Archive for October, 2011

Seattle

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Just flew back from Seattle and boy, are my arms tired! (okay, I promise to never use that line again).

Yeah, went out to the Rottler Manufacturing “Annual Rep Training Session and Open House”. Rottler takes this rep training very seriously and they brought their entire sales force from all over this big world of ours to this event. Lots of hands-on training on their newest machines, machining centers and technology advances made by Rottler. It was great to see a lot of our International Goodson Distributors who are also Rottler reps at this event. Rottler has a very nice manufacturing facility with many multi-axis machining centers that they use to make the machines you have in your shop. I think the coolest thing I saw was them using a Rottler machine to make other components for other Rottler machines. If you can use your stuff to make your own stuff that in my opinion means your stuff must be pretty good!

Now I was not part of the entire Rottler training session, but I was part of the open house and I was mostly there for the AERA tech conference.

The AERA tech conference open up with Keith Jones, from Total Seal Piston Rings delivering a very informative presentation on piston rings, and the necessary cylinder wall requirements to make them seat. Keith really delivered on this topic as he knows it very well indeed. Next up was Steve Fox of AERA who brought everyone up to speed on the latest PROSIS feature and benefits. To round out the conference, Clemens Ortgies of BU Drive, finished up with a detailed presentation on converting diesel engines to run on natural gas. With all of the natural gas available this conversion makes sense in a lot of areas here in the USA as well as around the world.

After the presentations, it was off to B&G Machine for a detailed tour of their heavy-duty diesel engine building shop. Smaller engines in the world are used to start these big boys of serious diesel displacement. I must say the Bianchi’s really have one of the cleanest and well laid out diesel shops I have ever been in. They are certainly on their game in the world of diesel engines.

After the tour it was down to the harbor for dinner and a boat ride. Watching the sun go down in the Seattle Harbor was a highlight for sure. I am an avid boater and being on the water in a place I had never been to watch the sun set with a bunch of engine builders was very cool indeed. Great food, good fun and everybody got to learn something new.

Big thanks and hats off to Rottler and all of their employees for making this event very special!

See ya on the web!
Dave

Posted in Dave Monyhan's Blog | Comments Off

A Sad Day in Motorsports

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Sad day for sure!

Dan Weldon, Indy Car Driver has passed away from injuries in a multi-car crash on lap 12 in yesterday’s final race for the Indy Car Racing Series at LasVegas Motor Speedway in LasVegas, Nevada. Dan had won this year’s Indianapolis 500 as well as in 2005. He was a very talented and optimistic driver as well as a great husband and father. My condolences to his friends and family during this sad time.

Dave

Posted in Dave Monyhan's Blog | 1 Comment »

DISAPPOINTED WILK OUT IN ROUND ONE

Monday, October 17th, 2011

 Tim Wilkerson had one pesky contrary thought in his head as he embarked on a Sunday quest to get his special-edition LRS Big Website Makeover Ford to run a full lap on all eight cylinders, and that nagging worry was based on how the car would handle 12.5 percent more power down-track. As it turned out, he got the tune-up right and overshot the mark in round one, spinning the tires at nearly the spot he’d been dropping holes all weekend. Paul Lee’s .002 light didn’t help matters, and it was a disappointed but undaunted Wilk who came back to his pit to analyze the data.

 

“I was a little worried about that, to tell you the truth, because you just don’t know how the car is going to react to the track if it keeps all eight lit, especially right down there at half-track where all of a sudden you’re dealing with more power if all eight are firing,” Wilkerson said. “This track is tough enough, if you’re worried about spinning the tires, and a 130-degree surface just makes it really hard to stay stuck and keep all the cylinders lit. We got the combination right on that run, but sure enough I think it was that little extra power that drove us right into spin. 

 

“To be honest, I thought he red-lit over there, because I heard him leave early, but with a .002 light we weren’t going to win anyway. We would’ve needed something like a 4.27 to beat him, and we weren’t set up to do that. We were trying to run about a 4.30 to a 4.32, and I cut my normal light, so it wasn’t in the cards.  My guys are bummed out, because we made four good laps in qualifying, and then we come out here and get bit.”

 

To be precise, with Lee’s .002 and Wilk’s standard “everyday” .088 at the tree, it would’ve taken a 4.274 to defeat Lee’s 4.360-second time.

 

Wilk did, however, have a good race going until Sunday morning came around. On a blistering weekend in Phoenix, where track temps soared to nearly unheard of levels and tire spin was the common denominator, Wilk managed to string four consecutive solid laps together.  He also earned two bonus points in the process, and landed in the top half of the field at a place where that seemed like a fortuitous accomplishment.  He did, however, make portions of all four of those solid qualifying laps with only seven cylinders. 

