
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An electric drag bike went over 200 and into the sixes in 2012.
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Shhhhh -- he'll go away soon -- he promised!
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I like that he's still playing. More power to him!!!
Pete
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An electric drag bike went over 200 and into the sixes in 2012.
Which one was easier? The bike.
Which one was cooler? Garlits.
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Garlits has a NEDRA record. The car only has a few runs on it, I think there is quite a bit more in it...
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Which one was easier? The bike.
What is your argument for that opinion?
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Which one was easier? The bike.
What is your argument for that opinion?
The bikes have been at it much longer with more backing.
When I was running a hot rod daily driver street bike in late 70's, I could hose 95% of everything wearing 4 tires and a license plate at the strip, or on the big end. 10 second ET's with a plate were trailer items, as were 175mph machines, not something you drove to the track and work each day.
Things have changed. Want to run a stock production street motorcycle today against a stock production street car today? I don't think so. Fuel economy cars go over 200mph stock (2006 Z06 Corvette, 27 mpg, 202mph in 2 miles smog legal), which is better than most fast OEM motorcycles.
For a first effort Garlits kicked arse. Breaking a NHRA record by 1/2 second isn't small potatoes. Records are normally measured in the 0.0x range.
If I remember right, the last racer to try and set the EV car record, caught fire on the return road at HRP, and barely escaped, his car burned to the ground, they could not stop it. A nitro fire can hit 2000°F and can be extinguished, an EV fire can go way over 100,000°F spraying copper plasma (think arc flash) and You Cannot Put It Out.
Big Daddy still has balls the size of grapefruit. Remember he lost 1/2 of one of his feet when a flywheel exploded, and he invented the rear engine rail. And HE STILL RACES!
Sidebar - Love you Jim K, but you don't have a lot of experience with racing late model technology, drag racing, electricity, digital technology etc. You think racing technology peaked in in 1934? :D
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The bikes have been at it much longer with more backing.
That would seem to support the view that it's harder for an electric bike to go 200, not easier.
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The bikes have been at it much longer with more backing.
That would seem to support the view that it's harder for an electric bike to go 200, not easier.
I kicked Car arse by power to weight in the late 70's. my top speed was just because the cars had the aero of a barn door. EV Bikes currently (sic) have the advantage. But don't count on it for long. We are about 1980 in this area right now.
I love bikes, and have hundreds of stitches and 10lb of titanium to prove it. But don't count on them winning the EV war. Watch the parade.
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How about the Ohio collage buckeye bullet electric streamliner at over 314 mph,that's a real record,they coming back this year. :cheers:
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that's a real record . . .
NEDRA records are also real.
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I didn't say Garlits dragster wasn't a record , only made a statement. The lightning rod , the BYU electric liner set Electric records.
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that's a real record . . .
NEDRA records are also real.
Apparently only the M/C records are real:
http://www.nedra.com/record_holders.html
Both are easily eclipsed by the OEM truck engine Diesel records, and since I'm a diesel racer, builder, tuner, you'd think I'd say Big Daddy's record ain't shiit.
Quickest diesel running a heavy duty truck engine ran 6.35 @ 221.5 mph. On pump fuel.
I love electrics. I own two. I'm building others. But I don't diss other racers efforts.
Just because a megabuck electric custom with a pro rider can't hang with a pickup engine jockeyed by an old fart doesn't mean the EV bike isn't fast.
Because if you want to go there, Top Fuel has all of us owned. And Big Daddy was one of the first. The EV bike cannot beat a 40 year old Garlits record, much less any of his 70 year old driver records.
His last qualifying TF race was in May 2003. At the age of 71 years of age, he set a personal best speed in the quarter mile with a time of 4.788 seconds at 319.98 miles per hour.
No EV is there yet. Not even in the same ballpark.
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Big Daddy . . . and he invented the rear engine rail.
Really?
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Stan, I agree there were several rear engine dragsters before DG. Tony Nancy was one and did well. I drove a rear engine mod roadster in 1957 at over 200, they banned them as not being safe, but they are back and going over 300. :cheers:
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Big Daddy . . . and he invented the rear engine rail.
Really?
Invention has many fathers, so much so, I wouldn't want to be seen with the mother.
But if Garlits didn't invent it, I think it's safe to say he sure had a hand in perfecting it and promoting it.
That layout supplanted front engine cars faster in NHRA than at Indianapolis.
Two years after he showed up with the rear engine Swamp Rat, there wasn't a competitive slingshot left.
Yes - it's really cool seeing him still at it.
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Yes - it's really cool seeing him still at it.
On the other hand, it's not really his project, he's just in the seat to give the deal a promotable ($$$) face. When some LSR teams do something similar, but with (say) a woman, we get bitching and moaning on this site.
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MM;
"Invention has many fathers, so much so, I wouldn't want to be seen with the mother."
