BME Team Concludes 2004 Tour with Season-Best Performance

by Rick Voegelin

November 18, 2004 – The Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team wrapped up the 2004 season at historic Pomona Raceway, site of the 40th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. The feisty BME team ended the season on a high note with four perfect qualifying runs and the quickest elapsed time ever by driver Brady Kalivoda. Although a rare driver error ended their race early in eliminations, the BME brigade is ready to rejoin the battle in 2005.

The yellow-and-black BME dragster was quick out of the box in Pomona, running a 4.594-second elapsed time at 316.30 mph on its first qualifying pass. Subsequent runs produced 4.614, 4.635 and 4.640-second e.t.s, with a fastest speed of 322.19 mph. That performance placed the Okuma-sponsored machine 10th in the 16-car field as seven of the 23 entries missed the show.

Kalivoda was primed for his first-round match with David Grubnic, but the racing gods had other ideas. After deep-staging the car, Brady double-stepped the throttle pedal and the car slowed to a 5.109-second elapsed time.

"The driver made a mistake," Kalivoda admitted. "I deviated from what I've been doing all season. I was first off the line 13 times in 13 races, but I changed my procedure and it cost us. I hate that it happened, but I know what I did - and I know what I need to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"The car is incredibly fun to drive when it's running like it did in Pomona," Kalivoda continued. "Bill and the guys did an awesome job. It isn't easy to tune one of these beasts, so for the team to make the right adjustments to go down the track four out of four times is a real accomplishment. We ended up qualified 10th in a very tough field of 23 cars, so it was just an outstanding way to end the season."

HIGH PRESSURE AREA

After a series of tire-smoking runs at the preceding event in Las Vegas, team owner Bill Miller took a hard look at the engine setup going into the NHRA Finals.

"We went to Pomona with the same supercharger overdrive and a little less compression than we ran in Las Vegas," Miller reported. "We solved a problem with the fuel pickup sucking air in the tank, but the engine just didn't respond to some significant changes in ignition timing. It acted like an old car that doesn't have any compression, so by Sunday we had figured out that we needed to increase the ratio and bump up the supercharger overdrive.

"We had a fire drill on Sunday morning when a carbon rear brake rotor failed while we were warming up the car one hour before the start of eliminations. Replacing the broken rotor required tearing apart the entire rearend. Once again the BME team did a fantastic job and we made it to the staging lanes on time, but I wouldn't want to do that again."

LOOKING BACK

The underdog BME team proved that it could race with the big dogs in 2004. Running a limited schedule of 14 races, the BME dragster made the show at every event in which it was entered.

"We started the year with a brand-new car from Don Long, and we really didn't know how it would respond," Miller noted. "During the season we switched to a setback supercharger, changed to 85 percent nitromethane as required by the rules, and ran four different rear tires. We had some obstacles to overcome, but all things considered the season went extremely well.

"What makes it work is a great crew. Everyone on the team is totally dedicated to making the car the best that it can be. My hat's off to the BME team - Ron Hixson, Larry Wolyniec, David Wolyniec, Ed Litke, Jacob Crounse, and Scott Bowen. And, of course, my wife, Virgie, who keeps us all in line.

"They did a remarkable job when you consider that this volunteer team qualified at every race we went to, usually just behind the full-time touring professionals. We were never penalized for oiling the track, never blew up an engine, and never put parts on the ground. That's a fine season for an independent Top Fuel team."

LIVING THE DREAM

"I can't believe it's been a year since Bill called and asked if I would drive his Top Fuel car," said Kalivoda. "It's been a dream year for me. This is what I've always wanted to do, and Bill Miller gave me the chance to do it. I'm having the time of my life every time I go to the races, and it's just an amazing feeling when the guys strap me in the car. I don't want it to end.

"We lowered my career-best marks for e.t. and speed several times as the season progressed. The car is running quicker and faster now on 85 percent nitro than it did on 90 percent. We've shown that we can hold our own against the big dogs. Now we have a year under our belts as a team, and the guys have adjusted to both a new chassis and a new driver. We'll hit the ground running next year.

"I plan to do a little snowboarding during the off-season, but I can't get too extreme," he laughed. "I'm not going to show up in Phoenix for pre-season testing with a broken ankle, so I'm going to behave on the slopes."

The 2005 season will kick off at Pomona Raceway with the CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals on February 10-13.

BME RACE RESULTS

Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Pomona, Calif., Nov. 11-14, 2004
Qualified: No. 10 at 4.594/322.19 mph
First Round: David Grubnic (4.543/329.42) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(5.109/223.17) 

by Rick Voegelin

November 4, 2004 – Las Vegas may be the city that never sleeps, but it's also the town of broken dreams. For every jackpot there are dozens of disappointments. While the BME Top Fuel team didn't roll the dice on the gaming tables at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, they did come up with a losing hand in the first round of eliminations at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After a brilliant first qualifying run on Friday afternoon, the remainder of the weekend became a struggle for the never-say-die BME team. Driver Brady Kalivoda ran another personal-best elapsed time that put the yellow-and-black machine in the field at 4.619/323.58 mph. Unfortunately, Lady Luck gave the BME crew the cold shoulder for the next three qualifying runs. A first-round match with newly crowned Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher saw the U.S. Army car march to victory while the BME dragster disappeared in a cloud of tire smoke.

FAST OUT OF THE BOX

"We were excited to go to Las Vegas because we had guests from Okuma, their distributors and customers," said Kalivoda. "You always want to make a good showing, but we had some extra incentive last weekend. Our guests were impressed by what they saw at the track - the access that our sport provides, and the pure excitement of Top Fuel racing.

"We came out of the trailer with a 4.61 at 323 mph, which was another career-best e.t. for me," he continued. "That was a perfect way to start off the weekend because you want to get a good A-to-B run to establish your baseline. We made our best run of the year, so it was an outstanding start.

"With the 4.61 in our back pocket, we thought we could turn the knobs a little bit and run in the 4.50s in the ideal conditions we had on Friday night. When I did the burnout, I felt a vibration I'd never felt before. I told Bill on the radio that the car didn't feel right and we shouldn't attempt this run. Without hesitation, he told me to shut it off. It's very reassuring for me to know that we have that kind of two-way trust and communication."

AS THE WHEEL TURNS

The source of the vibration turned out to be an egg-shaped pair of slicks. They were replaced with new round rubber, but two tire-smoking runs on Saturday left the crew chief scratching his head.

"We ran the new Goodyear 1430 tires for the first time in Chicago, where the track was so good you could get away with murder," Miller explained. "But our lack of experience with this tire was apparent in Las Vegas. The teams that had run the new tires in Reading were a step ahead of us.

"We set up the car for the first qualifying run much like we had raced it in Chicago," he noted. "I compensated for the higher altitude in Las Vegas by raising the compression ratio and increasing the supercharger overdrive. By the end of qualifying, it looked like we had a one-trick pony - the first run was great and then we couldn't get down the race track on the next three runs."

