BLOG CENTRAL - TIM CHARLET
UPDATED 10-30-2008
In its never-ending quest to bring the entire world of drag racing to its readers, CompetitionPlus.com has added fan extraordinaire Tim Charlet, to bring insight to his world.
Charlet brings a cult-following from MySpace.com as well as the drag racing message board community. He's a pretty cool guy as well and as a drag racer. He dabbles in video editing and is even a licensed drag racer.
UPDATED 10 - 30 - 2008
CAN I VENT?
Sometimes a scene from a movie best describes the way you feel. Please watch this one from the classic movie “Christmas Story” and I will explain why I am feeling this way.
Sometimes I absolutely hate being a passionate person. Don’t get me wrong, having passion for what you do and what or who you love is a very good thing. Sometimes it can really effect my mood, especially when I have no control over the situation. Let me tell you about something that is kind of bugging me today.
I love my BOSTON RED SOX, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS, and my COLORADO AVALANCHE. I am not a “fair weather fan” of these teams, and I didn’t recently jump on the bandwagon either. My love for these three teams goes back many years. My grandpa Forde, was the man who introduced me to Boston Red Sox baseball. He was originally from the Boston area. Although we lived in San Diego and were also padres fans, (until this past July when they traded Greg Maddox to the Dodgers and I officially turned in my Padres fan membership card. Seriously I sent it and my Padres jersey Fed Ex to the owners of the padres with a letter of resignation for being their fan) grandpa used to tell me stories about the history of the red sox and one of his favorite ball players, Red Sox great, “TEDDY BALLGAME” TED WILLIAMS. I actually had the pleasure of meeting him once at a Costco I was working at in Carlsbad, Ca. I followed the team from the 86’ world series, ( I can still hear Vin Scully saying…”BEHIND THE BAG…IT GET’S THRU BUCKNER…KNIGHT ROUNDS THIRD AND THE METS WIN IT!” and I get a sick feeling in my stomach!), until I moved out here to Colorado. I was introduced to Red Sox Nation, by a very good friend of mine Brent Jacobs who worked with me at Costco here in Denver. We went to watch a playoff game at a sports bar in town, and I was surrounded by some very passionate fans. Well, long story short, the sox won that game, I was hooked, and was adopted into Red Sox Nation!
I often wondered why my ex wife and I argued all the time. It took me some time, and therapy sessions with other sox fans to figure it out that she was from New York, and a Mets and Yankee’s fan. It was destine to fail from the beginning. My love for the sox has recently been transferred to my son Andrew. He proudly wears his Sox hat every day! He told me the other day that “mom” bought him a Yankee’s hat. He told her that he hated the Yankees! I love my son! Some of my best friends are red sox fans, including my teacher friends Melissa and Julie who live in Boston. Of course so is my lovely girlfriend Valerie and her family! So, you can say that the Sox are a very big part of my life.
I also love my San Diego Chargers! I have been a BOLT fan since I was a little boy. I grew up with hero’s like Dan Fouts, Lionel “little train“ James, Gary “Big Hands” Johnson, Pete Shaw, Willie Buchannan, Kellen Winslow, JJ Jefferson, Wes Chandler, Charlie Joyner, and Hank “The Tank” Bauer! The epic 1970’s disco hit, by Captain QB and the Crunch “San Diego Super Chargers” is actually one of my favorite songs of all time! I have stuck with my boys thru the good times, (the 94’ super bowl season) and the bad times, (like having Ed Luther as our QB). I have seen many versions of the uniforms, and even thought that the drafting of Ryan Leaf was better than grabbing Payton Manning, (so, I was a bit off on that one). My son Andrew, always wears his Ladanian Tomlinson Jersey every Sunday and gets upset if we can’t watch the chargers play on TV. I even went thru a time when I did not like Larry Dixon Jr. and Tony Pedregon because they wore OAKLAND RAIDERS themed helmets at a few races! So, I like my Chargers.
My admiration for the Avs, goes back to when they were the Quebec Nordiques. I didn’t follow hockey a lot when I lived in So Cal, but the team I liked, were the Nordique. I loved watching the “flying Stasney Brothers”, an up and coming rookie center ice man named Joe Sakic, seeing Dale Hunter beat the heck out of people, and the rivalry with the “habitant” also known as the Montreal Canadians. One of the things that brought me to Denver was the move the Nordique made in 1996 to Denver. I thought, “just one more reason to love Denver, my hockey team is here now as the AVALANCHE”. I cheered them on in 1996, and watched that epic game 4 vs. the panthers when I still lived in California. When Ewe Krupp shot that puck past “the beezer” in the 3rd OT I jumped up and down, (all by myself at my parents house in Oceanside, California at 12:30am). I was there in 2001, when Ray Borque raised the cup in game 7 vs. the Devils of New Jersey. I admire my captain, Joe Sakic, the young kids like Paul Stasney, Marek Svatos, and Peter Budjai. Needless to say, I have lots of admiration for my sports teams, and sometimes their success or failure directly effect my mood….which brings us to yesterday Sunday October 19th, 2008.
Yesterday afternoon I watched my Chargers, (at least attempted to watch because there were power failures in Buffalo) lose to the Buffalo Bills, and drop to 3-4 for the season. This team has so much freaking talent, there is NO WAY, they should be 3-4! But, it’s early in the season, and I would rather have the Bolts finish the season strong, and peak right before the start of the playoffs, (If they make it). I took their loss better than usual, because I knew that their loss meant that the Red Sox would win game 7! It just happens that way. When more than one of my teams are playing on the same day, at least one of them wins that day. By the way this is a historical fact that goes back to 1998 when I first noticed this trend. On the flip side, it has never happened that all of my teams have won on the same day either. Since the Avalanche were not playing this day, I had a 50% shot at getting a winner this day. Since it was the Sox in game 7, I was actually kind of glad that the Chargers “Took one for the Timmah Team”. So, I was sitting at the Champs sports bar in Littleton with my girlfriend. It was the top of the 8th inning, and our Sox were down 3-1, two outs, runners on 1st and 3rd. The rays had gone thru 3 pitchers earlier that inning, then something happened that instantly caused a flashback! Do you remember the movie the “Natural” with Robert Redford? At the end of the movie, he is coming up to bat, when the other team puts in a young left handed pitcher to face Roy Hobbs. In the movie, they made it appear that it was Hobbs facing his younger self, and like every good Hollywood ending, Hobbs hit’s the dramatic home run to win the game for the NY Knights. However, my team is from Boston, and unfortunately there was not going to be a Hollywood ending for my Sox. David Price, the left handed rookie pitcher from Tampa came in, and got his out in the 8th, and then 3 more in the 9th to end my Sox’s season. Then, this is how I felt:
In the immortal words of Jack Bauer from 24...”DAMMIT!” I WAS PISSED! Not only did my Chargers lose, but my Sox did too? 
