The BME Bulletin

Bill Miller Engineering's Top Fuel blog
by Rick Vogelin

#4 Midwest Swing no Spring Fling for BME Top Fuel Team

            Hell hath no fury like a Top Fuel dragster, but even a 6,000-horsepower race car pales alongside the power of Midwestern weather. The Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team experienced the extremes of the heartland's volatile climate in back-to-back races in Chicago and Topeka, Kansas. In addition to the challenges of rain, wind and humidity, the scrappy BME team also had to come to grips with the new tires that are now mandatory in the nitro-burning classes.

            Chicago is known as the Windy City, but it became the Rainy City during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, held in nearby Joliet, Ill., on May 21-23. Qualifying was a two-run affair as rain on Friday and Saturday washed out two of the four scheduled qualifying sessions. BME driver Brady Kalivoda qualified 15th at 4.667/300.26 mph, securing a spot in the 16-car field after being bumped down to 17th before his final qualifying shot on Saturday. A misaligned supercharger pulley pitched the blower belt on Kalivoda's quickest pass, but the e.t. was still quick enough to keep the BME team in the show.

            Kalivoda drew former NHRA champion Scott Kalitta in the first round of eliminations. Brady was first off the starting line by .053 seconds, but the supercharger belt again disengaged, slowing the BME machine to a 4.721/282.24 mph run while Kalitta took the win at 4.504/332.84 mph.

            Memorial Day weekend found the BME troops setting up camp at Heartland Park Topeka, the site of the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals. While summer doesn't officially begin until the solstice on June 21, summer weather had already arrived in Kansas. Temperatures in the 80s and a relative altitude above 4,000 feet required significant changes in the clutch and engine setup.

            Kalivoda's first qualifying run proved to be his best as he put a 4.733-second elapsed time at 305.01 on the board. The three subsequent runs were filed under "Learning Experiences" as tire smoke and a major vibration from an unbalanced tire and wheel prevented quicker times.

            It was déjà vu all over again on race day as Kalivoda faced Scott Kalitta in the first round of eliminations for the second straight week. And unfortunately the outcome was the same as Kalitta ran 4.609/326.24 while the BME dragster disappeared in a cloud of vaporized rubber. The bright spot: Kalivoda nailed Kalitta by .082 seconds at the starting line.

Brady Kalivoda: From the Driver's Seat

            "We've qualified at every race we've entered, and there are teams with bigger budgets that can't say that. The guys on the crew are working their tails off and we've got all the parts, pieces and personnel to win rounds. It's going to happen soon.

            "Conditions like we had in Chicago and Topeka make me happy that I'm a driver, not a crew chief. My job remains the same, but Bill and the team have to come up with the right adjustments whenever the track or weather changes.

            "Certainly our best run in Topeka was the third qualifying pass on Saturday. The car had great incremental numbers, the fourth quickest in the session to half-track. Then I felt a strong vibration and clicked it off early, but the car still ran 4.75 at only 240 mph. The motor was happy but the driveshaft sensors showed that the chassis was rattling like a paint shaker. Later we discovered that one of the slicks was out of balance. That's the neat thing about the computer - it can verify what the driver says or make a liar out of him.

            "We drew a Kalitta car in the first round at both races. On Sunday you have to run what you know how to run and let the chips fall. Race day in Topeka was cool and the air was quite a bit better, but we didn't quite compensate for the better conditions. We didn't have lane choice, and with the marginal traction in the right lane, we just didn't have the right setup."

The View from the Top: Bill Miller on Chicago and Topeka

            "Our friends from Okuma are probably starting to think that burning nitromethane causes rain. We hosted Larry Schwartz, senior vice president of Okuma America, and technical supervisor Rick Kimmins at the Route 66 Nationals. Fortunately we got a break in the weather and they were able to witness a Top Fuel dragster run from the starting line. Judging by the expressions on their faces, I think it made an impression. When the crew arrived at the track on Sunday morning, Larry and Rick had already swept out the water that flooded our pit space. That was much appreciated.

            "We're still learning about the new Top Fuel tires. We had a problem in Chicago which I think was the result of the tons of downforce produced by the rear wing and the extremely smooth track surface. That combination works the tires hard and builds up heat. We trimmed the rear wing's angle of attack by two degrees in Topeka to reduce the downforce and the load on the tires.

            "The third qualifying pass at Topeka might have been our best run of the season. I dialed up the ignition timing and the clutch engagement, and the car was on its way to a 4.50 e.t. But Brady felt a vibration he'd never experienced before and clicked it off early. We were a little baffled at first, but I told him, 'You're the driver and you have to make the decision.' When we found out that we had an out-of-balance tire, we understood what had happened.

            "We saw a 30-degree swing in temperature between qualifying and eliminations in Topeka. I thought that the track was good enough that Brady could run a low 4.60 against Kalitta. The car moved 10 feet and then zipped the tires, so that was our weekend."

Next Stop: St. Louis

            The BME team will sit out the next two races as the NHRA tour heads to Columbus, Ohio, and Englishtown, New Jersey. The next event on Bill Miller's dance card is the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals in Madison, Ill., near St. Louis, on June 25-27.

            "Now we have a break before we race again," said Kalivoda. "I'm glad it's a night race because it can be very hot and humid at Gateway International Raceway this time of year. It's a neat little facility, and this will be my first time driving there. I'm looking forward to it."

            "The qualifying sessions in St. Louis are at night, which is a big help in preparing for the race," added Miller. "I've started setting up the car in a different way, and it seems to be less sensitive to hot race tracks. I'm taking bigger steps now; you tend to get behind when you don't race as often as the other guys. This car is coming around."

BME Race Results

NHRA Route 66 Nationals, Joliet, Ill., May 23 Qualified: No. 15 at 4.667/308.57 mph

First Round: Scott Kalitta (4.504/332.84) defeated Brady Kalivoda (4.721/282.24)

O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, Topeka, Kansas, May 30 Qualified: No. 13 at 4.773/305.01 mph

First Round: Scott Kalitta (4.609/326.24) defeated Brady Kalivoda (12.67/84.85)

Next Race

Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals, Madison, Ill., June 25-27

TV Schedule:

6/26/04 Qualifying 10 - 11 p.m. (ET) ESPN 2

6/27/04 Eliminations 9 p.m. - midnight (ET) ESPN2