UP IN SMOKE

"Sunday morning I faced Tony Schumacher, the first time I've raced him all year," said Kalivoda. "I worked on Tony's car as a crewman, and now he's the new champ, so it was a neat deal. We had a lot to gain if we beat him, but that didn't mean that we were going to get too aggressive with the setup. We really felt that we were on the safe, conservative side, but when the lights flashed and I hit the loud pedal, it went up in smoke. That was our weekend.

"It might be that we're on that razor-thin edge," Kalivoda conjectured. "When we run low 4.60s, we could be at the threshold of what our setup can take. Then when we turn the knobs to try to run quicker, it goes over center and smokes the tires. We need to find where that fine line really is."

THE END IS NEAR

The BME Top Fuel team will wrap up the 2004 season at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., on November 11-14. The race will mark the 40th anniversary of the season finale.

"I love racing at Pomona because it's hallowed ground for drag racers," said Kalivoda. "Southern California was where drag racing was born. I was nine years old when I went to Pomona for the first time. The crowds are tremendous, and I love racing there whether it's the beginning of the year or the end of the season.

"The Auto Club NHRA Finals has a very relaxed atmosphere because the pressure is off. I'm looking forward to this race, but it also makes me a little sad that it's the last event in 2004 because I'm having so much fun driving this race car. I wish we could race every weekend and on Wednesdays, too, like they did when my Dad was driving. I'm very excited about going to Pomona, but personally I don't want the season to end."


BME RACE RESULTS

ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas, Oct. 29-31, 2004
Qualified: No. 11 at 4.619/323.58 mph
First Round: Tony Schumacher (4.581/322.19 mph) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(12.465/74.51 mph) 

by Rick Voegelin

October 8, 2004 – The Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., was the scene of record-breaking performances. Ideal weather conditions and a state-of-the-art track provided the perfect environment for BME Top Fuel driver Brady Kalivoda to post career-best marks for elapsed time and top speed. Three consecutive 4.6-second ET’s and three runs at more than 320 mph put the feisty BME team right alongside the big dogs in Top Fuel.

Kalivoda qualified the black-and-yellow BME machine 12th at 4.625/325.40 mph as 26 Top Fuel drivers vied for 16 starting positions. Significantly, 10 of the cars ahead of the BME dragster on the qualifying sheet were full-time touring teams - as were several of the teams that didn't make the show, including two-time and defending champion Larry Dixon.

Kalivoda maintained his 4.6-second pace on race day, and was first off the starting line by .03 seconds in his first-round match with Doug Herbert. At the finish line stripe, however, he trailed Herbert by three-quarters of a car length. It was little consolation for the BME crew that Herbert went on to win his first national event since 2002.

"We always love racing in Chicago because Route 66 Raceway is famous for its excellent racing surface," said Kalivoda. "When you combine a great track with near-perfect weather conditions, you get the outstanding performances we saw from all the professional categories. We were looking forward to racing there, and the event certainly didn't disappoint us."

Tensions were high in the BME camp on Saturday morning after Friday's first qualifying run was lost to tire shake and the second was washed away by rain.

"We were down to two runs to get into the show," Kalivoda recalled. "There were some big-name cars behind us, so we knew we had to get down the race track. Bill nailed the tune-up and the car hiked up the front wheels just like it should. The run felt terrific in the driver's seat, and I wasn't surprised when I was told that it ran 4.63 at 324 mph.

"The second qualifying run on Saturday was virtually a repeat of the first, and the car ran 4.625 at 325.30 mph. So in two runs I had two personal-best performances!

"Going into race day, our plan was to run what we knew we could do, a low-4.60," Kalivoda continued. "We did exactly that with a 4.64. I never saw Herbert, and I didn't know who won. Then Bill told me on the radio that we had lost to a 4.56.

"It's never enjoyable to lose, but at that point you have to tip your hat to the guy in the next lane and say, 'Good job.' That's the way it should be, racing wheel-to-wheel at 320 mph across the finish line."

TECHNOLOGY MARCHES ON

The life of a Top Fuel car owner is never easy, but several new variables added to the complexity of Miller's tuning decisions at Route 66 Raceway. Goodyear introduced a new Top Fuel tire (designated "1430"), the crew installed a new four-valve clutch system, and Miller was coming to terms with a sophisticated programmable ignition system.

"We learned at the U.S. Nationals that if you have to adjust the clutch 30 seconds before a run, it's easier to change two valves instead of six or eight," Miller explained. "So we replaced the eight-valve clutch control mechanism with a four-valve system. Of course, the four-valve system has different characteristics, and we had a new tire that we'd never run before, so we had to make an educated guess on the settings before the first qualifying run.

"We're also using a new MSD ignition controller with six programmable ignition maps," he continued. "The spark curve is exceptionally smooth now, and I'm getting comfortable with changing the program on the fly. Before our second qualifying run, I loaded a new spark curve, slowed down the clutch flow, and son of a gun, the car ran a 4.63 ET. I'd say it all worked pretty well!"

The BME crew also unveiled its new "Grip-0-Meter" - an ingenious device designed to measure traction characteristics. The tool consists of a 4-inch diameter polished steel plate that is pressed against the track by a spring-loaded bearing. A sensitive torque wrench measures resistance as the plate is rotated on the track surface.

"You see crew chiefs checking traction by scuffing and twisting their shoes on the starting line," Miller explained. "The torque meter does the same thing with better consistency and more accuracy. After a few races we hope to see a pattern in how the torque meter readings correspond to track conditions."

VIVA LAS VEGAS

The BME Top Fuel team's next event is the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 29-31.

"We really enjoy racing in Las Vegas for several reasons," said Kalivoda. "First of all, it's Las Vegas, a great venue. Second, it's the team's home track because Bill Miller Engineering is located in Carson City, Nevada. And finally, we have a good handle on the setup; we ran 4.63 to qualify for the Spring race in Las Vegas.

"Most importantly, we're going to have an audience there. Bill has invited representatives from Okuma and several other companies we met at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. We'll have a hospitality trailer alongside our transporter, and we're eager to introduce our VIP guests to the incredible sights and sounds of NHRA drag racing."

BME RACE RESULTS

Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Joliet, Ill., Oct. 1-3, 2004
Qualified: No. 12 at 4.625/325.30 mph
First Round: Doug Herbert (4.567/325.30) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.649/321.19)

by Rick Voegelin

September 8, 2004 – The 50th anniversary edition of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park was a milestone for NHRA championship drag racing and a landmark event for the Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team. The independent BME team more than held its own against the big dogs on the POWERADE Drag Racing Series circuit.

Driver Brady Kalivoda was the No. 9 qualifier after the first session and the No. 11 qualifier after the final session with a 4.686-second elapsed time at 316.75 mph. That was Kalivoda's quickest and fastest run since the NHRA-mandated change to a maximum of 85 percent nitromethane.

"It was high drama in the staging lanes on Sunday," said Kalivoda. "We went into the fifth qualifying session in 15th, and there were some very strong cars behind us. They took their best shots, but by the time we ran, we knew we'd be in the show."

The four days of Indy ended for the BME team when Kalivoda lost to Brandon Bernstein in a battle of second-generation Top Fuel drivers in Monday's final eliminations. Bernstein ran 4.676/317.57 mph to Kalivoda's tire-smoking 9.022-second ET at 83.22 mph.