WTF? That’s just not right. I mean, how dare they do this to me! I can look at the bright side and say that the Sox did advance to the ALCS, and did come back from 7 runs down in game 5 with only 9 outs remaining, but I just can‘t sugar coat this today. Maybe the Sox and Chargers conspired on this day to lose, just to piss me off and test me? One of the best lessons I have learned from my Dad, is that you “Win with respect, and loose with dignity.“ If you win, act like you’ve been there before, be polite and respectful of the other team or individual. When you lose, congratulate the winner, be professional and learn from your mistakes. However, I had nothing to do with the outcome of this game. I was not in uniform or on the Sox or Chargers payroll. I can play the “devils advocate” and “what if” it to death, but at the end of the day, my teams just got beat! They did not get “screwed” by a bad call, bad karma or even the curse of the bambino this time. If they had played a little better then perhaps they would have won. So I guess maybe I don’t need to call Oliver Stone and begin the investigation to the events of 19th Oct 2008. They just lost. End of story! At the end of the Sox game, Valerie, who is maybe a bigger sox fan than I, just said, “oh well, we won it last year, and you can’t win them all”. I just looked at her with a bit of confusion, then remembered what my Dad and Jack have taught me, “Lose with Dignity”. So, we had another beer, shared a shot of Jamison whiskey and called it a night. Ok, I feel better now!
We have less than (2) weeks until the race in Vegas starts. Val and I are counting the days and getting very excited for our upcoming trip. We’ve got out trip all booked and confirmed and we’re going to have a great time. We haven’t decided if we are going to dress up for Halloween or just “people watch” and go out that night. There is an awesome Party at the Harrah’s that we might go to. The Hard Rock on Halloween is always a good place for some ‘people watching’, or as my buddy Joe Sherwood likes to call it, “More footage for Timmah’s sequel to the King nitro’s Eye Candy Video”. We will most likely hook up with my friends Chris “The official supplier of Timmah’s Cigars in Vegas” Cook, Senor Paul “the designated driver” Flores, Mark “the Minnesota Machine” Krogen, the legend known as Greg-0 Rice, Joe “king nitro” Sherwood, Kelly “I‘ve been in Timmah‘s Eye Candy Video“ Holmes and many other people with “Mater-cred“! I heard a rumor that the young Mike Minick will be in town for a Job interview, and perhaps I can have a chance to properly corrupt, I mean introduce him to Vegas the proper way!
I have to make sure to grab my Diet Mt. Dew for Mr. Bennett as I believe Bobby will be in town to cover the race for Competitionplus.com. Needless to say, I am sure we will have plenty of things to do Friday night. (editor's note: With all the freaks out, went downstairs grabbed food and stayed in room all night)
I’m really looking forward to having Valerie meet my parents and my racing friends on Saturday the first of November. We are going to have dinner in Mesquite, Nevada Saturday evening with the parents at Katherine’s at the Casa Blanca Resort, (in case anyone wants our autographs we will be there at 6pm). Before that, we’ll head out to the track for a few hours to say hi to everyone. I can’t wait to see the expression on Valerie’s face when the first pair of top fuel dragsters heads down the track. She’s not much of a racing fan, but I think she’ll have a great time.
Well that is it for this weeks edition of the Timmah Times. Thank you for being my outlet and letting me “Vent” for a few minutes. I sure hope you were entertained at my expense! See ya next week!
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10 - 18 - 2008
Good Morning Buckley AFB…COLORADO!!!!
Good morning, from the beautiful city of Aurora, Colorado. Today is the 14th of October 2008 and we are broadcasting live from Buckley Air Force Base, home of the 460th Space Wing of the United States Air Force, and the 140th Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard. I am sitting at my desk, at my new job enjoying a fresh cup of government coffee, taking in a beautiful sunrise over the plains of Colorado and ingesting the smell of the exhaust coming from the F-16 fighting falcons warming up right next to me, preparing for their morning exercises. Is it possible that a guy who spends his spare time driving 7 second dragsters in National Hot Rod Association , and working on the starting line at NHRA national events could have a better office (besides a drag strip) to work in? I’m not sure if that’s possible.
I usually show up to my office at 0715 to get things ready for opening of business at 0730. It is 0730 and time for the playing of Reveille. For those who are not aware, Reveille is the signal for the start of the official duty day. Because the time for the start of the duty day varies between bases, the commander designates the specified time for reveille. If the commander desires, a reveille ceremony may accompany the raising of the flag, which it does at Buckley AFB. This ceremony takes place in the vicinity of the base flagstaff and is held after sunrise. Our base starts the official duty day at 7:30am. When this happens there is a protocol that both civilians and uniformed military must follow. All vehicles in motion should come to a stop at the first note of the music and the occupants should sit quietly until the music ends. When in civilian clothes, face the flag (or the sound of the music if the flag is not visible) and stand at attention with the right hand over the heart. From my building, I have a great view of the Flag at HQ being raised. This is my favorite part of the day. I am usually off work at 1630, (or 4:30pm), however if I was on the base at 1700, we would do this all over again for the lowering of the flag.
We had (4) pilots come to Buckley AFB to perform a “fly over” at Sunday afternoon’s Denver Broncos game. Working with one of my co workers, Mr. Ray (who by the way is a long time family friend of the Bandimere family here in Denver, and used to race Super Stock back in the hay day of class racing, the late 1960’s) we loaned them one of our sedans so that they could get around town during the weekend. When they came to pick up the vehicle, they walked passed my little cubical and HAD to stop to talk some shop! My little cubical is decorated with your typical stuff, pictures of kids, family and friends, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Chargers banners, and “the shrine” to “Fast” Jack Beckman, (don’t worry Jack, I’m not at the stalker level yet bro), and the US Army Top Fuel Dragster, (which yes I have caught so much hell for, working at an Air Force Base!) It was the pictures of Jack’s Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger funny car that caught the eye of these F-15 pilots. The first question which came from the lead pilot was, “Hey, I saw that guy run in Phoenix earlier this year, he won the race. Did you know he used to be in the Air Force”? I responded “Yes Sir, (he was an officer) Jack was a former Air Force Sergeant who actually used to work on the SR-71 Blackbird.” He said, “you must be a big fan of his”, my response to that question really surprised him.
