Category: friday feature

By David G. Firestone

I wrote about the Infinite Hero Challenge Coin program last year, and I’m going to revisit it. I’ve learned some more information about Infinite Hero Coins, that I didn’t have before, so I’m going to add this new info, for the sake of completeness. I’m also going to add some of the other Jack Beckman Infinite Hero Challenge Memorabilia, instead of just the coins.

Launched in 2011, The Infinite Hero Foundation “…is to combat the most difficult front line issues – mental and physical – facing returning military heroes and their families.” Military personnel returning from overseas deployment face long term employment, mental and physical problems that the majority of Americans don’t understand. They work with other non-profit veterans groups and give out grants to help service men and women cope with these long term problems.

Like many veterans groups, Infinite Hero uses auto racing as a way to promote their cause. But unlike most groups Infinite Hero came up with a new and unique way to raise funds. Infinite Hero uses an emblem that, according to their site, “The Infinite Hero emblem incorporates the color purple to honor those who have been wounded in battle, the Greek cross to signify aid, and the infinity symbol to represent the conviction that the sacrifices of heroes should always be remembered. The Infinite Hero Foundation thanks our founding corporate partner Oakley for their leadership and guidance in creating the Infinite Hero logo.”

Infinite Hero quickly realized that Oakley was a great partner, and began working with them to come up with some unique merchandise as a part of the partnership. The Infinite Hero Foundation was founded in 2011, and quickly acquired a partnership with Oakley. This resulted in a series of merchandise items sold by Oakley, with proceeds going to help the Foundation.

I’m not into sunglasses myself, not anymore, but many people are, and Oakley has a lot of fanboys. So, once these glasses began to hit shelves, they sold quickly. This is a review from 4 years ago, of one such pair.

Notice the coin in the box? Of course you did. Aside from glasses and boots, Oakley realized that the coin would sell too. So sometime, I’m guessing 2012-2013, this coin was sold.

It is quite thick, and has a ridged edge. One side featured “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism,” around a globe design with an Oakley logo. Oakley is a partner with the Infinite Hero Foundation. The other side features an Infinite hero Foundation logo. The coin was placed in a round, flat plastic container, with black foam braces. The coin lacks the blue enamel that the coin that comes with the glasses coin, and future coins, and has a very plain look. I do like the plain look. In April 2014, they started appearing on the side of Jack Beckman’s funny car. Terry Chandler, who also sponsors Tommy Johnson Jr.’s Make a Wish Foundation Funny Car, is the financial backer of the car. She pays for Infinite Hero to race on the sides of the car. This also began the NHRA coin program. This is a new form of racing memorabilia I have never seen before, though it’s a great idea. When Jack Beckman gets into his funny car to race, he carries at least 5 Infinite Hero Challenge Coins in the pocket of his driver suit. Once the race is over, he will autograph them and sell them at the track and on eBay. They cost $100 with all proceeds going to the Infinite Hero Foundation.The idea of items carried in a pocket is not a new one. NASA has done this for years. Many space shuttle flights carried first day covers in the storage bay. When the shuttle landed, the covers were removed, and sold to collectors. I’m a little surprised this hasn’t been done before with auto racing, because I think that it would create a new memorabilia market.

The 2014 design that Jack used was identical to the one sold in stores, but the Infinite Hero Foundation logo has a purple enamel present. Jack autographed the plastic case. Also in 2014, this 1/24 scale die cast was produced. It is a full replica of Beckman’s funny car. Valvoline was a primary sponsor, and this was the only season Infinite Hero and Valvoline were together on the car. It’s also the only time that Infinite Hero Challenge appeared on the older Dodge funny car body. In 2015, the current body was introduced, and Pennzoil replaced Valvoline. Jack has autographed the windshield. A redesigned coin of the same size was introduced for 2015. The Oakley logos are gone. One side features a design similar to the globe design, but the globe design has been replaced with an American Flag design. “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism” has been replaced with “Duty, Honor, Innovation, Courage.” The new emblem on the reverse side has one of the across bands removed. The new packaging is an upgrade, with the circular plastic cylinder replaced with an attractive box. It comes with a card that Jack Beckman autographed, and on the reverse it has the Infinite Hero Foundation Pledge. The first one is from The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Phoenix on February 22, 2015, where Jack was eliminated in the first round. The second one is from the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, where Beckman won the event, beating Courtney Force in the final round. Also in 2015, these hero cards were produced. Hero cards are given away at racing events and driver appearances. They have Jack’s picture, and information about the driver, team, and the Infinite Hero Challenge. For 2016, the coins got a major makeover. The Infinite Hero logo is now bigger. The words “Reimagine” and “Recovery” are stamped near the logo, and on the opposite side, a picture of Jack’s funny car replaces the flag motif. It should also be noted that the coin is slightly smaller, because it isn’t as tight in the coin case as the previous version. The Infinite Hero Pledge accompanies the coin. Also changed from 2016, Jack doesn’t sign the box and the pledge, he just signs the pledge. Hero cards are given away at racing events and driver appearances. They have Jack’s picture, and information about the driver, team, and the Infinite Hero Challenge. For 2016, a new card design was introduced. It has updated information, as well as the updated paint scheme introduced at the beginning of the season. The Infinite Hero Foundation is a worthwhile charity, designed to help our nations veterans. I fully support them, and I encourage my readers to try and buy at least one of these coins.