Great line; the original was "Success has many fathers; failure is an orphan."
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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Thread hijack alert....It was a home made 2 speed trans. that failed.
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And..If I can figure out how to re-size it, I have a pic of the back half of that car...Ol` Donald squeezed the two sides of the butterfly steering wheel together :cheers:
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Yes - it's really cool seeing him still at it.
On the other hand, it's not really his project, he's just in the seat to give the deal a promotable ($$$) face. When some LSR teams do something similar, but with (say) a woman, we get bitching and moaning on this site.
And you know this how? You asked him?
Here's how silly you sound:
Absolutely!
If I wanted to promote to the 18-40 prime hotrod race part buyer demographic, I'd also pick a 82 year old man that nobody under 50 heard of.
You certainly would not put the fastest young dude you can muster at the throttle if you wanted a record for the publicity.
Because electric racing is so huge today, that it's all image and no talent. Apparently they could not afford to have Tom Cruise (who also races cars) to set a record in it.
If they are doing their promotion videos with a Go-Pro, I have a hard time believing the Garlits effort is megabuck.
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Big Daddy . . . and he invented the rear engine rail.
Really?
Jim,
Sorry. He's the first one to figure out how to win consistently with a rear engine dragster. You say copycat, I say winner.
Lots of people have good ideas. The skill is how to make a good idea work. You don't know if Garlits didn't have the idea first, you only know he made it work.
Sidebar - Since you know so much about drag racing, let's set a date and time. I suck, so my wife will drive. You run your Hot Rod Ford, she'll run you with a street legal pickup. Rules? Drive it to the track, drive it home. Name the track. She likes HRP, but it's your choice.
It's all about the "Street"...
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I saw an interview of BIG and he gave credit to a guy i can not remember his name for helping him make the first rear engine car work. the first time BIG took the car out it did not steer right the person in question told BIG to change the steering ratio to slow it down of course it worked and the rest is history. the story i saw on the electric dragster said it is owned by the museum of drag racing. i was at the winternationals when BIG spanked everyone with the new car.
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The guy was T. C. Lemons his long time crew chief. Gar was worried the whole thing was a failure because the car was un controllably twitchy at the top end. T C slowed the steering ratio from what was the standard for a FED and THEN history was made.
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Here's how silly you sound:
Absolutely!
Have you been forgetting to take your medications again? Flame wars are not what this site is about.
The driveline was built by Lawless Industries. Big didn't build the chassis, either. It's an incremental development of what had been the fastest electric dragster, also built by Lawless. Lawless already has a good driver.
The story of the cantankerous old ex-champ coming out of retirement to show the whippersnappers how it's done is a natural for the likes of the Discovery Channel, along with American Choppers and reruns of World's Fastest Indian. Drag racing is a nostalgia deal in the public mind at this point in time; drag racing fans know who Garlits is.
There's nothing wrong with a little hokum, and nothing I've said indicates a lack of respect for Garlits' great accomplishments.
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Here's how silly you sound:
Absolutely!
Have you been forgetting to take your medications again? Flame wars are not what this site is about.
The driveline was built by Lawless Industries. Big didn't build the chassis, either. It's an incremental development of what had been the fastest electric dragster, also built by Lawless. Lawless already has a good driver.
The story of the cantankerous old ex-champ coming out of retirement to show the whippersnappers how it's done is a natural for the likes of the Discovery Channel, along with American Choppers and reruns of World's Fastest Indian. Drag racing is a nostalgia deal in the public mind at this point in time; drag racing fans know who Garlits is.
There's nothing wrong with a little hokum, and nothing I've said indicates a lack of respect for Garlits' great accomplishments.
Clicking the"LIKE" Button.
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"Sidebar – Since you know so much about drag racing, let's set a time and date. I suck, so my wife will drive. You run your Hot Rod Ford, she'll run you with a street legal pickup. Rules? Drive it to the track, drive it home. Name the track. She likes HRP, but it's your choice."
Never said I knew so much about drag racing. But I know Ollie Morris in his Smokin' White Owl won some eliminator races at Santa Ana in the early 50s with a rear-engine dragster. I personally won "X Eliminator" at Colton in 1958. I beat an Willys station wagon and a go-kart which, fortunately for me, broke its chain. I carried him back to the pits in my stock 1930 Model A pickup.
I've been hanging around LSR for a few years. We don't race side by side. My old licensed, unblown, mechanically-injected, gas Street Roadster has been set up for Bonneville and El Mirage. I remember you tried both ventures as I did, and, although I don't remember the exact results, I do remember you unluckily broke a lot of parts and never reached your goals. You quoted a figure once on what you spent for a week at SpeedWeek and it would cover my entire 12-year budget including the cost of the car. I was fortunate over the years to set 5 Bonneville and 2 El Mirage records in one of the most-competitive classes. I'm proud to be in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club.