Well, lunch break is over, so I better get back to work. I will talk to all of ya’ll next week. Oh, before I go, I just wanted to say congrats to Tim and Kim Richards on their retirement from drag racing. The “General” has been one of the best crew chiefs in the history of our sport. I will miss seeing him and Kim at the races but wish them the best of luck in the future! It was also announced today that Rob Flynn will be taking his “Canadian Horse Power” over to the Budweiser Top Fuel team. So, does this mean they’ll switch sponsors to MOLSON Maybe?? Oh yeah, that’s a Coors product!
See ya’ll next week, same bat time…same bat channel!
BREAKING NEWS:… I JUST FOUND OUT THAT WILL FARRELL IS GOING TO STAR IN A LAND OF THE LOST MOVIE COMING OUT NEXT YEAR!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!! Thx Johnny Rockstar for the breaking news flash!!!
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10-11-2008
Do you remember when???
Do you remember the movie Jerry McGuire? Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) was talking to his agent while in the shower (Tom Cruise) about the “QUAN”. He was referring to a level of “respect” that a person earns thru their accomplishments. I love that word, and have been trying to establish that “QUAN” for a long time. But, the “Quan” is not something that just comes overnight. It takes time, hard work and a lifetime of memories!
One of my friends and I were talking the other day on the phone. He mentioned something about what was the coolest car I had ever seen on the race track. Without hesitation, I answered “DIAMOND” Dave Miller’s short wheel based Top Fuel dragster that he campaigned in the mid-1980s. It was a cool looking car, and it actually ran pretty well. It was red, about 200” in wheel base and had a picture of Buster Couch painted on the side of the car if memory serves me correct. I say that, because the last time I saw it, was on the broadcast of the US Nationals back in either 1985 or 1986. Thinking about that got car opened up something that my Dad always says to me. He is often amazed how I remember things in detail that happened well over 20 years ago, from when I was a kid growing up. Yesterday, I started to think, what other “MEMORIES” do I have that stick in my mind?
The 70’s were all about cartoons! My favorite show back then was the Land of the Lost! Do you Remember “Marshall, Will and Holly, on a routine expedition?” Do you remember the name of the little furry guy who would tag along with them? How about the lizard looking green guys who would hisssss when they walked? The big dinosaur that always seemed to wake them up in their cave? Well, if you answered, Chaka, the Sleestack’s and “Grumpy” you would be correct. Of course I was also a bit partial to the “super friends”! Do you remember this cartoon intro?
From the 80’s, the image that still sits in my mind occurred on January 28th, 1996. The horrible tragedy of the space shuttle challenger. I was in 7th grade at Victory Christian School. We did not get a chance to watch the launch live on TV that day. We did however, get released early from school. When I got home, I remember seeing it on TV, over and over again. People trying to explain what happened, and so many people crying. What I remember most about that day was not the actual tragedy, but the words that came that night from our president, Ronald Reagan, who said, “The future does not belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave” and the words that ended his speech, “We will never forget them nor the last time we saw them as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God”.
From the 90’s, it was about drag racing!!! It came on Halloween 1992! I was sitting in the stands at Pomona’s “Parker Avenue” drag strip in my normal first nitro qualifying session seats, right about 400’ from the starting line. In the left lane was Wyatt Radke, in the right lane was John Force. He was just eliminated from the championship that year, Won by Cruz Pedregon. He was attempting to qualify his Castrol GTX funny car when his car went up in smoke, and then made a quick turn towards the left lane and flipped over onto the top of the car. What I remember most about that accident was how close he came to hitting Wyatt in the other lane, and how quiet things got as he slid to a stop. Wyatt was having problems as well and lifted right about the same place in the track when John came right into his lane. I remember John getting out of the car, putting up his hands to the crowd and I just cheered as loud as I could.
This new millennium has created it’s share of memories for me. The tragedy of 9/11, the “Shock and Awe” of the 2nd Gulf War, the Shuttle Columbia disaster, the Red Sox winning the world series in 2004, my graduation from Frank Hawley’s drag racing school in 2003, and receiving my competition license are just a few of the sights and sounds that I will always remember. I have created some new memories recently. Standing in the same lane as my bud Fast Jack won Funny Car here in Denver, my first date with Valerie at our “pub”, watching my son score his first goal in soccer, seeing my daughter in her school play give her first speech in front of so many people, and absolutely nailing it!! (she is her Daddies little girl!) and heading on a day trip with Valerie and her best friend from Washington DC Diana, up to Mt. Evans was awesome! But, the thing about memories is that they usually create the person you are. How you handle the tragedies and triumphs in life seem to decide how you are seen in the public eye. A drag racer needs to flourish at this. They need to be able to forget the good and the bad, but be able to recall that info at a split second to ensure the same mistake is not made again. It is when they do this, that they can establish “the Quan”. I have made my share of mistakes in my life, but I have learned from them and try so hard to ensure they don’t happen again. With the help of God, my family, and my friends I have survived this rollercoaster of a year. Even though I love roller coasters, I am glad the ride is starting to slow down and smooth out. I now have a great new career, an amazing new girlfriend, and some great new friends in my life.
To all my family and friends, THANK YOU! You are my ambassadors of the “QUAN”!
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9-24-2008
One door Shuts. Another one SWINGS OPEN!
In life, we are sometimes conflicted between the choices between what is right, and what is wrong. For me the choices between what is right and wrong have always come as not a black and white issue, but very grey. There have been times when doing the “right” thing is “bad”, and vice versa. For those of you who have been following the blog, you know that I have been a very loyal employee of the Fed-Ex company for many years. Well, I am sorry to say that as of last Friday, I am no longer with that company. What happened to predicate me leaving Fed-Ex is not important. I truly loved my job, and the people I worked with, and I will miss them dearly. So, to all the wonderful customers and friends I have met thru working with Fed-Ex, I wish you all the best, and as you all to stay in touch with me. You can contact me thru my Racing Email account: Charletmotorsports@Gmail.com .
It was a very long week, full of uncertainty, doubt, and fear. I wasn’t sure where I was going to find a job that would pay me what I was making at Fed-Ex, provide me the same great benefits that they did, and do something that I really enjoy doing. Well, as many of my friends reminded me last week, “where one door closes, another one is bound to open up”. They could not have been more right.
Everything really ‘hit the fan’ on Tuesday of last week. That’s when I started my search for another job. I posted my resume on career builder and monster, and every other job search engine out there. I actually heard from a few companies, and was interviewed a few times as well. My previous work experience is great, my references; very strong, and I have a good ability to interview in person. However going into Thursday, I was not that certain of my future. Then, I got the “PHONE CALL”.