"Once again the 10 cars ahead of us on the qualifying sheet were all full-time professional teams," noted car owner Bill Miller. "And there were several full-time teams that didn't make the cut. There were 26 Top Fuel cars at the U.S. Nationals, and we ended up 11th. All things considered, that was a good weekend. Best of all, the engine looked perfect after every pass.

"On race day morning, the track temperature was 110 degrees, the same temperature as when we ran 4.68," Miller recalled. "I didn't change the tune-up, but half a second into the run, there was a puff of smoke from the tires and then a cloud. I couldn't believe it! I'd rather run 4.80 and lose then smoke the tires.

"We have to be more aware of just how close this car is to the edge," he conceded. "We can get away with an aggressive approach in good conditions, but when the traction gets marginal, we're over the edge - and it's a very fine edge at that."

THE BIG ONE

Indianapolis is the Mecca of American motorsports and the U.S. Nationals is the crown jewel of drag racing. Kalivoda appreciated the significance of making his first Indy appearance in the event's golden anniversary.

"It was Indy, it was the 50th, and for me to be there competing in the show was outstanding," Kalivoda said. "It was a really good weekend when you look at the whole picture. Everyone on the team feels we're very close to turning the corner.

"Indy was certainly our best outing of the season when you look at the event as a whole. We made four outstanding qualifying runs under varying conditions. Bill and the team were able to adjust as the conditions changed throughout the weekend - night runs, day runs, afternoon runs. Our notebook still isn't very thick, but we're learning fast. It was just a shame we couldn't have made a race out of it against Bernstein on Monday."

SHOWTIME IN CHICAGO

Tuesday morning the team unloaded the BME dragster at Chicago's McCormick Place, the site of the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS). The black-and-yellow race car is featured in the Okuma display alongside Richard Childress Racing's NASCAR Monte Carlo driven by Kevin Harvick. Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (Computer Numeric Controls) and machining technology, is a technical partner with the BME and RCR racing teams.

"The IMTS is attended by 85,000 visitors, and it's the largest trade show of its kind in North America," Kalivoda noted. "To give you an idea of the size of show, the Okuma exhibit alone is 17,000 square feet. I'll be there to meet and greet Okuma customers, sign autographs, and talk about NHRA drag racing. Okuma's excited to have us there, and we're excited to be there and show off our partnership."

The BME Top Fuel team's next event will be the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., on October 1-3.

"Route 66 Raceway is a showplace facility for our sport, and I hope that we won't have to contend with the rain that we had in the spring race," Kalivoda said. "Chicago is home for several of our crew guys, so it's fun to race there."

BME RACE RESULTS

Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis, September 6
Qualified: No. 11 at 4.686/316.75 mph
First Round: Brandon Bernstein (4.676/317.57) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(9.022/83.22)

August 25, 2004 – Like the Spanish conquistadors who burned their ships after landing in the New World, there was no going back for the Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team when they arrived at Memphis Motorsports Park for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-South Nationals. After testing a new supercharger and engine combination in Seattle and Sonoma, and with the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals only two weeks away, it was no time to be timid. Team owner and crew chief Bill Miller jumped in with both feet with a new "setback" supercharger manifold that relocates the blower rearward for more uniform fuel distribution and more horsepower.

"I decided that if we were going to run a setback blower like the big dogs, we should just do it," Miller said. "So when we got back from Sonoma, we took everything off the car and everything out of the trailer for a conventional supercharger. There's no going back."

Miller's audacity was rewarded with the team's best qualifying performance of the season. Driver Brady Kalivoda ran 4.791/300.13 in the first session, 4.704/308.71 in the second session, and 4.711/309.70 in the final session. That performance put the black BME dragster seventh on Friday and 10th going into final eliminations on Sunday.

After mild weather on Friday and Saturday, race day dawned with typical summer conditions for Memphis: hot and humid. Kalivoda's first-round opponent was Top Fuel kingpin Larry Dixon in Don Prudhomme's Miller Lite dragster. Kalivoda was first off the starting line, but both dragsters lost traction at mid-track. Dixon won the tire-smoking duel with a 5.027-second elapsed time at 276.92 mph to Kalivoda's 5.488 at 238.26 mph.

"Along with the new supercharger and engine combination, we have to cope with the new 85 percent nitro rule," Miller noted. "We're spinning the blower faster, putting in more fuel and raising the compression ratio to compensate for the reduced nitro percentage. The goal is to pump the same volume of nitro into the cylinders as we did previously with a 90 percent mixture."

"Going into the first round on Sunday, we knew that Brady would take a big bite out of the Christmas Tree and we hoped to run a 4.60 or 4.70 against Dixon," he continued. "The track temperature was 125 degrees, and we don't have a thick notebook on how to run the car under those conditions. When the car that ran in the lane ahead of us smoked the tires, I knew we were in trouble. I adjusted the clutch to engage less aggressively, but at 1.2 seconds into the run it zipped the tires."

"We're installing a programmable ignition box for the next race that should prevent that happening again," Miller revealed. "We'll be able to change the spark timing until a few seconds before the run."

FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we had another great weekend with the best set of qualifying runs we've made this season," said Kalivoda. "After jumping in with both feet with the setback supercharger, we did extremely well under difficult circumstances. It makes it really fun for the driver; I'm having a blast!"

"Sunday was a repeat of the last three races with the weather changing dramatically for the first round. That's where the full-time teams have a leg up on us because they have more experience under tough conditions. We took our best shot racing Dixon. We got a jump at the start but both spun the tires down the track. We did it sooner and that was the difference. We know now that a 5.07 would have won the race - how many times are you going to have the chance to beat Larry Dixon with a 5.07? It was a missed opportunity for a win light."

NEXT STOP: INDIANAPOLIS

The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park is always special, but this year's edition has the extra significance of the event's silver anniversary.

"It will be awesome to race for the first time in the U.S. Nationals on its 50th anniversary," said Kalivoda. "Indy is the biggest event on the NHRA POWERade tour, and I get to compete there as a driver. It's just tremendous."

"I've gone to Indy several times as a crew member, and I was a part of the Schumacher Racing team when Tony won the U.S. Nationals in 2000," Kalivoda recalled. "That was an incredible feeling that I'd love to repeat."

"As well as we've been running, it's hard to believe we don't have a round win yet this season. It's not through lack of effort - we just haven't been getting any breaks. I'd like to think that maybe we're saving them all for Indy and we can translate that into a win light or two. If you're going to do it anywhere, that's the place to do it."

BME RACE RESULTS

O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 22, 2004
Qualified: No. 10 at 4.704/309.70 mph
First Round: Larry Dixon (5.027/276.92) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(5.488/238.26).
 

August 3, 2004 – The Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team went on the road for the second and third events of NHRA's annual Western Swing. The first event at Denver's mile-high Bandimere Speedway wasn't on the BME team's dance card, but back-to-back races in Seattle and Sonoma, Calif., found the black and yellow dragster racing on the edge of the Pacific Rim. And while a win light proved to be as elusive as the fabled Sasquatch ape man that's said to inhabit Washington's forests, the team successfully tested a promising new engine combination. For the feisty BME team, the hunt for horsepower takes priority over the search for Bigfoot.