By David G. Firestone

Racing uniforms stand out from every other uniform in sports because every aspect of the uniform without exception is specifically designed to protect the driver first, and look good second. Unlike in baseball, football, or hockey, where a couple of the visible items protect the wearer, every piece of the uniform, from helmet to boots is designed to protect the driver. One of the more vulnerable areas a driver has is their hands. If a drivers hands are injured, they can’t control their cars, or exit their cars in the event of a wreck. Funny Car drivers have the toughest glove setup in all of auto racing.

Ranked as #27 on the list of the NHRA’s 50 Greatest Funny Car Driver by Motorsport.com, Big Jim Dunn raced for over 40 years as a driver. He could win races driving some of the tougher cars in the series. Dunn began racing in 1953, at the age of 19. By 1965, he was running in Top Fuel, and by 1969, after winning the NHRA Division 7 championship, he switched to Funny Car. He raced until 1990, when he retired as a driver, and switched to team owner. He’s had success as a crew chief, technical adviser, and a team owner. His son Mike has 22 wins, was a long time announcer for the NHRA television team on ESPN, and is currently the president of the IHRA.

At the beginning of the 2015 season, Dunn had to fire driver Jeff Arend due to Grime Boss leaving as a sponsor. Replacing Arend was John Hale. Hailing from Addison, Texas, John Hale currently races for Jim Dunn Racing. He is also active in the Nostalgia Funny Car series in the NHRA. Although he doesn’t have a race win, he finished in the runner up position at the Gatornationals in 2015. He also won a Wally for his Hubert’s lemonade scheme at Norwalk in 2016.Funny Car drivers wear two sets of gloves while driving. One set is similar to what firefighters are wearing. The other is a thick set of gloves that extend all the way up to just below the elbow. They require a crew member to help put them on. This set of gloves worn by John Hale is a perfect example of those gloves.These Simpson SFI 20 rated gloves show decent use with scuff marks and material loss. These gloves are changed several times per year, due to wear. John has autographed both gloves.The right glove has some material loss on the palms, the tag has been destroyed by race use, and John has autographed the glove on the top, near the Simpson logo. The left glove features some light wear on the palms, like the right glove, the tag has been destroyed through race-use, and John signed the bottom of the glove, near the top of the cuff. John also signed this Hubert’s Lemonade hero card. It’s interesting in that it’s a dual-sided card, where both sides of the card are exactly the same. Funny car drivers wear 20 pounds of equipment while racing 2,600 lb, 10,000 horsepower cars at 330 MPH. The dangers of failure are all too obvious. There have been many drivers that have given their lives for the sport they love. Next week, I’ll show some of the perks of winning a national event in the NHRA.

By David G. Firestone

When Del Worsham won the Funny Car championship last year, he joined an exclusive group. He is one of three drivers to win the Top Fuel and Funny Car championships in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Worsham won the Top Fuel championship in 2011. He joins Kenny Bernstein who won the Funny Car championship in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988, switching to top fuel in 1992, and winning the championship in 1996 and 2001. The other driver to achieve this is Gary Scelzi, who won Top Fuel in 1997, 1998, and 2000. Sclezi switched to Funny Car in 2002, and won Funny Car in 2005.

Gary Scelzi, known as “Wild Thing” hales from Fresno, California, where in 1979, he co-founded Scelzi Enterprises, Inc., a truck body manufacturer with his two brothers. He got into drag racing, and made his way to the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, then known as Winston Drag Racing. Scelzi was a championship-caliber driver in a sea of very talented drivers. He was a respectable driver in Top Fuel. In 2001, he lost his Winston sponsor for Top Fuel, and moved to Funny Car with a new sponsor, White Caps, and a new Toyota Celica. The Celica wasn’t a good move, and Sclezi left the new team midway through the season.

In 2003, Scelzi signed with Don Scumacher Racing to race a Dodge funny car sponsored by Oakley, and he took to it like a duck to water. In 2005, he won his first, and only Funny Car championship, beating a very strong John Force Racing team of John Force and Robert Hight. 2005 was the first time that a non-John Force Racing car won the Funny Car championship since 1992. Scelzi retired in 2008, after a long career to focus on his family business, and his midget racing team.