It was from a great courier friend of mine, Big Bill who ran a route near mine, calling to ask if I was looking for another job working in the government sector. He remembered a conversation we had a year ago, when I said, “Man, I’d love to have served my county in the armed forces when I was younger and I hope I can do something for my country some day”. I am a very patriotic person who loves this country very much, and if there is one regret I have, it is that I never served in the armed forces. Well, Billy (or the magic man as I refer to him as, I am the El Diablo), told me about a job 
opportunity that was right up my alley. He picked up an application for me, and we met later that day to talk about the job. I remember when I ran his route, delivering to this place, and actually thinking, “Man, I would love to work here”. Well, that job had opened up. So, I filled out the application, attached my Resume’ and gave it to him to turn in on Friday morning. On Tuesday morning this week, I received the phone call from my future boss asking for an interview. We met yesterday at a coffee shop for about an hour, and yesterday afternoon I got the offer letter for this new job. I really can not go into what I’ll be doing, but it’s a chance to fulfill a dream, support our troops, and provide a great future for me and my family. I start my new job on October 1st! Plus, the best part of my interview, was when my new boss and I started talking about racing, and my goals.
He saw the passion in my eyes when I spoke about drag racing. He started to tell me about stories of seeing “Big Daddy” Don Garlits when he was younger growing up in North Carolina, (HOME OF THE TARHEELS!) before he enlisted in the 
United States Air Force, and how he lost touch of the sport when he was in the service. Well, we talked about the sport and where it was at, and where I saw it going in the future. He agreed to help me in any way to accomplish my goals. That kind of support is awesome, and I just met the guy! But, I feel that we will work well together, and I look forward to working with this great team for many years to come.
So, meanwhile at the drag strip. How about that Fast Jack Beckman? (you know, I’ll never get tired of saying those words!) For the 4th straight race, they reached the final round, this time, they were able to take the win light in the finals, by a standard super comp race MOV (margin of victory) .0013 seconds. Not bad Mr. Beckman! We also witnessed history at the new zMax drag strip as Tony Schumacher became the all time victories in Top Fuel Dragster driver in history, notching up his 53rd National event victory. In the process, his crew chief, Alan Johnson won nitro trophy number 75 in his amazing career. Congrats Alan, and to your team for accomplishing this amazing task! I know it’s only the beginning and I’d love to be there to see you reach victory number 100! (in the driver seat of the car winning that race would be fine!) Another special event occurred that weekend, as my poker playing buddy, Justin Humphries, took the Race-Redi Motorsports Pro Stock Pontiac to it’s first national event winner’s circle! Congrats to Justin and his entire team on that great victory!
Well, as the NHRA tour heads south to Dallas, for the next race in the countdown to the championship, I will sign off on this blog. Good luck to all the people racing this weekend. To my new Mater friend Jeff Arend, (who was cool enough to come into the Nitromater.com Chat room on monday night,) Go gett'em Dude!
Oh, and to my girlfriend Valerie…..
I WAS WRONG… Your BRONCO’S RULE… My CHARGERS SUCK…! [EDITOR'S NOTE: They both suck, Tampa Bay Bucs rule!]
I hate losing bets! There is more to this bet but I can't talk about it here. ;-)
Have a great week everyone!
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9-13-2008
Living the dream, thru others eyes!
First off, let me be the first to eat some crow. In my previous blog, I stated….”I will miss seeing my buddy Jack win the race, (which when he does, remember where you heard it 1st folks!)”. Those who watched the race now know that Jack did not win the US Nationals in funny car. That race was won by my fellow Competitionplus.com blogger Robert Hight, driver of the AAA/ John Force Racing ford mustang funny car, (congrats Robert!) Jack did however go to the final round, in the Valvoline/MTS DSR Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, what many people are calling the “hottest car in drag racing”. So, being a big man, I want to say that I was wrong in calling my shot that Jack would win the “big go”, but, he did come darn close! Nice work to Johnny West, Tommy Delago, and the entire Valvoline/MTS team for a job well done. They have finished the “regular season” in 6th place, and after the points reset with 6 races remaining in the countdown to the championship are only 70 pts behind. Is it a strange coincidence that this team started to “gel” and dominate the same weekend I came out with the Fast Jack tribute video #2? Either way, I am so proud of my friend Jack and his team right now! Go win that championship home boy! Oh and how about that Fast Jack, to show his support for Timmah in Top Fuel on his funny car? Pretty cool dude…Thanks… Of course, if you believe that, I have a beach front property in Arizona for sale for ya! Photoshop courtesy of Johnny Rockstar!
My friends John Rogers, Mark Krogen, Chris Cook, Greg Rice, and Joe Sherwood had a great time in Indy. I received many phone calls from this race from my buddies. JRX was nice enough to give me round by round text messages as to Beckman’s performance. I even got updates as to how much beer and food they were eating. Heck, Johnny Rogers even proved that he could put an entire dove bar in his mouth all at once. Chris Cook’s t-Shirt, which was provided to him by nitromater.com legendary “thread hijacker” Alan Loder, was a huge hit! Many of us have supported “THE DON” and DSR in his battles with NHRA thru the years. Since Indy is the place for making statements, which one was made that I will touch on later, Chris decided to show his support for DSR with this classic t-shirt, “COME TO THE DARKSIDE…WE HAVE NITRO!”. By the way, Mr. Loder, could you please send one to Timmah in time for Vegas 2?
Our buddy, and creator of the anti-countdown petition, ( http://www.petitiononline.com/nhra/petition.html ) PJ Sapienza and his dad, “big zappy” were also in attendance. They even got the “pj for prez” sign on NHRA 
RACEDAY on espn 2. Needless to say, the “BOYS” had a great time in Indy, and I am looking forward to joining them there next year when I’m racing there!
During this Indy weekend it was announced that Alan Johnson will be leaving DSR to start his own top fuel and funny car team. From Competitionplus.com “At the conclusion of the 2008 season, the seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion crew chief who has 75 professional-level national event victories to his credit will field a two-car team in 2009 through a partnership with Qatar-based Al-Anabi Racing”. When I read this my jaw literally hit the floor. I am a huge supporter of DSR. I really like Don and he has been very cordial to me every time we have met or talked on the phone. Plus, he employs my favorite funny car drivers and friends, Jack Beckman, Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi and Jerry Toliver. But, before DSR there was Johnson Racing. As most of you know, I grew up in southern California, which is known as NHRA division 7. During the early 90’s the most dominate team in top alcohol dragster was the Johnson family and their red blown TAD, driven by the late Blaine Johnson. During this time, I had the opportunity to meet Blaine on several occasions. He was not only an incredible driver, but also a very polite and honest to God, genuine person. When he passed away in 1996, his brother Alan came back the next year with Gary 
Scelzi, a family friend and fellow Californian, behind the wheel of the Winston sponsored top fuel dragster. They won a few world championships, and truly honored Blaine by showing the world how awesome that team could be. I wish Alan Johnson the best of luck in his future endeavor. Not only because I WANT TO DRIVE HIS TOP FUEL DRAGSTER, (hint hint….wink wink…!) but because I know he has the opportunity of a lifetime to build a high class, well funded professional drag racing team that can bring an international flavor to the sport of NHRA drag racing. To his royal highness, Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, you could not have picked a better person to start this team. Now all you need is a well spoken, articulate, charismatic and passionate driver to drive your teams top fuel dragster. I happen to know somebody that could fill this position.