 

“It’s a shame, because our goal here was to get out of the 10th spot and we had the chance to do it right there,” Wilk said. “This just tells you how hard this deal can be. It’s never easy to tune a Funny Car, but it’s a ton harder when the conditions are like this, and all you had to do was watch what went on here to see that. I said yesterday that the secret here was that you had to tiptoe your way down this track, and I guess we got to jogging or running a little today and we slipped and fell. We’ll go on to Las Vegas and try to make up for it there, and my guys are in need of a good boost so I hope we can get one there.”

 

The Full Throttle tour will now take a week off before reconvening in Las Vegas during the final weekend in October.  

 

On a sad note, it was later in the day when the Wilkerson team learned of the death of Indy Car driver Dan Wheldon, who was involved in a terrible crash during their race today. Everyone involved with Team Wilkerson sends heartfelt condolences to the Wheldon family and the Indy Car community.

Posted in Tim Wilkerson Racing | Comments Off

Arend Races DHL Funny Car to Semifinals in Phoenix; Team Kalitta teammates Kalitta, Grubnic and DeJoria Make Early Exits from Eliminations

Monday, October 17th, 2011

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Oct. 16, 2011) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Funny Car, made his second consecutive trip to the semi-final round at an NHRA national event Sunday during final eliminations at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int’l Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles outside of Phoenix.

Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., qualified his bright yellow DHL hot rod in the No.16 position (4.411 seconds, 276.80 mph) for Sunday’s 16-car Funny Car eliminations field.

In the opening round, Arend faced off against No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon. For the third time in the past five NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events, Arend put Pedregon “on the trailer” after a first round defeat – 4.550 sec., 275.39 mph to 4.917 sec., 227.80 mph.

In the quarterfinals, Arend’s opponent in the other lane was Bob Tasca III. The two Funny Car Countdown to the Championship contenders put on a fantastic race for the fans at Firebird Int’l Raceway with Arend getting a very close win on a holeshot, 4.459 sec., 278.06 mph to 4.449 sec., 275.45 mph. Arend’s slight starting line advantage (.070 to .087) allowed him to get the DHL “flopper” to the finish line first by only .007 seconds.

In the semifinals, Arend raced against Jack Beckman. Arend and the DHL Funny Car came up short to Beckman in their bid to race to their third final round this season as Beckman got the win, 4.416 sec., 277.26 to 4.299 sec., 286.62 mph.

With his advancement to at least the semifinals for the sixth time this season, Arend moves up from eighth to sixth place in Funny Car Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2239). He is 65 points away from making it into the top five.

The other three nitro-fueled race cars in the Team Kalitta contingent, the Technicoat Top Fuel dragster driven by Doug Kalitta, the Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster driven by native Australian David Grubnic, and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Alexis DeJoria, all suffered first round losses in Sunday’s eliminations.

Kalitta remains in seventh place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2200) while Grubnic remains in eighth place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2168).

ESPN2 TV Schedule

10/20 – Re-air Eliminations 3:00 A.M.-4:30 A.M. (ET)

Times and dates subject to change.

About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.

Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for the team. Newly added in the fall of 2011, Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster entry while Dave Grubnic drives the team’s second Top Fueler under the banner of Kalitta Air as well. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by crew chief Jim Oberhofer and assistant crew chief Troy Fasching on Doug’s Top Fueler and by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car. Oberhofer also serves as crew chief for the Tequila Patrón team. Connie serves as crew chief on the Grubnic-driven racer with help from assistant crew chief James Riola.

Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Candlewood Suites, ROCKY Boots, Red Line Oil, Technicoat Companies, OPTIMA Batteries, JEGS, and Mac Tools.

For more info about Kalitta Motorsports including exclusive content such as videos, photos and more, please visit www.teamkalitta.com. Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta. Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KalittaMotorsports. Check out videos about Team Kalitta on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/TeamKalitta

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

Candlewood Suites Rides Again with Grubnic in Phoenix; Full Team Kalitta Contingent Including DeJoria to Race for Desert Titles

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Oct. 13, 2011) – Kalitta Motorsports will field all four of its nitro-fueled, 8,000-horsepower hot rods this weekend at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int’l Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles outside of the Phoenix city limits.

