The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done (Part 1)

730 – FUEL FUNNY CAR –

Mission Accomplished!  I first stood on the throttle of the No Mercy Nitro Funny Car in April 2016 and made my final license pass in October 2017.  This accomplishment is not only representative of all the hard work and sacrifice that the entire team made to make this a reality but it also proves that a bunch of guys with a common dream, drive, and belief, can achieve something much bigger than themselves.  You see, we aren’t rich.  Nobody on this team has a ton of cash and nobody mortgaged their house or went into debt to make this happen.  We are just a bunch of regular working guys that found a synergy and friendship that has helped us achieve a monumental tasking. 

   

Five test events, a dozen runs, too many pistons that I care to count.  Used clutch discs, over 200 gallons of nitro, 60 gallons of oil, and over 200 spark plugs.  Thousands of dollars in hotel rooms, diesel, late night meals at Dennys or Remedys, buckets of hand cleaner, gallons of solvent, and trash canning over gapped piston rings.  You can do the math and see that it would have been better to have paid my fee to get my license in an already established running funny car. 

We didn’t oil the track once!  Not once did the rods come out of it.  No “major” fires, and our heads held high because we did it!  We set a goal and we achieved it.  It may have taken longer than we had hoped and it may have cost more than we expected, but we did something that most have not even attempted in the last decade.  The landscape of NHRA Drag Racing has changed dramatically and most that have the financial means don’t even attempt what we accomplished.    

Throw on your firesuit and hang out with me for the next few blogs as I take you from the pits to the shutdown as I share my story of achieving my NHRA professional funny car license along with a bit of background to what led me to this point in my life.

Part 1:  DREAMING IN THE PITS

I grew up in a home that always encouraged me to dream big and believe in myself.  I’ve always held on to that mantra and it has carried me through as I took on some of my biggest challenges; U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training, bachelor’s degree, graduating U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training, and building my first alcohol funny car are a few examples.  The pinnacle of my dreams has always been becoming a professional NHRA Nitro Funny Car driver.  That dream has died and been resurrected too many times to count throughout the years as I let negative thinking and self-doubt control my drive.  This was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and it wouldn’t cut me or my team an inch of slack.  I’m not going to try to talk some guru “don’t give up crap” to any of you.  It broke me!  I wanted to quit every single time adversity showed its ugly face but thanks to a support network of family and friends I somehow picked myself up and kept going.  It made me, and my entire team, work our very hardest to achieve it. 

The preparation is done in the shop, and the assembly is done in the pits.  The final product that shows up on the track is merely a summary of all the work done previously behind the scenes.  Very often, things are forgotten, or mistakes are made, and the results are disastrous on the track.  Nobody is perfect, and components fail, but investing in preparation, planning, and proper assembly is key to success.  Some of the biggest teams still fall victim to the smallest parts, no matter their budget or time spent in preparation.  Some call this karma, or the nitro gods.  We recently encountered two of these situations that really hurt our morale as a new team. 

During our 1^st qualifying attempt at the 2017 NHRA Toyota Nationals with guest driver Tim Gibbons (I hadn’t completed my license upgrade yet), the throttle pedal hit the clutch can go around after we installed a fireproof shield over the top of it.  The result was the throttle would not open for the burnout and as soon as the tree flashed yellow/green, Tim was unable to apply any throttle and idled down the track.  With our heads hanging low we recovered the car at the end of the track in front of a national event crowd.  The lesson learned was we should have checked the operation in the pits after installing the new part to ensure no cascading issues.

We tested the Monday after the 2017 NHRA Toyota Nationals in order to complete my license upgrade.  The plan was to complete two full passes as quickly as possible so we could load up and get back to our jobs and families.  It was already a long weekend in which we struggled through a lot of adversity.  The team showed up early on Monday morning, fresh, and ready to go.  They were excited to accomplish this goal and get the monkey off our back.  Everything went perfect and we beat our planned time of 10 a.m. in the staging lanes by 15 minutes. 

The car sounded great as it fired up and the guys had their starting line routine down to a science.  I let off the brake and rolled forward.  I felt the familiar dip as the car rolled through the burnout box and looked for the signal to press the throttle down for the burnout.  As I pressed my leg forward the pedal felt mushy and the engine RPM barely rose up.  I quickly grabbed the brake and brought the car to a stop.  I immediately knew something wasn’t right in the throttle so I didn’t even bother with putting it in reverse or backing up in case something went wrong which would endanger everyone behind the car.  I reached down and shutoff the fuel.  Everyone was defeated in that moment. 