The drag racing world will welcome a bit of history this upcoming weekend, as Bruton Smith opens up his brand new 4 lane, Z-Max drag way in Charlotte, North Carolina. I had planned to attend this race, but I am going to save my money and time off for a very unique and awesome trip I have planned for the end of October and early November. I always find a way to attend both of the Las Vegas national events, in April and October. It is also my opportunity to visit with my parents who live in Hurricane, Utah which is at the footsteps of the Zion National Park. This April when I attended the race, I was just starting to “date” this really cool gal named Valerie. I had a great time there with my dad and son Andrew. Had some great times with my “mater” friends and was introduced to Max and Jane Naylor and the Vegas Fuel pro stock team. The entire time I was at that race, I could not stop thinking about his cute girl who was back in Colorado. While I was at the track on Saturday for qualifying, I was imagining what it would be like to introduce her to NHRA drag racing, in a city she loves to visit, (Las Vegas). Well, this October 28th, I will have my chance for 
exactly that. Valerie is going to head to Las Vegas with me to meet my parents, and attend her 1st NHRA National Event. When the race is over, we are going to fly to Washington D.C. for the presidential election. How cool would it be to be in our nations capital for the election of our next president of the united states? Well, we will have that chance. While there, we are going to meet her friends and head to our counties first state, Delaware for “returns day”. It will be a great time for us and I am really looking forward to this trip.
Well, I better wrap up this edition of the Timmah Times. The kids are starting to get a bit bored, so we are going to head out to the petting zoo and hang out with some animals!… UPDATE… Just got back form petting zoo… Kaylee got bit by a goat! She does not want to go to the petting zoo again!
Have a great week all!
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8-26-2008
The Big Go = The Stanley Cup!
In sports, many of the greatest athletes in history have had some very interesting superstitions. Michael Jordan, would wear his North Carolina shorts under his Bulls shorts for good luck. Pitcher Turk Wendell, brushes his teeth and chews licorice between innings, and former Red Sox player Wade Boggs only ate Chicken on game day! Heck, even in professional fishing there are some who believe that “Fish may not bite if a barefoot woman passes you on the way to the dock.”
Today is the 1st day of the 54th running of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana, and for the 35th straight year, I am not in attendance. I have had the opportunity over the years to attend the “BIG GO”, but there is a reason why I have not headed out to attend this very historic race. I know this may sound weird, but INDY, is my Stanley Cup! In the NHL, professional hockey players believe in a very strange superstition. They don’t touch the “CUP” unless they have actually won it. Many of them believe that if they don’t deserve to touch it unless they have won it. I can totally respect that! I will not go to this race, unless I am actually competing in it. When you win a NHRA national event, you are given a very important trophy as well. “The Wally” is named after NHRA founder Wally Parks. This gold statue is the symbol of NHRA drag racing, and is very much like the Stanley cup for many drag racers. For a while, I had this same belief. Then a strange thing occurred last year. At the Mopar Mile High nationals, my very good friend “Fast” Jack Beckman won the race in Funny Car. Jack was in the winners circle taking pictures and getting ready to do a few interviews with the media, and asked me to take his wife and son back to the motor coach. When I returned, Jack was still taking pictures and we were celebrating the victory. A few minutes later, he said, “Hey Timmah, can you do me a favor, and take this to Jenna?“ He handed me his “WALLY”! At first I was a bit nervous to touch it. I mean, this was like my Stanley Cup! If I touched it, I would never win one myself! But, this was Fast Jack Beckman here, my buddy had asked ME to take his prized “WALLY” to his wife and new born son! So, I took the trophy, and strapped it in the front seat of my 2006 Nissan Sentra! Since I had my camera with me, I decided to capture this memory for good. This picture is one of my best memories!
Is there a such thing as being too superstitious? I have talked to some of my fellow drivers about this very thing over the past few weeks, and have come to the conclusion that I very well may be an anomaly. Although I have always been a rather superstitious person, I don’t believe in Bigfoot, the theory of Atlantis, or the loch ness monster. However, I do have some “lucky charms” in my possession when I head to the race track to drive. I have my lucky pennies. Both of them are from 1998, and 2002, which are the years of my kids births. There is my lucky driving socks, t-shirt (a Jack Skelington shirt from the Nightmare before Christmas) and, my lucky Oakley sunglasses! When I strap in, I make sure to put my left belts on first, then my right. I also put my left glove on before my right. When I do my burnout, I put my face shield down about 75% as I roll into the water, (ala Eddie Hill). When I am ready to stage, I have my shield up. I roll and light the pre stage bulb, then pull down my shield. I do this on every run, no matter what I am driving. To many people these might be superstitions, but to me it’s known as “developing a pattern of consistency”. Guess what, it works! On the average, during a race, my reaction times are within .010 for the entire weekend. Over the years, I have watched so many races from the starting line, and from every position in the stands, that I have “visually” made over 100,000 runs in my head. Each time a car goes down a track, I visualize myself being in the drivers seat, and go thru the steps in my head. Sometimes, I will actually go see the driver after his run when something happens that is “not normal”, and ask him or her what they did to correct the problem. I do this to learn from those whom I respect. I speak their language and can visualize what it is like to do what they are doing. I figure, if I don’t have the car, I might as well do the practice in my head until that opportunity comes.