The massive, Michigan-based team helmed by NHRA drag racing legend and pioneer Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta competes in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the world’s quickest and fastest auto racing championship series, with the Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster driven by native Australian David Grubnic, the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by newcomer Alexis DeJoria, the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by native Canadian Jeff Arend, and the Technicoat Top Fuel dragster driven by Connie’s nephew Doug Kalitta.

This weekend in Phoenix, Grubnic, a 48-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., will drive the specially-decorated Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster. Grubnic and his team also flew the banner for Team Kalitta’s first-year partner, Candlewood Suites, at NHRA national events in Atlanta, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

Also this weekend, Grubnic and the Candlewood Suites team will welcome the winners of the Honorary Pit Crew Member Sweepstakes held earlier this season to commemorate Candlewood Suites’ inaugural foray as a primary and associate sponsor of Grubnic and Kalitta Motorsports.

Grubnic and the Candlewood Suites team go into Phoenix coming off an impressive semi-final finish at the previous event in Reading, Pa., his second trip to the semis this season. He posted a Top Fuel runner-up showing in Phoenix in 2008, and he was the No. 1 qualifier for the event at Firebird Int’l Raceway in 2004. Grubnic is currently in eighth place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2136).

DeJoria and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will be making only their second appearance in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Phoenix. She previously competed at the Dallas event last month.

DeJoria, a 34-year old resident of Venice, Calif., is one of only a very few female drivers currently competing in the ultra-competitive NHRA Funny Car class. In order to be considered as “rookie” for the 2012 season, DeJoria is only allowed to compete in four events this season. She and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will also compete at the final two events of the season in Las Vegas later this month and in Pomona, Calif. next month.

DeJoria begins her eagerly anticipated career in Funny Car this year after several years of successful competition in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, including a recent win at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.

Like his teammate Grubnic, Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., also rolls into Phoenix with the momentum of racing to the semifinals in Reading.

Arend and the DHL team have one event win this season (Houston) and have advanced to at least the semifinals at five events in 2011 so far. He is currently in eighth place in Funny Car Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2168) and will finish in the top ten this season for the first time in his 17-year Funny Car racing career.

Doug , a 47 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is quite familiar with racing in the final round in Phoenix. He won the Top Fuel title trophy in 2001 and posted runner-up finishes in 2004 and last year. He raced his 300+mph Top Fueler to the No. 1 qualifying position in Phoenix in 2003.

Doug has raced to the semifinals four times so far in 2011. He leads Team Kalitta with 32 career Top Fuel event wins in 64 final-round appearances.

Doug and the Technicoat team are currently in seventh place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2165). He will finish in the top ten in Full Throttle points for the 14th consecutive season this year (every year since his Top Fuel career began in 1998).

Event Schedule

The NHRA Arizona Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 2:00 p.m. (PT) and 4:30 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each pro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Times and dates subject to change.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

10/16 – Qualifying 12:30 A.M.-2:00 A.M.
10/16 – Eliminations 7:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M.
10/20 – Re-air Eliminations 3:00 A.M.-4:30 A.M.

Times and dates subject to change.

About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.

Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for the team. Newly added in the fall of 2011, Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster entry while Dave Grubnic drives the team’s second Top Fueler under the banner of Kalitta Air as well. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by crew chief Jim Oberhofer and assistant crew chief Troy Fasching on Doug’s Top Fueler and by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car. Oberhofer also serves as crew chief for the Tequila Patrón team. Connie serves as crew chief on the Grubnic-driven racer with help from assistant crew chief James Riola.

Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Candlewood Suites, ROCKY Boots, Red Line Oil, Technicoat Companies, OPTIMA Batteries, JEGS, and Mac Tools.

For more info about Kalitta Motorsports including exclusive content such as videos, photos and more, please visit www.teamkalitta.com. Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta. Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KalittaMotorsports. Check out videos about Team Kalitta on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/TeamKalitta

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

WILK’S FULL FOCUS ON PHOENIX

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

 PHOENIX (October 12, 2011) — For Tim Wilkerson, it may seem like the time for counting points, adding up rounds, and imagining theoretical advancements up the points sheet should be over.  Entering this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway near Phoenix, the Levi, Ray & Shoup driver is in the same 10th spot in which he entered the Countdown, but his focus now is on changing that number. It’s as simple as that, and it gives him great incentive heading into what looks to be a sweltering weekend in the Valley Of The Sun.

 

Wilk has run the entire 2011 campaign with the number 10 on the side of his car, indicative of his 10th-place finish in the standings last year. In that case, it was a matter of slipping four spots after having started the Countdown in the No. 6 spot in the standings but this year, with three races left on the docket, it’s all about maximizing his performance while minimizing the digit that will adorn his LRS Ford in 2012.