We towed back to the pits and quickly discovered that the $2 clamp holding the cable to the chassis had failed and pulled through not allowing the throttle to work correctly.  We topped off the fuel, serviced a few things and pulled back to the lanes with the expectation of limited fallout from this delay.  Karma, or nitro gods, were not happy on this Monday as we were now behind every pro team waiting to make a run and the track just encountered a massive oil down.

We sat in the staging lanes for almost three hours.  I have never felt so defeated in my life as I did in that moment.  All of our previous failures kept running through my head as I recounted each time that we ran the car previously and how one thing or another prevented us from obtaining the performance needed to upgrade my license.  I told myself I was going to quit….I couldn’t keep going.  It was too hard, too much money, too much sacrifice.

Just when it seems like you can’t see through everything it sometimes suddenly becomes clear.  That clarity came at the end of a 4.50 @ 274 MPH pass down the track that was good enough to count as one of my full passes for my license upgrade.  It was far from perfect, and well off the performance numbers the car should run.  In fact, at the hit, the car made a hard move toward the centerline as it had cylinders out, but I caught it early, and was able to hold it with my hands crossed over on the wheel.

I’m just a normal guy like most of you and I find it hard to work through all the troubles of life.  They do seem overwhelming at times.  When you are passionate about something and serious to make it a reality any little delay or problem can sometimes spin us out of control because it’s not going how we planned.  I can share with you that the feeling that I had after that full pass felt incredible; mostly because all of the failures before it.  Had I simply wrote a check, and drove a proven car for someone else, I don’t know that I would have felt the sense of accomplishment that I feel today.  Plus, I did it with my family and closest friends.  Together, as a team, we overcame adversity and accomplished our goal.

View Part 2: Staging Lanes at www.chrisbennettracing.com         

Drag Racing Family

Drag Racing Family

Some say that in the final days of your life the one thing that will matter most to you is your family.  That recently had me reflecting on what a true family is and what it looks like.  I don’t have a large biological family.  In fact, like most of you reading this article, my biological family is fairly dysfunctional. 

As I scroll through my list of Facebook “friends” I tried to capture how I know each person and what part of my family they fall into.  Some folks I’ve known a long time, some a short time, and some for a good time (i.e. funny memes).  Some people I’ve never even met in person, but we share a common thread in life, and have connected through a virtual web.  I receive friend requests from complete strangers and also from people I haven’t talked to in a long time.  I tend to believe, and have found it to be true, that every person comes into your life for a reason and a season.   

As I reflected on these thoughts for this article, the one glaring truth to all of this is that I’m incredibly fortunate to have such a great family.  My drag racing family has been an absolute blessing to my life and I’m amazed by how we all come together in times of need.  A friend that I recently met had a major medical episode that hospitalized him.  I was reminded of the frailty of life and I was also amazed by the outpouring of support from friends and family.  He is currently recovering and I must believe that all the prayers and supportive words have had power in this turn around.    

Most of you know that this has been an incredibly challenging year for the No Mercy Nitro Funny Car as we made some unforeseen changes at the start of the year.  As it is, we are attempting to do something that is incredibly difficult and we have struggled to find the success we are searching for.  Some “friends” probably look for us to fail, as sometimes that is the natural reaction when you see someone attempting something as challenging as this.  Ultimately, far more have supported and encouraged us through this difficult time.  I am amazed by the words of persistence and perseverance that came from some of the most unlikely places.  A simple, “Don’t quit, you can do it” text from Tim Wilkerson, supportive words from Jeff Arend, Robert Hight, John Keigley, Robert Schwab, Chad Head, Chris Nance, John Hale, Bobby Cottrell, Brandon Welch, Brian & Ron Hope, and so many more.  I hate to leave other names out because there are many of you that continue to offer encouraging words.  Many people that I served with in the military wrote to remind me that since they’ve known me that this has been my dream, and to never quite.  Understanding sponsors never pressure us to perform and continue to stand next to us as we make difficult decisions.  Crewmembers, past and current, continue to refer me to our team mantra that supports our dream; persistence, perseverance, NO MERCY! 

Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest through the trees.  Much is the case with what we are currently accomplishing.  For some, the fact that we’ve managed to put together a complete ready to run pro NHRA nitro funny car, is a goal achieved.  For others, making a handful of runs down the strip, is a goal accomplished.  Maybe once I’ve achieved the license upgrade notch, the goal will be accomplished.  Or possibly, qualifying for the first national event will be the pinnacle of this journey.  This dream is quite elusive as the goal post will continue to move further and further away the closer we get, much like it should.  There’s a reason that John Force continues to pound the pavement every weekend.  

Family Reunions

Every race, event, show, or racing get together is a family reunion of sorts as the drag racing family from around the world comes together in one location.  It is incredibly warming to reunite with racing friends from around the world and catchup on everything we missed.  Even though I grew up in a racing family in the U.S., my racing career started in England.  Even though I didn’t know a single person in that country, the fact that I built a car and took it to a dragstrip immediately made me a part of a family.  I was adopted into their family and given a name, WB17.  It’s always a pleasure to see those great folks when they cross the pond to attend a race in the US.

Going to a race track is always something I look forward to as I know that I will see someone that I know.  We may not always agree on politics, global warming, or whether a Prius deserves to be in the fast lane, but I know at the end of the day we agree on one thing; Drag Racing.  We share a common bond and we are friends.  A friendly face in a sea of disgruntled angry people.   

Heroes

              Who are your heroes?  When I was a young red-headed, buck toothed, pale skinned kid riding my Huffy (couldn’t afford a GT) bike around the pits of Orange County, Riverside, Irwindale, Carlsbad, Palmdale, Pomona, etc., my heroes were The Snake, John Force, Brad Anderson, Rod Hynes, Chuck Beal, Kenny Bernstein, Ray Higley, and many many more.  One person rose well above all of them as the best drag racer in the world and that was my dad, Jeff Bennett.  In my mind, there wasn’t anybody else out there as talented as him, somebody just needed to give him a chance.

              It makes me incredibly proud that all of these years later I’ve been able to carry on his heritage and dream while doing it with him right next to me.  I used to always think that if I could be as half as good of a driver as him, I’d be pretty damn good.  My dad is my best friend and we have built a special bond that was forged over a monstrous hemi in the garage. 

              Folks, whomever your hero is, they are not getting any younger, which is why you need to take the time to be around them.  Every year, the drag racing GREATS are making their final pass.  Take the opportunity to support events that bring out the drag racing GREATS such as Steve Gibbs’ Nitro Revival at Barona Dragstrip on September 30^th (http://nitrorevival.com/).

Thank You

              The main purpose of writing this is to tell you THANK YOU.  If you’ve made it to the end of this diatribe, then I thank you for your friendship and support.  Maybe we’ve only known each other a short time, but just by reading the words that I’ve put to print, I thank you.  Your friendship is dear and sweet to me and I’m grateful to know you my friend.  Welcome to my family!

Some Guys Just Need a Break

IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYONE WOULD DO IT

              The statement, “If it was easy, everyone would do it”, is such an overused axiom but it rings true to most things in life.  If everything we ever did in life was easy, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate the victory of overcoming the adversity.  Nothing in my life has ever come easy and there have been many times that I’ve questioned my ability to complete the task.  I’ve been through military basic training twice, once for enlisting and once as a commissioned officer.  I’ve been a very young father with no money and an assignment overseas.  As an entrepreneur I’ve started numerous businesses, and failed most of them.  The one challenge that rises to the top was attending Undergraduate Pilot Training.  Those 12 months of training truly tested my perseverance and persistence.  Every waking day I studied and prepared for a training flight only to be brutally destroyed in debrief by the instructor pilot who was happy to recount my every mistake in gross detail.  Looking back on that experience, I now value the experience as it made me a stronger and more resilient person.  It has also made me a better driver as I now approach driving like flying an airplane and always try to stay open and receptive to constructive criticism offered by my team.    

DRAG RACING IS HUMBLING

Drag racing is humbling.  We campaigned the Pure Heaven Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car / Fuel Altered for many years.  My third pass in the car in 2008 during a license upgrade run posted a quick for the time 6.11.  We were thrilled that we had made such quick progress with our brand new build.  Shortly after that initial success we found ourselves solidly locked in the 6.30 range as the car would pick on various pistons, run after run.  It didn’t matter what changes we made, it would run a 6.30 or worse.  Over the winter of 2010 we received a phone call to participate in the newly created IHRA Fuel Altered class that would debut in Palm Beach, Florida in January 2011.  We spent the entire winter freshening up and servicing our racing program to prepare for the 2,500 mile trip east.  Completely frustrated by our inability to make progress in going faster I grabbed my laptop with Racepak data and took a trip down to longtime family friend and crew chief, Robert Reehl.  Less than a minute into starring at the data on my laptop he quickly sniped, “hang 40 grams of weight on your clutch”. 