Indy, is a very special race, and that city holds a very special memory for me. My dad and I had the pleasure and honor, to attend the Indy 500 in 1991 with my grandpa Forde. Watching the Indy 500 on TV was something that my father and I would do every year. We’d wake up in the morning, make a good breakfast, (well Dad would cook, I would help eat), watch all the pre race ceremonies including my favorite which is the singing of “Back home again in Indiana” by Jim Nabors! But, being there in 91, when I was a senior in high school with my grandpa and my dad was very special. Rick Mears won that race, and I knew the next time I went to that city was to attend the US Nats! But, watching this race on TV for so many years, many memories come to thought. Of course, I’ll never forget the Snake running his AWESOME 5.63 in the Pepsi Challenger Funny car, (which was the run of the year and then some!). I remember when Pat Austin bought Gary Orsmby’s Top Fuel operation and made it to the final round in both Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster, only to bang the blower during the top fuel burnout. I remember watching John Force win his 1st indy and crying in the interview. I loved watching the HOURS of coverage on TNN and then ESPN 2, and seeing one of my favorite drivers of all time, Rick Santos, win Indy in the S & S Automotive small block chevy TAD, and then to become the 1st driver in that categories history to be a Repeat Indy winner, when he won in Jack O’Bannon’s Hemi Top Alcohol dragster. Of course, I remember 1996, and the tragic passing of Blaine Johnson, during qualifying. That was also the year that Elmer Trett lost his life on his Top Fuel Motorcycle. The thing that I will remember most about that race was Steve Evans from TNN introducing us to the days qualifying highlights, and his quote, “THE DRAG RACING WORLD HAS LOST A SHINING STAR” That year was also the top fuel debut of Tony Schumacher, who was the #16 qualifier, and was to line up next to Blaine Johnson in round 1. Who knew back then, that Blaine’s brother Alan, would wind up being the crew chief for Tony’s US ARMY Top Fuel dragster. I remember last years Indy race for not what happened on race day, but what happened the day before. Seeing my buddy Jack win the Skoal shootout for a $100,000 payday!
There are many great memories in my mind for this great race. As much as I’d like to go, (and this year a few of my friends offered to fly me out there, get me tickets and put me up for free), I just couldn’t do it. I know my buddies, Chris Cook, Mark Krogen, Joe Sherwood, and of course, John “the Rockstar” Rogers, will all be updating “TIMMAH” on all the activities that are happening at the 54th running of the BIG Go! I will miss the INDY BUS, the introduction to the 1000’ club (which I am a member in good standing at Pomona!) the trips to Hooters, staying in the camp grounds with Cook and his family, enjoying some “apple pie”! I will miss learning the ropes from Bobby Bennett at the greatest race in history this year, I will miss seeing my buddy Jack win the race, (which when he does, remember where you heard it 1st folks!). Most of all, I will miss meeting one of my best friends, John Rogers, who is my brother from another mother, and having a true Indy legend show me the ropes! However, that place is my Stanley Cup, and my GOAL! I will head out to Indy soon, but it will be when I’m competing there! So, to my friends in Indy, have a great time. To my fellow racers driving at that race, EARN THAT VICTORY & THE HONOR OF RACING AT THIS RACE, and to all the people who watch it on TV, remember the history you are about to watch, because it doesn’t get much bigger than this one!
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8-19-2008
My customers, the Brown’s and Wild Thang’s OH MY!
I would like to welcome 55 very special new readers to Timmah’s blog. Today, I spent my last day on good old route 522 at 
fed ex express, and it was a very sad day on the road. My new route, which I start tomorrow, is about 3 miles east of the other area. I love my customers! The people I have gotten to know over the past year are really amazing folks. All of them come from different backgrounds, speak different languages, (my Spanish has become muy bien recently), but they all love their fed ex guy! Their companies also have increased outbound shipping volume with Fed Ex over the past year, as many of them say, “Because our fed ex guy takes care of us”. These 55 people who are tuning into competitionplus.com for the first time are some of my favorite customers from route 522. They have taken a very solid interest in my life and professional racing aspirations. Most of them have never attended a professional drag race, however, they like their “nice fed ex guy” and I’m sure would love to come out to support him some day. So, to my friends from my “old route”, thank you for your support. I hope that someday soon you’ll all be able to come to the mile high nationals the 2nd week of July and come cheer on Timmah. I’d love to see you all out there!
So, since I’m the loyal fed ex guy what can Brown do for me you ask? Well, I am glad to say that it’s not about my business. It’s actually it’s about a guy whom I consider an honest to God, down to earth cool dude! Antron Brown, who is the driver of the Matco Tools, David Powers Motorsports top fuel dragster was our guest in the Monday night nitromater.com chat room last month. I had met Antron a few times when he was the rider of the US Army Pro Stock motorcycle for Don Schumacher. When I was working the mopar mile high nationals, I got a chance to actually spend a few cool moments with him. It was right before the driver intros on Sunday morning. He walked up to me and said, “Hey Timmah, what’s up brother”? He gave me a hug and we started to talk a bit. I guess he recognized me from my picture on myspace.com when I was setting up the chat. Antron is one of those very special people who when they walk into a room, people stop and listen. He has that special intangible that very few people possess. This is his first year driving in top fuel, and is currently sitting in the number 2 position in points. Yes, he has an amazing crew chief in Lee Beard, and a solid team that ran well last season, however, his reaction times are very solid and consistent, he is learning how to “pedal” the car like a pro, and he is very cool under pressure. Plus, he is a member of the “TIMMAH IN TOP FUEL 2010” committee! While I was at the race, I also got to meet his lovely wife Billie! She comes into the nitromater chat room on Sunday’s when my buddy Karl Stalcup and I host the “mater cast”. We plug into the audio broadcast on nhra.com and provide play by play to other nitromater members who can not get the audio cast up and running on their computer. It’s also where a group of die hard fans love to chat and cheer on their favorite drivers. So, to Antron & Billie Brown, thanks for your friendship! You guys rock!
While I was under the tower before driver intro’s at the Mopar Mile High Nationals talking with Bobby Bennett, (THE MAN here at comp plus), I bumped into Gary Scelzi, the driver of the DSR Mopar/Oakley fuel Funny Car. I had said hi to Gary on several occasions thru the years but did not know him very well at all. I wanted to introduce myself to him, as the guy who made a video for him this past march. When I said my name and you tube, he said… “ARE YOU TIMMAH”? With the look of a kid who just met the president of the United States. Man, did he make my year or what! This 3-time world champion said that meeting me was a huge honor, I really did not know what to say. I mean, this is GARY ‘freaking’ Scelzi! The Wild Thang! I have watched him race since he was in the alcohol dragster and funny car ranks in Division 7. When he became the driver for Alan Johnson’s Winston top fuel dragster after Blaine Johnson’s passing, I was stoked! Gary was the person I was hoping would some day race professionally. He has that intangible as well. He is a great driver with the personality that shines, and an amazing sense of humor. This is the video I made for Gary; I hope you enjoy it as much as he did! Oh, and Scelzi, if you are reading this… CALL ME! I’ll make another one for you dude, just need some info from you.
