AA/FA: The View from the Bunker

By David Hapgood

9/26/04 Woodburn, OR

In September 2000 I heard a rumor that an unknown fuel altered had just run at an obscure track out in the high desert of the Pacific Northwest. I was familiar with the track: a barren asphalt strip between metal guardrails, a place of sagebrush and tumbleweeds and a grandstand capacity of maybe two hundred spectators.

The idea of a fuel altered blasting down it seemed more like a dream than reality and I was almost certain that the story had been twisted around: alcohol altereds were a mainstay at that track and were sometimes described as 'fuel altereds.' And yet I was repeatedly assured that the car was a genuine AA/FA running a full load of nitro. Impossible: the stuff of myth and legend, the sort of thing which can tide a person over for the winter and then some. The following summer the rumors were back: the car was slated for another appearance. I had to be there to see it for myself.

On that long-awaited raceday, I arrived at the track expecting to find nothing more elaborate than a vintage 'nostalgia' AA/FA, which itself would have been plenty cool. And there it was down at the desolate end of pit row. Except it wasn't a nostalgia machine. The thing had a 14-71 blower, dual mags, 17-inch slicks, a tall rear wing and an extensive front fairing. The rumors were true: it was a so-called 'unlimited' fuel altered and I was thrilled. To top it off, nobody was around their pit so I got to spend a few silent minutes with the car as it rested beneath a small canopy beside the sagebrush: I'd shown up to pray and I'd found the altar.

Later that afternoon the car made more noise than will ever again be experienced at that track and I wouldn't doubt that the tumbleweeds at the edge of the strip continue to smell just a little bit like fuel to this very day. The car kicked ass.

I did not approach the driver or crew that day. Instead I lurked beside the guardrail and at the margins of their pit area, savoring the moment. It was a nearly perfect afternoon.

That was the first phase of my association with this car. The second phase began mere weeks later when I contacted the driver by telephone. As fate would have it, the car was based just a few miles from my home! I paid a visit and played a minor role in helping the driver pull the motor. This was followed a string of visits over the course of the next three years. No, I was not enlisted as a crewmember (he tried) as I had the good sense to know that given free reign I'd surely manage to blow up his equipment. I convinced him that my real job was to be a storyteller. Little did I know that it would be another three years before I'd have the opportunity to tell it.

The driver's name is Don Lane. He's been drag racing for more than two decades, starting with bracket cars, moving onward to a AA/A, back into a bracket car and then, finally, his AA/FA. Through it all he has earned a vague name-recognition amongst hardcore Division 6 racers: the word spreads fast when someone runs on nitro, even (or maybe especially) if it's nitro on a skeletal budget. In many ways obscurity only seems to add to the intrigue (in this way my story is doing both Don and his team a grave disservice: to hell with me for aiming a spotlight in his direction!).

In any case, for better or for worse, this is a story about a guy with a modest paycheck refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that nitro, even low buck nitro, is only for rich people. Come along and take a spin as I accompany Don and crew to his car's first race in 3 years, a recent 'test and tune' session at a less-obscure track, our local Woodburn Dragstrip.

8:30 AM

We leave Portland beneath cloudy skies. Although this summer's races have been plagued by rainouts today's forecast calls for sunshine so everyone's spirits are up. Three of us ride in the tow vehicle down I-5 while the rest of the crew follows in a van and a pickup truck.

9:10 AM

We arrive at the drag strip, where the Sunday bracket show has already gotten underway. The paved pit spots are claimed so we find a spot on the far side of the pit road, way back in the grass. Come to think of it, our irregular spot is a fitting locale for an audacious and irregular contraption like a fuel altered.

9:20 AM

Unload the altered. remove the fiberglass shell, raise the car onto the stands, and start prepping the engine. We have traveled to Woodburn with permission to fire the car in the pit, nothing more. Don has a 'new' blower on the motor and we might need to work out the bugs. If all goes well, after firing the car a couple times we will ask permission to make a pass or two. Woodburn does allow the occasional blown fuel car down their track, but only rarely. Our highest goal for the day would be to put on a good clean show and pave the way for running the track on a regular basis in the future.

Powerplant: A former Dale Pulde JP-1, Brad Anderson heads and twin Mallory mags

10:00 AM

Prepare warm-up bottle with alcohol.

From left to right: owner/driver/tuner Don Lane, Donn (yes, with two 'n's) Hosford, Ron Luce and Andy Church: the core members of the crew. Hosford moonlights on the altered when not busy with his own TAFC. Luce is a former TF owner/driver/tuner/chassis builder from the midwest; his fabrication skills have proven indispensible to the AA/FA team. Church has a history driving late model NASCAR in the Northwest and is a newcomer to the sport of drag racing.

