The BME Bulletin
Bill Miller Engineering's Top Fuel
Blog #9 ALAN BRADSHAW TO DRIVE BME DRAGSTER IN 2006 Bill Miller announced the Monday after Thanksgiving that Alan Bradshaw will drive the BME/Okuma Top Fuel Dragster in the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Bradshaw, the 2003 NHRA Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol Dragster champion, will join the BME team for preseason testing in Phoenix. "When I first met Alan, I was impressed by his focus and determination to become a Top Fuel driver," said Miller. "After winning the Top Alcohol Dragster championship, Alan took it upon himself to earn his Top Fuel license. He has the burning desire to race at the top level of the sport and he understands the commitment required to campaign a Top Fuel dragster. I'm confident that Alan will be an excellent representative for BME and Okuma America." "Bobby Lagana Jr. did an excellent job driving for us in 2005," Miller noted. "Unfortunately we struggled with our clutch setup for most of the season and that was certainly not Bobby's fault. As the owner and driver of his own, IHRA Top Fuel car, Bobby and I decided it was best to let him pursue his IHRA career. "I looked up Alan's Chinese astrological sign, and he's a monkey, which is what I am," Miller laughed. "He's also a Gemini, the same as me. So we have a lot in common already." Bradshaw, 37, of Odessa, Texas, agreed: "Bill and I are two peas on a pod. He told me, 'We're either going to have one heck of a time together or butt heads.' I said, 'It's your equipment and your team, and it's my responsibility to respect that.' I think we'll get along just fine. Seriously, Bill and Virgie Miller are super people and I look forward to racing with them. Bill is a very meticulous, analytical thinker. He has a good team behind him, a great sponsor in Okuma, and they're definitely committed to the cause. I'm ecstatic about the opportunity to drive the BME Top Fuel Dragster. Bill's given me a chance that nobody else has and I'll never forget that. "This is truly the fulfillment of a lifelong dream," Bradshaw noted. "Racing is something that is a part of me, something I have to do. Now that I've got a seat in a great Top Fuel dragster, I hope to be fortunate enough to stay there for a long time." Bradshaw literally grew up at drag strips. His father, Buddy, was an accomplished drag racer, and Alan followed in his tire tracks. He went to his first race as a 2-year-old, and at 3, he was emulating his Top Fuel hero, Tommy Ivo, by doing fire burnouts on his tricycle. At 14, Bradshaw bracket raced his father's tow truck and at 16 he moved into Super Gas. He progressed through a Super Comp dragster to Top Alcohol Dragster in 1993. He won the 2002 Division 5 TAD championship and the 2003 NHRA Lucas Oil TAD title driving Randy Meyer Racing's unblown, nitro-burning, dragster. Bradshaw has operated the Bradshaw Chiropractic Center in Odessa, Texas, since 1992. THAT'S A WRAP The BME team wrapped-up its 2005 campaign at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway on Nov. 3-6. The first qualifying run was lost to an electrical gremlin. After the crew replaced virtually the entire ignition system, the car responded with a 4.673-second elapsed time at 315.05 mph in Friday's second session that put the black and yellow Top Fueler 13th on the qualifying sheet. An increase in tire pressure for the third run produced intolerable shake. Jack Beckman's 4.59 in the final session bumped the BME car out of the field and a 4.713/306.19 by Lagana on his final attempt wasn't quick enough to make the show. The BME dragster was 17th on the list when qualifying concluded. "Based on our performance in Chicago, I thought the car was capable of low-4.60s in Pomona," Miller reported. "After our ignition problems in the first session, I learned that the top teams are replacing the coils after every four runs. That's $1200 in coils for a weekend–unbelievable! "We're looking forward to next year with our new driver, new clutch and new fuel system program. I fully expect the BME dragster to be running competitive times in 2006." BME RACE RESULTS
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