CHARTING THE CHANGES

The world of Top Fuel shifted on its axis following the tragic death of driver Darrell Russell in a racing accident in St. Louis. In the aftermath, NHRA officials mandated a new tire design, modifications to the roll cage and a reduction in the maximum percentage of nitromethane from 90 to 85 percent. The full-time touring teams raced under the new regulations in Denver, but the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, held at Pacific Raceways near Seattle on July 25, was the BME Top Fuel crew's first foray into competition with the new rules.

A new track surface at Pacific Raceways was a welcome change, providing the grip and parity between lanes that had been lacking. Adding to the degree of difficulty was a rare phenomenon in the Northwest: a heat wave that produced temperatures in the 90s during qualifying.

"Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't rain all the time in Seattle and we do get nice weather occasionally," said driver Brady Kalivoda, a Seattle resident. "It was unseasonably hot and that created some tricky tuning conditions. Bill and the team did a great job adjusting to the heat. We did have a real two-lane race track, which was good for the racers and great for the fans because they got to see side-by-side competition."

SETBACK IN SEATTLE

When is a setback a good thing? When it's a new supercharger manifold that relocates the blower rearward on the engine. The setback supercharger feeds fuel and air through a spider-shaped intake manifold that ensures that each of the eight cylinders gets its fair share of nitro. The heavily funded teams have demonstrated the advantages of the setback supercharger, so now the BME crew is adapting this technology to their nitro-burning behemoth.

"We started the weekend with our conventional blower combination and made a solid, conservative pass right out of the box," Kalivoda reported. "Then Bill turned the right knobs and we came back in the Friday night session with a 4.86-second elapsed time that put us in the No. 8 spot. That's our best qualifying performance this year."

"Our plan was to use Saturday as a test session for the new setback supercharger since we were securely in the show," he continued. "We had an engine problem on the first run, and the guys really worked their tails off to change the short block and swap all of the parts for the new blower setup in the sweltering heat. Their work was definitely worthwhile because we made a good half-pass on Saturday night and Bill got the data he wanted. Then the crew had to change everything back to our conventional setup for raceday. They can hold their heads up high after all the hours they put in that weekend."

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Raceday in Seattle dawned with typical Northwest conditions: cool and crisp. That meant that everything that had been learned in the two previous days went into the trash can before Kalivoda's first-round match with Rhonda Hartman-Smith.

"The air temperature dropped 20 degrees on Sunday and the density altitude was 2,500 feet lower," said team owner Bill Miller. "We were in the first pair of cars to race, and I chose the left lane. I hopped up the engine because I knew we had some tough competition ahead of us. When the clutch locked up, the car smoked the tires and that was our day.

"It was a good weekend," Miller concluded. "The car ran well in our first race with the new rules package, and we got a feel for how the new setback supercharger works."

"We had a .05-second advantage on the starting line, the car left strong, and then it spun the tires," Kalivoda recalled. "It was a disappointing loss because we had such high expectations. My friends and family were there, and you want to do well in front of your hometown crowd. We felt like it was our race, and we let it get away."

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

One week later, the NHRA traveling road show arrived at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., site of the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals on August 1. The scrappy BME team again ran with the big dogs, qualifying 10th at 4.719/312.13 mph. The first round of eliminations featured a contest between two second-generation Top Fuel drivers, with David Baca edging Kalivoda, 4.613/314.30 to 4.841/306.95.

"Our plan for Sonoma was the same as Seattle - qualify with our conventional setup on Friday, test the setback blower on Saturday, and then go back to the standard setup for race day," Kalivoda explained. "And that's exactly what we did."

"The car left the starting line hard, then it shuddered the tires and I pedaled it," he said. "I tip my hat to David Baca and his team for running a great 4.61. But it was a tough, tough loss, because we had such an advantage at the start that a 4.72 would have beat his 4.61."

"It was cool for two second-generation racers to meet in the first round," Kalivoda continued. "My Dad had such a good time in Seattle that he drove to Sonoma to join us. I have a photo of my Dad racing David's father in the late '60s in front-engined dragsters. I think they only raced once in Seattle, and my Dad got the win. I guess it's even now between the two families."

"Infineon Raceway is the home track for Red Line Oil, one of our valued associate sponsors," Kalivoda added. "We enjoyed seeing the folks from Red Line and we appreciate their continued support."

MEMPHIS COMMITMENT

"All in all, I have no complaints about our two races on the Western Swing," said Miller. "The teams ahead of us on the qualifying sheet are touring professionals with multi-million dollar budgets. They race every weekend, while we race on a budget. This BME team is getting better with every event, and it's only a question of when the breakthrough is going to happen."

The BME Top Fuel team's next race will be the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., on August 20-22.

"We're committed to racing the new setback supercharger exclusively in Memphis," Miller declared. "Even if we struggle a little, we must be ready for the U.S. Nationals. We hope to have at least four test runs in Memphis before we go to Indy."

Kalivoda concurs: "I'm completely comfortable with Bill's decision. Sometimes to take a step forward, you have to take half a step back. The top teams have the new supercharger setup, and we need to match their technical advances. We've tested at the last few races, so now it's time to step up."

BME RACE RESULTS

CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Seattle, July 25
Qualified: No. 8 at 4.860/302.62 mph
First Round: Rhonda Hartman-Smith (4.852/298.40) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(5.006/277.83).

FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals, Sonoma, Calif., August 1
Qualified: No. 10 at 4.719/312.13 mph
First Round: David Baca (4.613/314.39) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.841/306.95).

June 30, 2004 – Top Fuel driver Darrell Russell died in a high-speed accident in the second round of eliminations last weekend at the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. Russell's death was a stark reminder of the dangers that every race car driver faces in spite of the relentless efforts to improve safety.

"The tragedy in St. Louis affected everyone on the BME Top Fuel team deeply, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to Darrell's family and friends," said Bill Miller.

"I've read only a little of Hemingway's work, but his quote about bullfighting, mountain climbing and auto racing being the only true sports seems especially poignant," he continued. "Many died before the first climber reached the peak of Mt. Everest, and unfortunately motorsports is much the same. As long as racers strive to go faster and quicker, to do what they love, there is always the possibility that something can go terribly wrong. Unfortunately that happened last weekend, and we are deeply saddened."

"It's really hard to accept," said driver Brady Kalivoda. "Darrell had such energy and enthusiasm, such an aura of happiness, that it's tough for me to accept that he's gone. His accident was a reality check for everyone in the sport to remember what is important. At the end of the day, the trophies and the money don’t mean much. We love what we do, but we all need to remember this sport is still just that – a sport."

Until the accident in the second round of eliminations, the BME team had been riding high. Kalivoda qualified in the Friday night session at 4.676/323.12 mph, the fastest run of his career. Crew chief Miller made measurable progress on a new clutch management program intended to enhance the car's performance on hot racetracks.