10:25 AM

Fire up on alcohol. The motor turns over and catches on the second try. The new blower sings a happy tune! Don spins the tires. Everything works. Run it for a minute and a half, shut it off. Everyone seems pleased and it's time to move on to the 'yellow stuff ' - nitro.

Don Lane in the seat, firing on alcohol.

10:30 AM

Our first speed bump of the day arrives in the form of a friendly tech inspector on a mini bike. He says hello and right off asks the fateful question: "What fuel are you running today?" Nitro. Suddenly the car is under a magnifying glass. The rest of the crew carry on with their work while Don points out the many new certification tags on the car. He's spent the better part of this past year not merely assembling a first rate volunteer crew (quite a task on its own) but also making sure the car has its required upgrades. On a corporate fuel team this sort of thing is just a routine aspect of doing business. When it's funded out of pocket, however, these tags and stickers are significant investments: in Don's case the expense has been at least equal to his annual parts budget. My heart sinks as the inspector then opens a 2004 NHRA rulebook to the TF and AAFC section.

The first piece of bad news is that he wants to see bags or titanium covers on the cylinder heads. We don't have them. He won't let us run without them. I can't really object to the logic: as a photographer I spend a fair amount of time out on the starting line and I tend to appreciate the safety features on fuel cars. Still... it's not exactly like the altered is a contemporary fuel funny car. We had hoped to run under nostalgia nitro rules but apparently Don's car is just too hopped up for that -at least at this track. So we're not going to make a pass today. It's a small disappointment for everyone on the crew but we weren't counting on it anyway: our primary goal is still ahead of us: fire the car up on fuel, test the new blower and get the idle set. We're still on target.

But then there's more discouraging news from the tech inspector, a few minor details and then a big one: we don't have those nice new TF / AAFC legal rear wheels. Don and the inspector discuss whether or not 330mph wheels would be mandatory on a 250mph altered. The inspector says that he will contact the divisional tech director and get back to Don later in the week. He motors off and we return our attention to getting the engine ready for firing on nitro.

Don and Andy get ready to measure the fuel percentage while Andy's son Kenny looks on. Don's Tee Shirt conveys the team's philosophy.

11:15 AM

The starter is back on the car and it's time to see how the new blower likes fuel. Kenny hits the switch, Ron feeds gas into the injector, disconnects the ground on the mags and the thing comes to life, effortlessly. No dicking around and no leaks, the machine is cackling up on the stands, a constant flicker of orange flames out the pipes. The blower sounds happy and the motor is running smoothly but overall it's a little on the weak side and after a minute or so Don shuts it off and climbs out. The verdict: it's running too lean.

Don listens to the motor during the first fireup on nitro.

For more than two hours 'our' car has attracted little attention. Few spectators are in attendance and our fellow racers have their own programs to run. Yet now the sound of nitro has lured a tiny crowd to the edge of our pit area. "I heard it from across the staging lanes," said one racer, "and then I smelled it." And so there it was, the AA/FA as center-of-attention, its admirers gazing on with the odd thousand-mile stare that only a fuel car can elicit from the faithful -a mixture of fascination and reverence tinged with a measure of intimidation.

12:05 PM

The second fire up. After changing the butterfly settings, dropping the rpms and making clutch adjustments we're ready to go. From the moment it lights this one is different. The car really sounds mean and terribly happy, a whole lot more noise than the first try and it's a beautiful sound. The orange header flames are long gone and it's a pleasure listening to the beast drink heavily and light it up.

Ron stands by as Don spins the tires on the 2nd nitro fireup.

After a minute or so Don hits the fuel shutoff and climbs out. Off come the valve covers and a precursory look at the engine is encouraging: everything looks fine. And that is the beginning and the end of the 2004 season for this low buck fuel racer. Don will have to wait until next year to see how the combination behaves under load but the day's mission is deemed a success. The rest of the upgrades are on the way. Stay tuned for 2005.

One of the prettiest altereds in the world....and one with a storied past. The chassis was Mike Mitchell's last funny car, a corvette best known for a towering wheelstand at Indy and for plowing off the end of the track at Englishtown, both in 1980. The stars and stripes paintjob will be recognizeable to hardcore fans as it is the original paints from the car's days of service as the Bob Beatty AA/FA

The mural on the nosepiece. Note the funny car and dragster clenched in the eagle's talons.

1:30 PM - packing up.

David Hapgood
hapgood_d@hotmail.com