|
Jet dragster sets new mark at Hat drag
strip
DARREN STEINKE
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Chuck Haynes delivered the performance
everyone wanted to see.
On Saturday at the Medicine Hat Drag
Strip, Haynes broke the 300 miles per hour barrier in his jet
dragster named Volcano.
This marked a first for the local
track.
During his first pass of the evening, the
Billings, Mont. driver blasted down the quarter-mile strip in 5.434
seconds hitting 302.28 miles per hour or 486.46 kilometres per
hour. The speed rating ranks as a track record breaking the old
standard of 294.12 miles per hour Haynes set in Volcano during a
stop in 2005.
"I don’t know if you will see it
ever again," said Haynes. "It will be hard pressed for somebody
else to take that record away from you.
"That Volcano right now is the fastest jet
dragster running in the United States. It will take somebody a
pretty good number to beat that."
When Haynes visited the track with Volcano
and his other jet dragster, Gravity Storm, in 2005, there was hope
back them the 300 miles-per-hour barrier would fall. While the 300
barrier was not broken, Haynes did set an elapsed time record of
5.304 seconds, which still stands.
This time around, Haynes said improved
track conditions helped his car reach the higher speeds.
"The last time we were here the track
lighting wasn’t as good and there were some pretty good dips
in the surface," said Haynes. "They made so many good repairs to
the facility that it was quite nice tonight."
Haynes was hoping to top his speed record
during his second pass at around 10:30 p.m. Unfortunately, his car
slid the lights causing a red light foul, which meant there was no
official time for the run.
From his experience with the feel of the
vehicle, Haynes thought he might have hit 308 miles per hour. As a
result, he was a bit disappointed that run didn’t count.
"A good side of that is it gives us
something to shoot for next time," said Haynes, who also made a
pass Sunday afternoon.
Besides the quest to capture a track
record, Haynes’ show with the Volcano and Gravity Storm jet
dragsters was still a major attraction. The stands at the Medicine
Hat Drag Strip were packed, and people lined the fence area that
runs beside the course.
The jet dragster spectacle outdrew the
Medicine Hat Auto Racing Association points race at the
neighbouring Medicine Hat Speedway.
As the MHARA racing had wrapped up just
prior to the 10:30 p.m. pass, a number of the stock car drivers
wandered over to see Volcano and Gravity Storm do their things.
With night having fully fallen, Haynes
ensured the two dragsters put on a light show with the 30-foot
flame that shoots out of the back end of each vehicle.
"It is more spectacular for the fans
seeing all the fire," said Haynes. "It is definitely a better show
at night.
"You can’t see the cars quite as
well, but you can see the flames and the fire. It makes it worth
it."
Haynes hopes to return to the Hat in the
future. Having raced jet dragsters since 1993, he has no plans in
stopping now.
"I am still crazy after all of those
years," said Haynes. "It is scary and spooky as it ever was.
"Every run that I make, particularly the
first run of the night, I am plenty nervous. I have a lot of
butterflies.
"The second one I am usually calmed down
some, because you know the cars are doing all right and the track
conditions are for running big numbers." |
