The BME Bulletin
Bill Miller Engineering's Top Fuel
Blog #8 OKUMA MAKES IT OFFICIAL The Bill Miller Engineering dragster has proudly carried the Okuma banner into the Top Fuel battle for two seasons. Now Okuma, a world leader in advanced CNC (computer numeric controls) and machining technology, has stepped up its involvement with the world's fastest motorsport by announcing that Okuma has been named the Official Machine Tool of NHRA. Larry Schwartz, President of Okuma America, and NHRA Vice President-Sales & Business Development John Covarrubias made the announcement at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals on Oct 21. "We're excited to see Okuma increase its presence in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing," said car owner Bill Miller. "Bill Miller Engineering relies on Okuma machine tools to produce championship-winning pistons, connecting rods and wrist pins, and we value and appreciate their support of our race team. Okuma is a first-class organization, and we intend to use the BME Top Fuel dragster as a marketing vehicle to promote Okuma products and technology." In addition to Okuma, Midaco Corp., a manufacturer of automatic and manual pallet systems and machining equipment, and Infinity Rebuild Inc., the exclusive rebuilder of Okuma tools, are on board with the Partners in Performance program. "I want to thank Mike Cayley Sr. at Midaco and Sid LaMonica at Infinity for their support," said Miller. "This is a great program for everyone involved, and I see good things on the horizon." Okuma hosted a large contingent of guests at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately the BME team's struggles with the engine and clutch combination continued in Las Vegas, and the black and yellow dragster missed the show by 25 thousandths of a second. "After our education about clutch discs in Chicago, we went to Las Vegas with a combination of clutch, spark timing and compression ratio that I felt comfortable with," said Miller. "On Friday night, we ran a 4.73 that put us 16th on the qualifying sheet despite dropping a cylinder. Saturday morning the air changed and I didn't compensate enough, and we were bumped to 17th. So it all came down to the final qualifying run, and Bobby (Lagana Jr.) ran 4.722 at 317.19 mph that left us 19th on the list. "Although I was disappointed that we didn't make the show, I was very encouraged when the car ran 317 mph," Miller noted. "That was the fourth or fifth fastest run of the session, and it showed that our clutch and engine program is coming around." The BME team will wrap-up its 2005 campaign at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 3-6. "I got some help from several more experienced crew chiefs in Las Vegas and they pointed me in the right direction," Miller reported. "Pomona is a good track and the cool weather is conducive to fast times. With a little help from my Top Fuel friends, we'll get the BME dragster back on the sharp edge of performance."
BME RACE RESULTS NEXT RACE
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