 

“We didn’t have a good Countdown last year, and it cost us some spots in the Top 10,” Wilkerson said. “It’s not just the number on the car, it’s also the number on the bonus check, and even though we may not be counting points for the championship right now, I can guarantee you that we count dollars, every day all year long. Unless you’re going to be up in the top couple of spots, the bonus check is more of a nice way to end the season rather than any sort of life changer, but dollars are dollars and that 10 on the side of the car sort of reminded us of that all year.

 

“Right now, we have three races left to change the number, and that’s our mission. Realistically, we’re probably going to have to win a race or two to do any better than seventh, but you know how that goes. If we get hot and get on a roll, we could do that and end up in the middle of the pack and that would be an accomplishment. It’s a one-at-a-time deal right now though, and this weekend the goal is to leave Phoenix with someone else in 10th place.”

 

After a disappointing and surprising first-round loss in Reading, Wilk remains only 14 points behind John Force in ninth but the gap to the higher positions widened a bit in Pennsylvania. Jeff Arend now holds a 46-point lead over Wilk, while Bob Tasca sits in the No. 7 spot, 47 points up.  With three races to go, that puts Arend and Tasca three rounds ahead, without counting bonus or qualifying points. Ron Capps is next on the list, sitting in sixth with a 91-point edge.  A couple of multi-round races, possibly with a win thrown in, could jumble the order considerably.

 

“That’s what I mean, and if we can avoid looking like knuckleheads and just do what we’re capable of doing, we can move up the list pretty fast and pretty far,” Wilk said. “We’re going to Phoenix now, and even though it’s October it’s still really hot there and they’re calling for highs right around 100 for all three days, so it will be a finesse game. We’re good at finesse games.”

 

When Wilk and his fellow Funny Car competitors are trying to find a way to negotiate a 1,000-foot track in 100-degree temperatures, the LRS driver will be doing so with a special-edition body atop his chassis, in support of a program called the Big Website Makeover, managed by the LRS Web Solutions division of Levi, Ray & Shoup.  The flashy car will fit right in under the scorching Arizona sun, and its goal is to not only raise awareness for a great charitable cause, but to also get NHRA fans involved in the voting process to select a worthy charity. NHRA fans will have access to an exclusive early-bird voting period during the Phoenix race, and they can vote either on-line or in-person at the Team Wilkerson pit area.

 

“It’s a neat deal, and we get to be involved and try to bring along all of the great fans we have in this sport,” Wilkerson said. “LRS is a great neighbor in our community, in Springfield, Illinois, and this program is great example of how they like to give back to the Central Illinois region. We hope thousands of people will see this car and then take part in the vote, to pick a charity that needs and deserves a professional website makeover.”

 

While he helps one charity get that complete makeover, Wilk will also being trying to redesign the order of the Top 10 in the Full Throttle points. That focus begins on Friday, in Phoenix.

Posted in Tim Wilkerson Racing | Comments Off

Subject: Drag Racing in the Desert

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Hello Everyone,

I hope all of you have had a great week thus far, and have great plans in place for the coming weekend! Everyone here at Kalitta Motorsports, have been working extra hard getting ready for our final three races of the 2011 season. The first of these races is at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, which is just south of Phoenix. Now normally, we would race in Phoenix towards the end of February, but for reasons only the NHRA knows, we are racing there this coming weekend, and the weather doesn’t look anything like it would be in February! As of this morning, good ole AccuWeather.com says it will be sunny, and in the mid 90′s each day. Oh joy, another snot-box of a racetrack awaits us! Lol.

Even though the weather doesn’t look like it will produce the kind of track conditions we saw in Reading, or in Charlotte, it won’t stop Team Kalitta from trying to win one of those NHRA 60th Anniversary Wally’s this coming weekend! Alot has been going on the last week or so at Team Kalitta World Headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan, as we prepare for the final three races of 2011. Since we start out this weekend in Phoenix, and then have a weekend off before we head to Vegas, followed by another weekend off, before we then head to Pomona, California, alot of work had to be done. Since all of these races are being run in the Southwestern part of the country, it makes no sense for the Team Kalitta rigs and crews to travel back and forth between each race, so it was important that all of the Kalitta teams worked hard to make sure we have enough parts and equipment, to run four cars, at three races, without going back to the shop. Trust me, it’s not as easy or simple as it sounds!