Running in the unloved right lane in the first round of eliminations, the black-and-yellow BME dragster ran 5.005/270.00 mph against Brandon Bernstein's winning 4.687/322.11mph run. Significantly, Kalivoda was first off the starting line again, this time by .071 seconds.

"The Friday night run was a real thrill for me, the fastest pass I've ever made in the car," Kalivoda recalled. "Even though we came up short in the first round, we were the only car that made it down the right lane. The elapsed time would have been better, but we were spinning the tires pretty good and I shut off when Bernstein pulled around me."

"We did what we had to do," he noted. "We had to give ourselves a chance to win if our competition made a mistake. To Bill's credit, he saw what happened to the cars that ran ahead of us in the right lane, and he made the right call."

"We're engaging the clutch more smoothly, and it seems to be working," Miller revealed. "By extending the engagement time, we're not overwhelming the tires. We knew we had a tough opponent in Bernstein, so I approached the first round as a opportunity to test how well the new clutch program would work on a hot racetrack. The car left the starting line hard, and at 400 feet it had just a little too much clutch and the tires started to break loose. We're going to continue to work on this approach because I think it will ultimately pay dividends."

NEXT STOP: SEATTLE

The BME team will make its next appearance at the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Seattle International Raceway on July 31-Aug. 2. It's a special event for driver Kalivoda, a Seattle resident.

"Seattle is my home track, the place where I made my Top Fuel debut in 2001," said Kalivoda. "I’d been looking forward to this race all season, but it’s difficult to get excited about much of anything now in the wake of what has happened. Darrell won the Seattle event in 2002; it’s going to be tough to think we’ll be out there racing and he won’t be there. I’m sure that as the race draws near I’ll be able to regain my focus and all that, but right now it’s just tough. "

"I've got this great car and great team that I'm associated with now. Bill, Ron, and all the guys work so hard; it’s only because of luck, or lack thereof, that we haven’t found ourselves in the late rounds yet this season. Seattle, in front of my hometown crowd, would be the perfect place for everything to come together."

BME RACE RESULTS

Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals, Madison, Ill., June 27
Qualified: No. 14 at 4.676/323.12 mph
First Round: Brandon Bernstein (4.687/322.11) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(5.005/270.00)
 

June 1, 2004 – Hell hath no fury like a Top Fuel dragster, but even a 6,000-horsepower race car pales alongside the power of Midwestern weather. The Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team experienced the extremes of the heartland's volatile climate in back-to-back races in Chicago and Topeka, Kansas. In addition to the challenges of rain, wind and humidity, the scrappy BME team also had to come to grips with the new tires that are now mandatory in the nitro-burning classes.

Chicago is known as the Windy City, but it became the Rainy City during the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, held in nearby Joliet, Ill., on May 21-23. Qualifying was a two-run affair as rain on Friday and Saturday washed out two of the four scheduled qualifying sessions. BME driver Brady Kalivoda qualified 15th at 4.667/300.26 mph, securing a spot in the 16-car field after being bumped down to 17th before his final qualifying shot on Saturday. A misaligned supercharger pulley pitched the blower belt on Kalivoda's quickest pass, but the e.t. was still quick enough to keep the BME team in the show.

Kalivoda drew former NHRA champion Scott Kalitta in the first round of eliminations. Brady was first off the starting line by .053 seconds, but the supercharger belt again disengaged, slowing the BME machine to a 4.721/282.24 mph run while Kalitta took the win at 4.504/332.84 mph.

Memorial Day weekend found the BME troops setting up camp at Heartland Park Topeka, the site of the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals. While summer doesn't officially begin until the solstice on June 21, summer weather had already arrived in Kansas. Temperatures in the 80s and a relative altitude above 4,000 feet required significant changes in the clutch and engine setup.

Kalivoda's first qualifying run proved to be his best as he put a 4.733-second elapsed time at 305.01 on the board. The three subsequent runs were filed under "Learning Experiences" as tire smoke and a major vibration from an unbalanced tire and wheel prevented quicker times.

It was déjà vu all over again on race day as Kalivoda faced Scott Kalitta in the first round of eliminations for the second straight week. And unfortunately the outcome was the same as Kalitta ran 4.609/326.24 while the BME dragster disappeared in a cloud of vaporized rubber. The bright spot: Kalivoda nailed Kalitta by .082 seconds at the starting line.

FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT: BRADY KALIVODA QUOTES

"We've qualified at every race we've entered, and there are teams with bigger budgets that can't say that. The guys on the crew are working their tails off and we've got all the parts, pieces and personnel to win rounds. It's going to happen soon.

"Conditions like we had in Chicago and Topeka make me happy that I'm a driver, not a crew chief. My job remains the same, but Bill and the team have to come up with the right adjustments whenever the track or weather changes.

"Certainly our best run in Topeka was the third qualifying pass on Saturday. The car had great incremental numbers, the fourth quickest in the session to half-track. Then I felt a strong vibration and clicked it off early, but the car still ran 4.75 at only 240 mph. The motor was happy but the driveshaft sensors showed that the chassis was rattling like a paint shaker. Later we discovered that one of the slicks was out of balance. That's the neat thing about the computer - it can verify what the driver says or make a liar out of him.

"We drew a Kalitta car in the first round at both races. On Sunday you have to run what you know how to run and let the chips fall. Race day in Topeka was cool and the air was quite a bit better, but we didn't quite compensate for the better conditions. We didn't have lane choice, and with the marginal traction in the right lane, we just didn't have the right setup."

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: BILL MILLER QUOTES

"Our friends from Okuma are probably starting to think that burning nitromethane causes rain. We hosted Larry Schwartz, senior vice president of Okuma America, and technical supervisor Rick Kimmins at the Route 66 Nationals. Fortunately we got a break in the weather and they were able to witness a Top Fuel dragster run from the starting line. Judging by the expressions on their faces, I think it made an impression. When the crew arrived at the track on Sunday morning, Larry and Rick had already swept out the water that flooded our pit space. That was much appreciated.

"We're still learning about the new Top Fuel tires. We had a problem in Chicago which I think was the result of the tons of downforce produced by the rear wing and the extremely smooth track surface. That combination works the tires hard and builds up heat. We trimmed the rear wing's angle of attack by two degrees in Topeka to reduce the downforce and the load on the tires.

"The third qualifying pass at Topeka might have been our best run of the season. I dialed up the ignition timing and the clutch engagement, and the car was on its way to a 4.50 e.t. But Brady felt a vibration he'd never experienced before and clicked it off early. We were a little baffled at first, but I told him, 'You're the driver and you have to make the decision.' When we found out that we had an out-of-balance tire, we understood what had happened.

"We saw a 30-degree swing in temperature between qualifying and eliminations in Topeka. I thought that the track was good enough that Brady could run a low 4.60 against Kalitta. The car moved 10 feet and then zipped the tires, so that was our weekend."

NEXT STOP: ST. LOUIS

The BME team will sit out the next two races as the NHRA tour heads to Columbus, Ohio, and Englishtown, New Jersey. The next event on Bill Miller's dance card is the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals in Madison, Ill., near St. Louis, on June 25-27.