A quick sponsorship update. I received an email from a potential sponsor who received my initial proposal a few weeks ago, and we have set up a meeting for early September here in Denver. Their company is based here, and has been a very successful this past year. I actually met my contact thru my interaction as their fed ex driver. I also am working with Joe Cohen at vapor trail racing to help them acquire sponsorship for their team’s world record holding, multi time world champion “TOP HYDRO” hydroplane boat, driven by Sean McKean. Joe is a freaking engineering genius, and it’s a pleasure to walk into that shop and work with him. You can find out more about Vapor Trail at their website http://www.vaportrailracing.com !
I’d like to end this blog with a quick story about my last stop today. I was finishing up my route, when I came to 3295 Oakland Street. It’s the new home of Baldwin Automotive. The Baldwin family runs a really awesome super modified car in competition eliminator. I had never met them, but have watched them race for ever. I met Mark Baldwin on Friday last week for the 1st time, and he was a really cool guy! All day long, I had been saying goodbye to all my customers on my route, and was giving them the info about competitonplus.com and my new blog, so that they could keep updated with my racing goals. But, when I walked into the shop Mark looked up and said, “Hey Tim, how you doing?” First off, I was amazed he remembered my name after only meeting me once, then what he said next really got me. “So, I saw your new video for Beckman, (nice job), and I read that your doing a blog on competitionplus.com.. Awesome”. Now, that really made my day! Oh, and Mark, your business is in my FLEX ZONE, so I might have to make sure I have some deliveries for you from time to time! If not, I now know where I can go to bench race while on my lunch break! You really made my day dude, and thank you for the support!
See ya’ll next week, and have a great and safe weekend!
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8-12-2008
HAVE FAITH, AND THE KARMA WILL COME!
I’d like to say thank you to all my friends, family and fellow drag racers who have sent their warm wishes and congratulations on the incredible honor that I have to blog at comp plus. In the past 2 days I have received 55 private messages on nitromater.com, myspace.com, text messages and thru email sending me good wishes and the best of luck. Knowing that there are a group of people who are interested in seeing me succeed not only in racing, but in life as well, is something that truly humbles me. However, although these comments and support that my friends are giving me make me feel great, what happened last week really has not quite sunk in.
It was Friday night, the 25th of July at about 7:30pm when I sat in my bedroom with my hands on my head, with tears in my eyes, looking at an invoice on my bed for my kids day care for $1,575.00 with a big red stamp that said, “PAYMENT DUE IMMEDIATELY” by Wednesday July 30th. On the left side of that paper was another piece of paper, my bank statement that said, “TOTAL BALANCE…$132.49”. Needless to say, I had no idea how I was going to come up with over $1,575 in less than a week, and pay my rent which was due 2 days after the day care was due. My kids were in the living room watching a DVD “Toy Story”. Well, I signed onto nitromater.com and sent a private message to 5 friends, whom I knew I could ask for advise. It was very difficult for me to ask for help, but this was about my kids. I’d do anything for them. They all offered any help that they could offer. One of them had the financial situation to cut that debt from $1,575 to $575! On Tuesday, my friend Terry Larson, a fellow Nebraska cornhusker fan, (and Super Gas racer) posted a thread on ‘the mater’s’ lounge challenging the members of nitromater to donate what ever they could to help me get out of this situation. After 48 hours, over 300 people had read this thread and 40 people had sent me some cash to help me pay this day care bill. They sent amounts from $10.00 to $200.00! All in all, in a 48 hour period, my friends had raised over $1895.00 to help me in my situation! Problem solved, Timmah incredibly humbled! I went to the bank, got the cashiers check for $1,575 and opened up a savings account, (for my kids day care costs) with the remaining balance of donations. To all those who helped out, I can not thank you enough! You helped me thru a “minor crisis” and made me realize how lucky I am to have friends like you. So, once again to my friends I say THANK YOU!
It was during this week, that the “Karma” started to come thru. Bobby asked me to send my blog, a local company here in Denver, VAPORTRAILRACING.COM asked me to help introduce their products to the world of drag racing. My son scored his first 2 goals in his soccer league, and is becoming a true team player, and things in my personal life are starting to look great. I am honored to be dating a wonderful lady named Valerie. She is basically my dream girl. She is a former news paper editor in Delaware, who moved back home one year ago to Denver after her divorce a few years ago. She is a huge sports fan, who loves the Boston Red Sox (just like me), her Colorado Avalanche, (just like me!!) and loves Las Vegas, (yup, just like Timmah!). She supports her local republican party, loves a good Guinness beer and Jameson whiskey from time to time and is a hypnotic red hair, green eyed, Irish catholic girl! She might be a Denver bronco’s fan, (my team is the san Diego chargers) and a duke blue devil college basketball fan, (I support the real blue team, THE TARHEELS!) but, yeah, I’m digging her!
I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking. A few years ago, while working the starting line crew at the Mopar mile high nationals, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jim Will. If you remember, Dr. Will was the guest of NHRA at a few national events, to speak with drivers about how to maximize their potential thru the power of positive self talk. He wrote an article on NHRA.COM about the psychology of sports. During this event, (which was his first NHRA national event) I had the pleasure of answering all his questions that weekend. I also got to properly introduce him to nitro drag racing as I stood next to him in between Brandon Bernstein and Tony Schumacher on the starting line. Seeing a man who is over 6’6 jump a foot in the air when two top fuel cars hit the throttle less than 10’ from him is something to see. I learned a lot from Dr. Will that weekend. In an email I received from him after the event, he said one of his wishes was that the next time he is on the starting line at an NHRA national event, would be when I was driving one of the cars! That, was when my “pipe dream” of becoming a pro driver, became a goal! I was also inspired by two great friends, Fast Jack Beckman, and a young horse roping, ice cream eating, crew member on John Force’s funny car who became a exceptional driver himself, the late Eric Medlen. I thought, if my friends can accomplish their goals, so can I. I still believe that, and I will make that happen.
It was also during this week, that I found out about the passing of one of the most inspirational men I ever heard speak. Dr. Randy Pausch, a college professor in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, passed away on that same day that I was sitting in my room feeling sorry for myself, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. I have always lived my life just like a “TIGGER”. Always bouncing, positive thinking, and enjoying every second of my life, just like Dr. Pausch. I set timelines for setting goals, and truly believe that “Experience is what you get, when you don’t get what you want”! I have sent sponsorship proposals to over 50 different Fortune 500 companies. I have received correspondence from 36 of them. I have had meetings with 8 of them, and have heard the infamous words, “We are not in a position at this time to invest in your goals, however we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors”. Some of them, after the meetings asked if I would be interested in working for their marketing departments, which is a very nice complement. Most people would give up, not this guy! I look at these “no’s” as a solid “YES”! As inspiration to keep my foot on the throttle and not lift until I am ready to cross the finish line. The way I look at it, I just let go of the transbrake, (hey I’m a super class racer at heart) and cut a .000 light! Why do I think this way, well if you have not seen his “LAST LECTURE” in which he gave on September 18th, 2007, please take the time to watch this quick 10 minute version of that speech that he gave and has been posted on you tube, and you’ll understand.