It was a very long drive from Las Vegas, Nevada to West Palm Beach, Florida knowing that the only change you made, besides normal maintenance, was to hang 40 grams of weight on your clutch.  Our first pass down the track netted a 6.03 @ 230 MPH.  We were beyond ourselves and it seemed like the celebration wouldn’t end, but it did.  Drag racing is humbling.  As we pulled the manifold off we found a lifter bar broke, rotated, and destroyed our lifter/camshaft/block.  Not a huge deal, we had a fully prepped spare motor ready to go but we couldn’t make the 45 minute turnaround for the final round.  We pulled to the line the next day with the spare motor and unloaded a 5.93 pass.  My first 5 second run!  We truly hadn’t intended on running that quick and had made no tuning changes but what we forgot is that the spare motor had a -.020 decked block and that extra bit of compression helped make more power.  Oops!  We still hold the IHRA Fuel Altered record.  http://www.ihra.com/stats/records

That should be the end of that story, but it isn’t.  Drag racing is humbling.  As we serviced the motor after that pass, the oil came out of the drain plug accompanied by the silvery color of aluminum.  Upon further inspection, our brand new rod decided to exit stage left.  Most said it was because we were running the car hard to post a five second pass.  Not true!  Most teams running that particular brand of connecting rod in 2011 experienced the same fate.  For us, it was truly humbling.  We were 2,500 miles from home with two thrashed motors and a long schedule of events ahead of us.  We went from being on top of the world to being at the bottom.  That same friend who told me to put weight on the clutch offered some encouraging words, just like my family did for me during the most grueling days of pilot training.  Quit your crying.  Pick yourself up.  Press on.  Figure it out.  We did just that, and we finished the entire year on a single motor.  We finished #3 in points despite only attending less than half the 2011 events.  We celebrated in the winner’s circle many times that year.  It was very hard on our team and family, but we made it through.  We are now stronger and more resilient because of that experience.       

SOME GUYS JUST NEED A BREAK

Sometimes all it takes is a breakthrough to make a champion.  John Force was once a low-buck independent drag racer until he got his break in 1987 when Castrol Oil believed in his vision.  Prior to that opportunity, John was an amateur drag racer who spent more time on fire under fiberglass then he did in a corporate boardroom.  Today, John has leveraged that breakthrough into a mega-million dollar corporation that has not only revolutionized the sport of drag racing but has also arguably weakened the fan appeal that once made it great.  Today's landscape of professional NHRA teams are a who's who of corporate billboards.  Mostly gone are the low-buck independents who would thrill the fans with upset victories.  The passion and willingness to never quit in the face of adversity of an independent is what brought fans out in droves to see the underdog upset the factory team.  In the "good 'ol" days of drag racing the cars had names, the drivers had reputations (good or bad), and the rivalries were fierce.

We know exactly what we are up against.  It won’t be easy and it will be very expensive, but we believe that there is a reason that we have made it even this far.  We have a great following of supporters that believe in our dream and we know that through persistence, persistence, and No Mercy we will have our breakthrough.  It’s never easy, and it never will be.  For example, as we prepped for our 2017 debut event at the Nitro Spring Training, we suddenly found our blower case cracked.  For a mega-corporate team, they just grab another one off the shelf.  For us, that is a huge setback.  However, we pulled together as a team, came up with a few solutions, called on friends that can help us, and overcame the adversity.  We figured it out!      

              Competing at this level of racing requires millions of dollars per year to operate successfully, but yet, the No Mercy Racing family believes that our breakthrough is right around the corner.  Recently, Champion listed a competition in which teams can showcase their profile for a chance to win a $50,000 sponsorship.  The No Mercy Nitro Funny Car is asking for your assistance in helping our team get our first breakthrough.  Please visit http://www.championautoparts.com/Promotions/search-for-a-champion.html?page=/entry/1065 and vote for the No Mercy Nitro Funny Car as often as you can.

No Mercy Nitro Funny Car - Chasing a Dream in 2017

www.nomercyfunnycar.com