"Now we have a break before we race again," said Kalivoda. "I'm glad it's a night race because it can be very hot and humid at Gateway International Raceway this time of year. It's a neat little facility, and this will be my first time driving there. I'm looking forward to it."

"The qualifying sessions in St. Louis are at night, which is a big help in preparing for the race," added Miller. "I've started setting up the car in a different way, and it seems to be less sensitive to hot race tracks. I'm taking bigger steps now; you tend to get behind when you don't race as often as the other guys. This car is coming around."

BME RACE RESULTS

NHRA Route 66 Nationals, Joliet, Ill., May 23
Qualified: No. 15 at 4.667/308.57 mph
First Round: Scott Kalitta (4.504/332.84) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.721/282.24)

O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, Topeka, Kansas, May 30
Qualified: No. 13 at 4.733/305.01 mph
First Round: Scott Kalitta (4.609/326.24) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(12.67/84.85)
 

May 7, 2004 – Entertainer Gene Kelly may have been singin' in the rain for Hollywood musicals, but hundreds of NHRA POWERade Series drag racers weren't racin' in the rain last Sunday at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway. After days of ominous forecasts, the rain arrived just in time to wash out final eliminations of the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

The Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team returned to the track on Monday morning to find dramatically different conditions. The temperature had fallen to 49 degrees and the racing surface was scrubbed clean.

Driver Brady Kalivoda, qualified 12th in the 16-car field with a 4.651-second elapsed time, faced No. 5 qualifier Cory McClenathan in the first round of eliminations. The BME dragster was first off the starting line as Kalivoda put a .043-second advantage in the bank with a quick reaction time. The engine tune-up didn't complement the cooler weather, however, and several cylinders misfired. When a head gasket failed and pressurized the crankcase, performance went downhill rapidly. Kalivoda slowed to a 4.794-second e.t. while McClenathan claimed the victory in 4.604 seconds.

FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT: BRADY KALIVODA QUOTES

"Bristol Dragway is an absolutely beautiful facility, certainly one of the best on the NHRA tour. It's in the heart of NASCAR country, and the fans were very knowledgeable and very friendly. The entire experience was great.

"A weekend like we had in Bristol makes me glad I'm not a crew chief. My job remains the same, but the crew chiefs and the tuners have to adapt to different combinations and conditions, and that's the most difficult part of our sport. Bill and the crew did a fine job of adjusting to new circumstances quickly.

"This was our first weekend on Goodyear's new Top Fuel tire. All of the cars were required to run the new tire at this event, and we had zero experience with it. I was pleased with our first qualifying run on Friday when the car ran 4.70 at 316 mph. We wanted to make a nice A-to-B run out of the box, and we did that.

"Our next goal was to improve the e.t. in the Friday night session, and we accomplished that as well with a 4.65 run. I give all the credit to Bill and the team for sorting out the setup with the new tire so quickly.

"Being firmly in the show gave us the opportunity to experiment on Saturday. The weather was quite a bit warmer, and we weren't able to keep the tires hooked up on the hot track.

"The weather forecast had called for rain all weekend, so we were fortunate to get in all of our qualifying sessions. The forecast was the same for Sunday, and we thought that we might get lucky and run the race on schedule. NHRA did their best to dry the track, but in the end Mother Nature won and final eliminations were postponed until Monday.

"I take my hat off the crew because many of them have full-time jobs at home. Everyone did whatever they had to do to stay over. We had our full team to do battle on Monday.

"We were confident that we'd have a good drag race against Cory. The BME dragster left the starting line hard, but then the engine dropped some cylinders. I could feel that the motor wasn't running at 100 percent, but it was race day and I didn't see him, so I kept my foot on the throttle. Unfortunately the mechanical problems slowed the car and we were second at the finish line.

"All in all, it was a great weekend for our first visit to a great track. I feel very comfortable in the BME dragster, and I'm driving well. This team deserves to see some win lights, and it's going to happen soon."

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: BILL MILLER QUOTES

"We were happy to host our friends from Okuma in Bristol, and we had an opportunity to see many of our customers from the NASCAR shops. Seth Machlus, Okuma's marketing manager, and his wife Becky were honorary team members and joined us at the starting line on Friday. On Sunday, Ted Driggs, the manager of productivity development for RCR Okuma Technology Center, came out to the track. He didn't get to see the car in action because of the rain, but we spent quality time bench racing.

"The new Goodyear tire was a bit of a mystery at first, but there is always good advice in the pits if you ask smart people like Mike Kloeber and Bob Glidden. I got some pointers on initial tire pressure, and studying the video tapes of the runs helped us make the right adjustments. After we ran 4.70 and 4.65 on our first two passes, I was feeling more confident.

"The track temperature was 20 degrees hotter on Saturday than it was on Friday, and we spun the tires twice. Then a cold front arrived on Monday after the rain and the tuning changes we'd made didn't suit the conditions. We still have some issues with the fuel system that need to be sorted out, and we're learning how to cope with big swings in weather and track conditions.

"The bottom line is that we got beat in Bristol, but we'll bring experience with the new slick and a trailer full of new parts to the next race."

NEXT STOP: CHICAGO

The upcoming Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta is not on the BME Top Fuel team's dance card. Consequently the next outing for the black dragster will be the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., on May 20-23.

"I've raced once at Route 66 Raceway in 2001," Kalivoda recalled. "My total driving experience consisted of a single engine-destroying run, so it was a less than desirable situation. The Chicago track has a great racing surface, always quick and consistent. If the weather is cool, I'm looking forward to cranking out my first 4.50 of the year there.

"Several members of the team are based in Chicago," Kalivoda noted. "It's their home track and they'll have friends and family there. We want to do a good job for all of them."

BME RACE RESULTS, O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Qualified: No. 12 at 4.651/302.82 mph
First Round: Cory McClenathan (4.604/315.78) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.794/282.13)
 

April 21, 2004 – The BME Top Fuel team continued to climb the learning curve at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park on April 16-18. Driver Brady Kalivoda recorded a career-best elapsed time for the third consecutive event as the black-and-yellow BME dragster qualified solidly in the 16-car field.

A fresh track surface and warm temperatures at Houston Raceway Park added to the degree of difficulty in harnessing 7,000+ horsepower. The BME entry qualified 11th at 4.632/311.77 mph. Facing reigning NHRA champion Larry Dixon Jr. in the first round of eliminations, Kalivoda was first off the starting line by .05 seconds. A misfiring cylinder slowed Kalivoda's progress and Dixon took the victory, 4.609/302.69 to 4.783/272.89.

FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT: BRADY KALIVODA QUOTES

"On the first qualifying run, the track was green and somewhat tricky. The car launched hard, but shook the tires. We came back for the Friday night session and the car laid down a great run. I give all the credit to Bill and the crew because they made some major changes in the setup and got it right. Our 4.632 e.t. in qualifying was another career best for me. Houston was our third race together, and so far I've posted career-best elapsed times at every event.