Oh By The Way, HOW ABOUT THAT FAST JACK BECKMAN and the DSR VALVOLINE/MTS DODGE CHARGER team? I debuted the new Fast Jack Beckman Tribute video on Sunday morning, and he goes to the finals round, and moves into 9th position in the countdown. Also, a special “ATTA BOY” to my PSB home boy Matt Smith. This dude not only won this weekends race, but did it suffering thru a dozen Kidney Stones! That’s awesome dude! Great job! But, also Great Job to my Brother in the Burnout Box, GB3 (that would be George Brice to the layman) and Angelle Sampay for their final round appearance! Oh, and thanks Judy Stropus at DSR for sending a link to the video to the mailing list! You Rock!
Well, we better wrap it up for this week. Tune in next week as we explore the duality of Timmah, talk about the “Wild Thang” experience in Denver, and what BROWN CAN DO FOR ME. Stay Tuned!
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8-09-2008
Roll on up, for the Magical Mystery Tour!
When I was in high school, I had the pleasure of attending many TOASTMASTERS Club meetings. Being a National Championship Debater at El Camino High School in Oceanside, California, I was invited to speak at these meetings by my speech and debate coach Cliff Roach, to show off the public speaking talents of a local high school student. One meeting I was scheduled to attend was to start at 11:00am on a Friday morning. Mr. Roach told me that the meeting was to be held in Suite “B”, (as in BERNSTEIN), at the Oceanside Municipal Golf Club. I walked in to the hall, and took my seat. As the meeting began, they asked if there were any “NEW MEMBERS” joining them for the first time. Of course, since I’ll always volunteer to “BREAK THE ICE”, I jumped on up there to say hello. I took the podium, cleared my throat and said, “Good Morning Gentlemen, I’m Tim Charlet A junior at El Camino High School." In between sentences, I was interrupted by the entire crowd saying “HELLO TIM”. As, I started to tell the crowd about the AWARD WINNING SPEECH AND DEBATE TEAM at El Camino High School, I noticed (in mid Speech) an sign posted on table behind me. It had a slogan that I had not seen at other Toastmasters meetings. It said, “ONE DAY AT A TIME”. As I was wrapping up my speech, (not skipping a beat by the way) I started to realize that I was not in a TOASTMASTERS meeting, but a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous! Needless to say, it was a bit embarrassing, but a very good learning experience!
It is truly a pleasure to introduce myself to the loyal readers of competitionplus.com. My name is Tim Charlet, (aka “TIMMAH” more on this in my next blog) and I am an aspiring to become a Professional Drag Racer prior to the 2011 season! (As the crowd say’s in unison…. “Hello Tim”). I am a 3rd generation drag racer. My father Don Charlet Jr. competed at the 1968 Popular Hot Rodding Nationals in Modified eliminator. His father, my grandpa Don Charlet Sr. was in attendance at the SANTA ANA DRAGS in 1953! He worked with law enforcement in southern California as far back as 1948 in providing a “safe place to race” at abandoned air fields and dry lakes. One of the men who worked with my Grandpa Don was some guy named Wally Parks, who had a vision for a NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION that he shared with the world in an issue of Hot Rod Magazine. So, needless to say, my family has been into drag racing since its birth. I attended my first drag race at age 5 at the place known simply as “THE COUNTY”! Going to Fox Hunts on a Saturday night to see the COORS 64 Funny Cars, the Jet and ROCKET CARS, Joe Douthit‘s “Smokey Red”, “Diesel” Louis Force and Wild Bill Shrewsberry’s Knott’s Berry Wagon wheel standers, were great memories. The only question I had for my dad was, “WHERE THE FOXES WERE”. He said, “Son, some day you’ll find out!”
As I grew up, my dad decided to get his own bracket car, a 1965 Barracuda. We raced that car at Carlsbad, OCIR and Riverside raceway for about 5 years. We also worked with the Woodard Brothers, and their Super Pro Injected alcohol dragster called “ALCOHOL ABUSE”. When I started as a crew member, I was a “PLEDGE PUKE” (holding a can of Pledge furniture polish and Rag in the other). My job was to keep these cars looking Clean! As I got older, dad taught me about the internal combustion engine. The numbers 1, 8,4,3,6,5,7,2...danced in my head! By the time I was 18, I was the crew chief of that Alcohol Abuse dragster, a 23T Blown Gas Altered that we bought, and a Jr Fuel Dragster, all under the WBC racing stables. In 1996, I left California and moved here to Denver for a promotional opportunity at work. It was then, that I entered phase two of my drag racing life, as a member of NHRA’S Starting Line Crew, at the Mopar Mile High Nationals. In 2003, I decided that Driving was what I wanted to do, so I saved up a few thousand dollars, and upgraded my Christmas Present from my parents, (an Adventure Dragster class at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School) to the super comp course, taught by some guy named Fast Jack Beckman (who if I understand correctly drives the VALVOLINE/MTS Dodge funny car of Don Schumacher Racing) and another guy named Thomas Bayer, (who I believe finished number 2 in the world in Top Alcohol Dragster last season). Well, after (6) very good runs, I accomplished phase 3 of my goal, and became a licensed driver in the NHRA, (5636 Super Comp). Today, I am currently licensed in NHRA 3A, (advanced ET) and currently looking for sponsorship to enter the professional categories of NHRA Drag Racing.
I do have a life outside of Drag racing, which is the best part of my life. I am a PROUD single father of two Wonderful Kids, (Kaylee age 9 and Andrew age 6), see photo….aren’t they cute? I work for Fed Ex Express as a Courier/Aspire Manager and will be taking on a 2nd job soon (a very exciting new job that I can’t wait to tell you about). I also make videos for some of my racing friends that have been posted on You Tube, check them out Here: http://www.youtube.com/user/tim5636sc I have never taken a dime for these videos. I do it for my friends, and to say thank you to the sport that has given me so many memories and friendships! But, I would not walk away if somebody offered me a few dollars to make one for them. I look forward to sharing with you some of the things going on in my life, as well as what it’s like to be on the search for sponsorship, a ride, and the ways that I am trying to accomplish my goal of driving in the NHRA Professional Categories before the 2011 season.
Welcome to Timmah’s World…Strap on in, get your “E” ticket coupons ready, and get ready to sail off into the Magical Mystery Tour!
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