April 25, 2018

Track Day! Fuel Curve Funny Car Testing

The Fuel Curve Funny Car got back on track recently, blasting down Sonoma Raceway with a series of test runs as the team regroups for a summer campaign later this year. Driver Marc Meadors and new crew chief Pete Kaiser had their first opportunity to work together getting the new engine combination sorted out. As you might expect, there were some gremlins and tech issues but there was also a thunderous half track run that echoed for miles as the 1970 Camaro lurched out of the blocks and instantly hooked up on a great pass. It was the quickest half-track run ever recorded for the Fuel Curve team

Not only is the fuel system new, so is most of the Northern California-based crew. From sun up until sun down, the guys were thrashing, reassembling the engine between runs and getting the work flow together. In addition to crew chief Pete Kaiser, the new crew includes former nostalgia top fuel racer Larry Gotelli Jr, Brian Dutra, Jimmy Powell, Bob Raymond, Sean Barnes, Roger Moles, John Pickett, and Gordon Barreth.

The best run of the weekend came late Saturday afternoon. After a nice smoky burnout, Meadors staged the Fuel Curve machine and blasted to a .970 60-foot time, running it out strong to half track. Meadors shut the car off at 2.9 seconds into the run but the impressive half track numbers told the story of a really strong run. Via the Racepak data recorder, the car was timed at 3.94 to the 1/8th mile. It was LOUD!

“We wanted to get out to the track with the new guys and establish our new processes in the relaxed atmosphere of a test and tune day,” Meadors said. “I was very happy with the way everyone gelled and the way the car sounded and felt on the track. It was very strong. We plan on testing again Memorial Day Weekend and a few other times before heading to the Boise Nightfire Nationals in August for our first race of the year.”

Mechanically, the car is better than ever. Just weeks before he passed away, legendary Texas Top Fuel racer and nitro fuel system guru Dale Emery set up the car’s new fuel system. The Fuel Curve funny car features the last system ever flowed by Emery. In that regard, this engine is special. You couldn’t ask for a better crew chief than Pete Kaiser to take Emery’s combination and run with it. It literally pounded the ground over the weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Besides the Fuel Curve test session there was plenty of other drag racing action going on. Jay Boddie’s Nova and a field of 16 other “Street Outlaw” type cars were on hand for 1/8th mile exhibition runs. There was also long lines of bracket racers, sportsman entires as well as motorcycles on hand for a full weekend program.

We had a chance to walk around and snap some photos and take in some of the action throughout the day. We would like to thank Kyle Seipel and the staff at Sonoma Raceway for their hospitality!