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The BME Bulletin
Bill Miller Engineering's Top Fuel
Blog #1 PERSISTENCE AT POMONA A few years back, there was a popular rock 'n' roll song with a line in it that went like this: "I get knocked down but I get up again." That pretty much describes how things went for the Bill Miller Engineering/Okuma America Top Fuel Team at the 2005 NHRA Carquest Auto Parts Winternationals back in mid-February. They came into the season opener at Pomona, California with a lot of momentum. The BME/Okuma car, brand new a year ago at the '04 Winters, did very well at that event. The final race in '04, also at Pomona, had been the Team's best performance. At the '05 Winternationals, initially, the Team sustained that momentum. The BME/Okuma Team was in the show with a best ever, 4.57, qualifying 11th in the 16-car field. In the first round, the Miller car went up against Brandon Bernstein in the Budweiser/Lucas car. BME beat Bud off the line by a hundredth and was on the way to another quickest-ever pass. But, darn it, once again, the racing gods weren't smiling. At a thousand feet, with the car on its way to a 4.51, the right side exhaust header support bracket failed, cutting the right rear tire and causing it to explode. Flying debris took off the right side of the wing and the car went left. Through the lights, going 4.73/241.32, driver, Brady Kalivoda, was able to get the front end back to the right, but the left rear wheel slapped the wall hard. He was able to get the car stopped, sliding along the wall, then emerged from the car uninjured. A disappointed BME/Okuma Team put the damaged car back in the trailer and headed to nearby Gardena and the chassis shop of master race car builder, Don Long. The post-inspection report from Don Long and Bill Miller is that there are plenty of salvageable pieces. "The back half is off and the front half, from in front of the foot box forward, is off and being repaired," Miller said. It will take about six weeks to make the Team's only car race-ready once again. The BME/Okuma Top Fuel Dragster will return to NHRA Competition at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston on April 8th.
BOBBY LAGANA JR. TO DRIVE FOR BME/OKUMA Bill Miller announced on Feb. 25th, that Bobby Lagana Jr. will drive the Bill Miller Engineering/Okuma America Top Fuel Dragster when the BME team returns to competition at Houston. "We're pleased to welcome Bobby to the BME/Okuma family because he understands what it takes for an independent team to be competitive in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series," said Miller. "He comes to the team with high recommendations from people I respect. We expect his years of racing experience to enhance our performance. "This driver change is entirely unrelated to the crash at the Winternationals," Miller noted. "Our investigation showed the accident was caused by a broken header support which cut a rear tire. My decision had nothing to do with Brady Kalivoda driving the car...period. The young man's a helluva racecar driver. I'll tell anyone that. He's done a remarkable job for me over the last 12-months. I have zero complaints about his driving ability. He's probably the single best driver I've had in this racecar," Miller stated flatly. Lagana, 27, of Scarsdale, N.Y., is a second-generation racer who, in the past, has run Top Fuel on a limited schedule with four teams. His most recent win in rounds came at Englishtown in 2004 where he defeated Brandon Bernstein in the first round of eliminations. Not only will Lagana drive the BME/Okuma car in NHRA Poweraid competition, but he'll continue to campaign his own Top Fueler in match races and selected IHRA events. "I'm really excited about driving for the BME/Okuma Team," said Lagana. "It should be a great fit with two independent racers teaming up to take on the world. "I've known about Bill Miller as long as I've been racing. My crew chief insists that we use BME Pistons and Connecting Rods in my own car," he noted. "I've had a lot of good times and a few tough times in drag racing, and the highs always motivate me to overcome the lows. I'm looking forward to many good times driving for Bill Miller."
The BME/Okuma America team might have
been knocked down, but it's going to get up again. It will rejoin NHRA
Powerade Drag Racing for the fourth round of the 23-race series after
chassis master, Don Long and the BME/Okuma Crew complete repairs to the
race car. BME RACE RESULTS
NEXT RACE
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