"We were comfortably in the show, so we worked on our race day setup on Saturday. We ran the third qualifying session at noon under conditions that were similar to what we expected in the first round of eliminations. The incremental numbers were excellent, but the parachutes rattled out at 1,000 feet. It was a shame we didn't get a time slip, but all of the data was good. It's always better to have a parachute problem in qualifying than on race day!

"In the first round of eliminations, the engine put a cylinder out early and never picked it up again. If that cylinder had stayed lit, it would have been a real drag race with Dixon.

"The entire team should be holding their heads high after Houston. If we keep doing what we're doing, there will be win lights in our lane in the near future. I'm confident of that."

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: BILL MILLER QUOTES

"I was genuinely pleased with the performance of the car, the driver and the crew in Houston. I'm getting more simpatico with the new Don Long chassis, and beginning to understand it better.

"We hosted several customers from Okuma in Houston: Monty and Betty Dick from Nelson Machinery and Mike Gallagher and his family from Regal Machine Tool. They were honorary team members, and they really enjoyed hanging out in the pits and going to the starting line with the car. A day at the races really highlights the technology that Okuma brings to our team.

"We used the same combination in qualifying on Friday night that ran 4.63 in Las Vegas, and it repeated to within four thousandths of a second. The engine had enough rpm to run 330 mph, but the timers showed 311 mph, so we know the tires were spinning hard at the top end. It's very difficult to drive at night at that track, and Brady did a good job to keep the car between the lines. The motor looked good, and we were satisfied with our qualifying position.

"On Sunday we were determined to race the track, not the car in the other lane - even though we were facing the defending Top Fuel champion. Brady put five hundredths in the bank at the starting line, but a valve in the fuel system enriched the mixture for a millisecond too long and we lost a cylinder. It was our race to give away, and we did.

"The crew is working well together, and we can see the performance of the car improving at every race. We have a new supercharger setup that we'll introduce soon. The BME Top Fuel dragster is going to surprise some people this season."

THE BRISTOL BASH: BME GOES TO NASCAR COUNTRY

The next stop on the BME Top Fuel odyssey is the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., on April 30 - May 2. It will be a new experience for both the BME team and driver Brady Kalivoda as they compete at Bristol Dragway for the first time.

"It's an awesome track, an awesome facility and an awesome crowd," said Kalivoda. "I haven't driven there, so it will be exciting for me. We're going into NASCAR country where Bill Miller Engineering has many customers and Okuma has an office. Bristol would be a great place for us to get our first round win of the season."

While BME is well known in drag racing as a manufacturer of championship-winning connecting rods and pistons, BME also supplies components for the top teams in NASCAR Nextel Cup, Busch Grand National Series and Craftsman Truck Series. BME pistons have powered NASCAR champions Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon and the late Dale Earnhardt; Daytona 500 winners Mike Waltrip and Ward Burton; Daytona 500 pole winner Bill Elliott and many other NASCAR stars.

BME RACE RESULTS, O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals
Qualified: No. 11 at 4.632/311.77 mph
First Round: Larry Dixon Jr. (4.609/302.69) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.783/272.89)
 

April 9, 2004 – With raindrops falling on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday morning, it was a longshot that the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals would even happen. Top Fuel team owner Bill Miller was hedging his bets, however. While the prospects for the race looked as dark as the sky overhead, Miller and his volunteer crew were working on the BME/Okuma dragster in the tight confines of their trailer's top-deck storage area. And when the call went out for the Top Fuel teams to assemble in the staging lanes, the BME crew was ready.

On a cold track that had seen only a single pair of Top Fuel dragsters make runs, BME driver Brady Kalivoda covered the Vegas quarter-mile in 4.636 seconds at 306.67 mph - a performance that put the independent team solidly in the field in the No. 7 spot.

With a place in Sunday's show all but assured, the team adopted a more aggressive approach in the second qualifying run on Saturday evening - and paid the price when the run was lost to tire shake. When the rain-shortened qualifying schedule concluded, Kalivoda and the BME dragster were seeded 10th among the 16 qualifiers.

"The mood changed from 'We're not racing this weekend' to 'Get your stuff in the staging lanes now' in less than an hour," said Kalivoda. "The team deserves all the credit for preparing the car in a very short time.

"The 4.63 in qualifying was another career-best elapsed time for me," Kalivoda reported. "I was surprised when I heard the time because the run was so smooth. That tells me that we have a lot more performance left in this car."

Kalivoda's first-round opponent was Dave Grubnic, who drove the BME dragster in 2003. With something to prove to their former shoe, the BME team was primed for a round win.

"I thought we had a good chance to beat Grubnic and the Kalitta team," said team owner Bill Miller. "I backed down the power and clutch to make sure that Brady could race him to the finish line - and I'll be darned if the car didn't shake the tires loose. Grubnic ran 4.64 and could have been beaten. When you're racing in Top Fuel, that's just the way it goes sometimes."

The next event for the BME team is the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas. Miller relishes the prospect of returning to the sea-level track on April 16-18.

"We're going to continue to refine the combination that ran 4.66 in Pomona and 4.63 in Las Vegas," Miller said. "We have a new chassis, a new driver and several new crew members, so we're gaining experience every time the car makes a run. Top Fuel engines just love the conditions at Houston Raceway Park, so I'm expecting the BME Top Fuel team to shine at the Spring Nationals.

"This team may not have the biggest budget, but it's got the biggest heart," Miller added. "And we've got great support from Okuma, Redline Oil, Autolite, Goodyear, Snap-On, Clevite, and MSD - along with all of the technicians and machinists at Bill Miller Engineering who make the finest pistons, connecting rods and wrist pins on the planet."

BME RACE RESULTS, NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals
Qualified: No. 10 at 4.636/306.67 mph
First Round: Dave Grubnic (4.646/320.89) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(11.108/76.12)
 

March 1, 2004 – The BME Top Fuel Dragster roared to life after heavy rains delayed the season-opening 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals by one week in Pomona, CA. Brady Kalivoda piloted the new Don Long-built dragster down the quarter mile in 4.691 seconds at 311.77mph during Friday’s qualifying session, securing the 14th qualifying position for the team from Carson City, NV.

“We’re pleased with the 4.69,” said Kalivoda. “The postponement of the race meant we came back here with three qualifying attempts left. We lost our first attempt last week to tire shake, so we wanted to make sure we made a nice, solid run right out of the box this weekend, and we did that.”

That set up a first-round showdown between the BME team and the Clay Millican-driven 104+ Performance Additives/Werner Enterprises Top Fuel Dragster. “It’s a bit ironic that I’d get to race my buddy Clay in the first round of the first event of the year,” said Kalivoda, who spent the 2003 season working as a crew member on Millican’s Peter Lehman-owned dragster. “I mean, what are the chances? Last season I won ten IHRA races and a championship as part of their team. (Crew Chief) Mike Kloeber was instrumental in my landing a job driving for Bill Miller, and now we’re squaring off in round one.”

Kalivoda took a slight .059 to .073 starting line advantage and ran a career-best elapsed time of 4.661 seconds at 311.92mph, but Millican took the win light with a 4.544 at 316.60mph.

“Man, that was fun,” said Kalivoda. “Clay and I had been razzing each other ever since the pairings were set. It’s neat to be able to race my good friend, but it’s all business when you roll to the starting line. We’re here to win, period.”