In Phoenix, Grubby will again run his cool looking Candlewood Suites Dragster, and both he and the bossman, Connie Kalitta, have a few new tricks up their sleeve to try and get the Candlewood car in the Firebird Winners Circle. It’s always cool when Connie is at the shop as much as he has been as of late, because he is always thinking of ways to make his hot rod run better. Doug will finish the year out in his Chip Foose designed Technicoat Dragster, and try and get back on track with some round wins and hopefully a race win! There really is no reason why either Team Kalitta Top Fuel car can’t get a win before 2011 season ends!

In the ever crazy Team Kalitta Funny Car World, both the DHL and Patron Toyota Funny Car Teams have been busy preparing everything they can think of for a full on assault on the rest of the Funny Car field. The DHL boys are coming off of a pretty good Reading race, and would like to keep that momentum going into Phoenix. I’m pretty proud of our DHL Toyota Funny Car Team, as they have fought through some adversity to become a solid car in the ever tough Funny Car class! Since Alexis and her Tequila Patron Toyota didn’t make the trip to Reading, it gave the Patron boys and girls, an extra week to get ready for Phoenix, and they needed it! After a couple of problems with the pretty black and green Toyota at Dallas, some repairs needed to be done to the Patron Toyota Camry, which included a trip back to the paint shop. I can tell you that the repairs look great, and the Patron Toyota is ready to rock again! I know Alexis, along with her team, is excited to get back onto the racetrack and finish 2011 off in Gran Patron Style!

Well, that’s my short story for the week! I hope all of you have a great weekend, and if you can’t be in Phoenix with us, I hope you can check us out on espn2. Take care everyone!

Jim O

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

Detroit!

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

PERA Annual Marketing and Technical Conference.

I drove over for this deal and added another PB (personal best) to my ET (estimated time) DO (drive over). Winona to Ypsilanti in  8 hours and 45 minutes……beat it by 28 minutes versus the last time I did that drive……………………. Wooo-Hooooooo!

I got there in time Monday to have dinner with Jim Becker of Kalitta Motorsports. The race shop happens to be right across the street from the Marriott where I was staying. Jim Becker is a great guy, very talented engine builder, and I really enjoyed spending some time there at Kalitta Motorsports surrounded by all that Kalitta go fast history.

Anyway I am here to talk about the PERA Marketing and Technical Conference. We were treated to some of the best PERA tours I have ever been on. We started out playing a game of golf in a “best ball” scramble type of format.……….special thank to Jerry Hendrix of Melling for being patient enough to actually help me with my golf game………….best round I ever had! Also special thanks to Matt McGraw and Rick Dickerson for just putting up with my errant approach to this game. Some would say I’m an all around golfer because I’m all around the golf course. But I get a great cost per swing.

Wednesday morning took us on a bus ride to Melling Manufacturing. Mark Melling met us all there and then we got to see how Melling manufactures oil pumps. Who would have thought there would be so much state of the art manufacturing for oil pumps? I now have a little more appreciation for the heart of our engines after taking the Melling tour. From there we were off to the MAHLE Piston Ring Facility in St. Johns, Michigan. I can’t say this enough………………if you ever get a chance to see how piston rings are manufactured …………you must see it to believe it. Lots and lots of machines using some very creative tooling to machine piston rings one at a time. I think they said they have over 500,000 piston rings in queue each and every day.

Thursday brought us a working breakfast presentation on the history of the Internet and Social Media delivered by Arthur Talbot. We received a great presentation on the in’s an out’s of the GM Duramax Engines from Roy Berndt of LQK Remanufacturing. Then it was off to DART Machinery for another tour. But this was no regular tour. When we got to DART, Ted Keating showed us not only how, but why they do the things they do. When it comes to making cast iron or aluminum blocks and cylinder heads, this is the place where  go fast engines are born for sure. We got done at DART in time to take in the Henry Ford Museum. I have never been to this museum but now I know why some people have yearly passes for this place. I think I could have spent 3 days looking and learning about Henry and his many accomplishments. We even had dinner at the Eagle Tavern that was a throw back into the time of the mid 1800s………great food for sure. Big thanks to the McGraw family and AER Manufacturing for treating us all to a very unique dinner.

Friday the group was off the Roush Industries for a behind-the-scenes look at their custom engine shop and many other areas not normally open to anyone but Roush employees. I hope all of you got as much out of this year’s conference as I did. It was great to see everyone again and I look forward to hearing you on the Webinars as well as see you on the trade show circuit later this year.

In closing, I must say Nancie Boland does an outstanding job organizing these events and she deserves a big pat on the back for a job well done! Thank you Nancie!

See ya on the web!

Posted in Dave Monyhan's Blog | Comments Off