Somehow you think I might want to race you. You're wrong. I don't want to race your wife, either. We've been timed at the same venues, and I believe I've run faster, luckily, than your blown machine. Could it be you want to change venues until you find one you can be successful at?
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Tortoise, must live on the moon as he has never added his area where he lives.
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I`ll make the popcorn...Who wants butter?? :cheers:
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(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Miscellaneous%20stuff/popcorn_zpsabc80074.gif) (http://s233.photobucket.com/user/4-BarrelMike/media/Miscellaneous%20stuff/popcorn_zpsabc80074.gif.html) :cheers: (http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/4-BarrelMike/Miscellaneous%20stuff/popcorn_zpsabc80074.gif) (http://s233.photobucket.com/user/4-BarrelMike/media/Miscellaneous%20stuff/popcorn_zpsabc80074.gif.html) :cheers:
I'll have some!
Mike
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I`ll make the popcorn...Who wants butter?? :cheers:
I'll take it with a grain of salt. :roll:
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I`ll make the popcorn...Who wants butter?? :cheers:
I'll take it with a grain of salt. :roll:
Just couldn`t wait for friday could you???
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"""We've been timed at the same venues, and I believe I've run faster, luckily, than your blown machine. Could it be you want to change venues until you find one you can be successful at? """
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Who can make popcorn the fastest??.
That's the guy I wanna meet!. :-D
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"Sidebar – Since you know so much about drag racing, let's set a time and date. I suck, so my wife will drive. You run your Hot Rod Ford, she'll run you with a street legal pickup. Rules? Drive it to the track, drive it home. Name the track. She likes HRP, but it's your choice."
Never said I knew so much about drag racing. But I know Ollie Morris in his Smokin' White Owl won some eliminator races at Santa Ana in the early 50s with a rear-engine dragster. I personally won "X Eliminator" at Colton in 1958. I beat an Willys station wagon and a go-kart which, fortunately for me, broke its chain. I carried him back to the pits in my stock 1930 Model A pickup.
I've been hanging around LSR for a few years. We don't race side by side. My old licensed, unblown, mechanically-injected, gas Street Roadster has been set up for Bonneville and El Mirage. I remember you tried both ventures as I did, and, although I don't remember the exact results, I do remember you unluckily broke a lot of parts and never reached your goals. You quoted a figure once on what you spent for a week at SpeedWeek and it would cover my entire 12-year budget including the cost of the car. I was fortunate over the years to set 5 Bonneville and 2 El Mirage records in one of the most-competitive classes. I'm proud to be in the Bonneville 200 MPH Club.
Somehow you think I might want to race you. You're wrong. I don't want to race your wife, either. We've been timed at the same venues, and I believe I've run faster, luckily, than your blown machine. Could it be you want to change venues until you find one you can be successful at?
Dunno Jimmy,
Do you get timing slips for running out of bounds? Guess it depends on who you are?
Luckily, I've driven my Elmo entry to and from the track. So nobody would ever claim I'm not running Street.
PS - screw the popcorn, looks like I'm having chicken, and you're having crow... Afraid to race a pickup. How sad.
:evil:
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Ok....One with butter, One with salt....Anyone else?? :roll:
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Didn't one of these folks flounce off this board a few weeks ago?
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Didn't one of these folks flounce off this board a few weeks ago?
Yes!
Uh...
What's a Flounce? Fluid ounce?
As a family, we decided to discontinue efforts at running Bonneville, and sold or are selling/dicarding the specialty parts.
That doesn't mean we are not racing, nor that we won't run maximum speed events, like Texas Mile or Mohave. We've been racing for a long time, and it's now time to teach the kids.
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Back on Subject:
82 year old legend of motorsports sets a record with electicity. It apparently upsets some folk. I'm thinking of the possible reasons:
1) I'm an arse.
2) The NHRA is not real racing.
3) Electricity is not real racing.
4) Garlits is stooge who's legend is urban myth.
5) It's all a dumb publicity stunt.
I'm 99% sure the answer is #1 but to people reading who are thinking of getting into SCTA racing, they might not know I'm a jerk. So they have to pick one of the last four "attitudes" by SCTA members towards Don's racing efforts.
And what crazy attitudes they are.
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Don seemed to be a good old boy when he raced on the salt, racer to racer.... and struggled most of the week to go fast enough to get in the 2 Club. Not sure what attitudes you might be referring to...
But then the scta and I don't always agree on everything. :cheers:
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Don seemed to be a good old boy when he raced on the salt, racer to racer.... and struggled most of the week to go fast enough to get in the 2 Club. Not sure what attitudes you might be referring to...
But then the scta and I don't always agree on everything. :cheers:
Good point. I apologize to any members I offended. :cheers:
I just can't figure out why any gearhead worth his salt (har) would rag on Garlit's new record. :?