“The 4.66 is a career best for me. All the credit goes to Bill Miller and the BME team for doing such a great job our first weekend out with this new Don Long chassis. We’re disappointed we didn’t get the win light, but we were right there had (Millican) stumbled at all; it was a great drag race.”

The next stop on the NHRA POWERade tour for the BME team is the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2-4.

“We just can’t wait to get to Las Vegas and make some noise,” said Kalivoda. “The team is revved up, Bill is excited about the potential of the new car, and, needless to say, I’m having a blast in the cockpit. We’re looking forward to a great season.”

BME RACE RESULTS, K&N Filters Winternationals
Qualified: No. 14 at 4.691/311.77 mph
First Round: Clay Millican (4.545/316.60) defeated Brady Kalivoda
(4.661/311.92)
 

January 15, 2004 – Long-time NHRA campaigner Bill Miller has named Brady Kalivoda as the driver of his Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel dragster. The group will attend 15 of 23 events in 2004 and will debut a new Don Long chassis at the Phoenix test session in early February. Miller, who manufacturers and supplies parts to many of the top teams on the circuit, will serve as crew chief.

Despite the fact Kalivoda has just nine races of Top Fuel experience, Miller says it was an easy decision to select the 30-year-old, second-generation driver to replace Dave Grubnic, who left his team for a ride with Kalitta Motorsports. Miller points to Kalivoda's attitude and persistence in finding a ride as the one of his strongest attributes.

"If you went out searching for a model person to represent the sport of NHRA drag racing, I don't think you could find a better candidate than Brady Kalivoda," Miller said. "He's a good-looking, clean-cut, respectful kid with a dynamite personality and I don't think there are many people who have worked harder to find a ride.

"I'm good buddies with [crew chief] Mike Kloeber and when I called him to ask his opinion on who I should hire he said, 'Brady, Brady, Brady.' He says, 'Think about it Bill, how many second-generation guys are bad drivers?' You look at guys like Dixon, Kalitta, and Schumacher, and on and on, all second-generation guys, and you see that he's right. Typically, these guys turn out good. I guess insanity runs in the genes.

"We're happy to have him. He's got a valid license, he's ready to go, he can work on the car if we need him to, and he's fired up about life in general, so I feel confident we picked the right person."

Kalivoda won't have too much rust to knock off his helmet, having driven as recently as the Seattle race in late July. He also piloted Rico Anthes' Top Fuel dragster at the 18th annual NitrOlympics in late August at the Motodrom in Hockenheim, Germany.

"I'll be ready to go, are you kidding me?" Kalivoda said. "I've been waiting for a chance like this my whole life. Bill has top-notch stuff and he's always run a clean, professional organization. I'm honored that he selected me to drive his car. On top of everything else, he and his wife, Virgie, are good people. I'm so excited that it's hard to describe."

The 'insanity gene'
The love of drag racing was instilled at a young age for Kalivoda, who grew up in the considerable shadow of his famous drag racing father Dick Kalivoda. Widely remembered for his front-engine Top Fuel dragster, nicknamed "the Joker," which he drove from 1968-'70 in the twilight of his career, Dick was setting records long before Brady was born, mostly in the Northwest's Division 6 near their Seattle home. One of his more prominent rides, the Kalivoda & Hamlin B/Modified Roadster, was so revered it now resides in the Wally Parks Motorsports Museum.
"Dad retired before I was born but he stayed close to the sport," Brady said. "My first real contact with drag racing came at Seattle International Raceway when I was 4. Dad hadn't been out of the seat for very long so when we went to the racetrack for the Fall Nationals he pretty much knew everyone.

"Gary Beck was the guy to beat back then and he had bought dad's old car so we were hanging out in his pit. It was quite a different perspective than the average fan would get. I was talking to legends like Herm Peterson and "Gentleman" Hank Johnson, who were big-time Top Fuel stars, especially in Seattle.

"That race got me going and then I started to pick up on what my dad had done and I was like, 'Wow dad, you did this?' I was blown away. That's really the point when I decided I wanted to drive one of these cars."

Taking the necessary steps
In his late teens, Brady attended Frank Hawley's NHRA Drag Racing School and earned a Super Comp license. He used that experience to secure a ride in a nitro-burning, A-Fuel Nostalgia front-engine dragster, which he drove throughout his college days.

After graduating magna cum laude with an accounting degree from Central Washington University. Kalivoda followed his love of the sport to a crewmember's job with Tom Hoover's Pioneer Funny Car team. He has since worked on the race teams of Jim Head, Tony Schumacher, and most recently, Clay Millican, where he worked under Kloeber.

Along the way he let everyone who would listen know that his main goal was to drive a Top Fuel car. Whenever a small window of opportunity would open, Kalivoda was there to take advantage of the situation.

"My first shot came in testing in 1999 when I was working on Jim's dragster," Kalivoda said. "I had always lugged my helmet and firesuit around with me and it finally paid off when he let me make three squirts. It was awesome, everything I knew it would be."

Two years later Kalivoda had a chance to finish up the licensing process and enter a race in Hartman Motorsport's back-up car. "Virgil [Hartman] said I could drive the car at my home track in Seattle if I lined up some sponsors," Kalivoda said. "So I went to work and found the funding for that one race. Then, John [Smith] got hurt a few races later in Brainerd so they asked me back to finish out the last six races of the year. That certainly wasn't the way I wanted to get a ride but I had to put John's accident out of my mind and learn as much as possible."

In 2002 and 2003, Kalivoda was again limited to his hometown race, and, ironically he logged the only elimination-round win of his career against Bill Miller's car at the '02 meet.

Moving on
"There are a lot of crew guys who want to drive," Kalivoda said. "I always tried to do my best to separate myself from that pack so I always chased down every lead and took any extra job I could, like writing stories for internet sites, or whatever, to keep my name out there.

"I'm happy I learned all the inner workings of the car and I plan to help as much as Bill needs me on our new car. I think my experience as a crewman definitely helped my cause."

Miller agreed. "These cars are so mechanical that you can't really place a value on how important it is to have a driver that can mentally visualize what's happening behind him," he said. "Brady's pretty much worked every position on the crew so he'll be able to provide us with a lot of feedback right away. That's a big plus.

"I expect us to be competitive right from the start. The car will lack for nothing. We have a brand-new Don Long chassis that is a work of art. It took him three years to build but it's a real masterpiece and it will function as well as or better than any car out there. Of course, we have all the engines and parts we need. We've got the inventory to do what we do.

"We aren't averse to running full-time if the situation was right but we're not going to run 23 races without the necessary ammunition to take on the Bernsteins and Dixons of the world. Right now, most of the funding comes from Bill Miller Engineering. We get great help from Autolite, Clevite, and Red Line Oil, but to move up to full-time we'd need four-times more than we have now.

"We'll stay within our boundaries for now. It'll be fun watching Brady mature as a driver."

This story is copyright 2004 National Hot Rod Association. It may not be reprinted or retransmitted in any form without the express written permission of NHRA.com.