Top Fuel driver Howard
Haight (who was fresh off a huge win at the 46th March Meet)
was in the seat of Big Yohn's Shubert & Herbert recreation.
Photos &
Commentary by Robert Briggs
Push starting the car "Old School" ..yes!
This is the first burnout session.
Haight brings the Shubert & Herbert dragster
back to life ... whummMMPP!!! Big Yohns must be grinning ear-to-ear.
Howard looks good in
the "Shubie" as people in the pits look on.
Warren Walther &
Rod McCarrell watch from the fence as Howard approaches the starting
line. I can't ID the person on the left.
The Turn. Gosh, this
part of the run is so poetic to me its beyond words. The push
down ... will the car start? Will the car keep running? Can the
drivers make The Turn without crashing into each other. Can they
stage the cars before the engines get too hot? I really miss
this part of today's contemporary drag racing.
Howard and the Shubert
& Herbert is drawing a lot of attention from some Dust Devils
as it rolls to the line. Announcer Mike English is approaching
on the left. Howard adjusts
his goggles while Big Yohns checks engine temp.
One last look. You gotta
wonder what's going through Big Yohn's mind. This is the car's
first burnout attempt ... ever [gulp].
Its put up or shut up
time ... and Howard begins Shubert & Herbert's "inaugural"
burnout. I have to confess I was shaking like a leaf with my
emotion level very high. Had to remind myself "keep pushing
the shutter button ... don't be a spectator." Ronnie Rapp
watches from the sideline.
Howard has the tires
smoking nicely at this point. Kol Johnson comes into view.
Howard has the smoke
pattern thickening. Shubert & Herbert looks straight and
true ...
Smoke pattern is still
thickening and curling behind the slicks. Howard holds the line
straight and true. Crew member Marc McCormick and the Chief Cat
Herder himself Lee Schelin watch trackside. Don Prieto wearing
his whites and solar powered Pith Helmet can be seen at the fence.
Last shot in this series.
Howard flashes by. My camera's memory buffer is full and this
is the last shot it'll take. Tire smoke fools the auto focusing
a bit though Howard's helmet appears in focus. What a super run!!
Congrats to Big Yohns, Howard Haight, Kol Johnson & Marc
McCormick. Great show for the car's first burnout.
Here's Howie pulling off the track and onto the return
road after a 900' smoker. It was Fontana 1964 all over again.
Patty Peterson
Photo
Later
in the day Big Yohns making the final visual check before Howard's
upcoming E-ticket ride.
After 5 or 6 seconds Howard has the revs up and begins
the 2nd track launch of the Schubert & Herbert.
Front
wheels still up and even. Again, nice smoke pattern.
Front tires are down
and smoke is thickening ... everything looks good.
Left front tire slightly up and no problems yet ....
Looking great but this is where Howard said the track
started getting a little slippery ...
Notice the smoke is darker now. The rear end is sliding
to the left and the guardrail must be coming into Howard's view.
Uh-oh ...
A driver with lesser driving skills than Howard Haight
the S&H would be in a repair shop today.
First run was a little rich. I don't know what the
actual altitude is, but I suppose around 2500-3000 feet. We bumped
the Nitro 5% and put a little more overdrive on the blower for
the second launch. Even then it was spitting a little raw fuel
of a couple of pipes when Howie winged it before the run. Big
Yohns
Here are a couple of pics of Howard Haight working
on the blower drive pulleys. As I heard it, there was an attempt
to go to a slightly larger drive pulley (maybe an altitude correction?),
but the hole pattern of the larger pulley wasn't quite the same
as the original. There was lots of filing and thrashing in the
dirt, but Howard was persistent and must have got it right.
The pic with the 2 pulleys in hand was taken about 10 AM prior
to their 1st run, according to the camera data. The other was
taken about 2 PM, between the 1st and 2nd pass.
Commentary by Bob Brown
It finally happened.
Riceman's brass model of the Shubert Herbert is shown here at
dusk on Saturday with its big brother, the real car. Big Yohns,
their proud owner, is holding the display plate on which the
model is resting.
Full
Model Construction
From the old to the
new... Big Yohns Racing also had their VRA Jr. Fuel dragster
on hand with Kol Johnson in the seat. Here Ron and Marc McCormick
monitor the engine during a warm-up.
Ron checks the exhaust temp with a thermal gun.
Kol makes a pass Saturday afternoon.
Big Yohns Racing's 2005
rig that carries the "Big Wheel" Jr. Fuel dragster
and the Shubert & Herbert A/FD recreation.
More Inyokern
2005 |