One of the best tools at a drag racer’s disposal is the parachute, and for Scelzi, that was no different. You can’t be the first driver to reach 330 MPH in a funny car without a good parachute to stop the car. Scelzi raced with many different parachutes throughout his career, and this 12′ x 12′ Mopar example from his days with Don Schumacher Racing. It shows heavy use with numerous scuff marks, and holes. It also has a lot of stains as well. I had to photograph this on my front lawn to show the full scale of the suit.The silver MOPAR lettering shows wear, with popped stitching, and lots of staining across the letters.The very center of the parachute has the opening that lets air through the center, and has the straps where the pilot chute is attached.All four corners of the cross-form parachute show wear, in the form of scuff marks and holes. While some parachutes had logos on both sides, this one only has the Mopar logo on one side.The cord that attaches the parachute to the car is still present, and wrapped in a silver Nomex material to prevent damage in the event of a fire. Gary Scelzi is the first funny car driver to reach 330 MPH. It proves that race cars are getting faster all the time. The parachutes are proof that race cars are getting safer as well. Next week, I will examine another critical piece of safety for funny car drivers…the gloves.

By David G. Firestone

As the Chicago Bears hold their home opener this week, I felt it would be prudent to go off-topic this week. This will be the last off-topic Friday Feature for 2016. I will have some stuff for next year, but it will be more spread out…more on that later.

2004 was not a great year for Chicago sports. The Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, Fire, and White Sox all missed the playoffs, while having mediocre to awful seasons. The Cubs and White Sox were dead by September, and while the Bulls and Blackhawks were getting started, it became clear rather quickly that they had nothing, and their seasons weren’t going to go anywhere. The Fire have always been the odd group out in Chicago sports. When they won the MLS Cup in October 1998, nobody in Chicago noticed or cared. But like the rest of the sports in Chicago, the season they had was not great in 2004.

The bright spot was supposed to be football. The Bears had a decent roster, a new set of alternate uniforms, and a brand new coach in Lovie Smith. The NFC North wasn’t as strong as other conferences. So it is into this season the Bears started on September 12, 2004. The Bears began their season at home against the Lions. Before the game, they lost the coin toss, and went on to lose the game. The coin toss was conducted with this Chicago Bears coin. The Highland Mint Bears coin isn’t of the Opening Day variety commonly used, but comes with a box, and full PSA/DNA authentication The HEADS side of the coin features a Chicago Bears “Wishbone C” logo, and CHICAGO BEARS EST 1920 stamped into it. The back of the coin features the pre-2007 NFL shield, and has OFFICIAL GAME COIN 2004 stamped into it. The coin is stamped #531. There were a total of 5000 made, and while other examples of game-used toss coins are numbered 0001, this isn’t surprising as any one of the 5000 coins made could find their way onto the field. Game used coins are an interesting aspect of the memorabilia market, because there is a discussion about if they are “game used” or “pregame used.” I’m wondering if there should be a separate category for “pregame used” memorabilia. MLB and the NHL both have special warm up jerseys worn prior to games. Should they be called “game worn” when they never saw action during an actual game?

The coin itself could realistically be called “game used” because it directly affects the outcome of the game. It decides which team gets the ball first. It it is used in an overtime situation, it decides who gets the ball first in overtime. So my solution is that to have a separate sub-category in game-used sports memorabilia called “pregame used” memorabilia. This sub-category would consist of items used in pregame warmups, batting practice, or practice, but never actually used in games.

Truth be told, I have no idea why I like game-used coins. I used to collect coins, but I haven’t really done so for many years. I don’t always understand why I find things interesting, but I’m probably like a lot of people in this respect. We all have things that interest us, but we can’t really explain why they interest us.

OK, enough football stuff, next week, we go back to drag racing parachutes.

By David G. Firestone

Most people associate parachutes with skydiving, para sailing, or military operations, but they have been critical over the course of auto racing as well. For those who follow drag racing or land speed records, parachutes being deployed at the end of the run is a common, and reassuring sight. Dragsters and funny cars can go from zero to 320 MPH in 3.87 seconds. There is no way these cars could stop as effectively without perfect parachute design. Most people also don’t realize that there are two very distinct designs used in drag racing, the Simpson design, and the Stroud design.

The most commonly known form of drag racing parachute is the cross-form style of parachute. This was the parachute developed from a French design used to air drop supplies during war time. It came to racing in 1958 by Bill Simpson, then 18 years old, after a drag racing crash. Legendary drag racing driver and innovator Don Garlits instantly knew this was a perfect design, and was Simpson’s first customer. Thus the Simpson Race Products company was born. The proof that this is an effective design is that aside from materials and size, there have been no modifications to the design in almost 58 years of continuous operation.

This example came from TJ Zizzo’s Peal Anti-Freeze dragster. TJ was sponsored by Peak from 2008 to 2013. The blue PEAK chutes can be seen on his car during that time. The canopy is 12 feet by 12 feet square. The cross-form chute canopy has an opening in the very center, for air to go through. The pilot chute is attached here as well. Pilot chutes are universally used to deploy parachutes. When the cords are pulled, and the chute is released, the pilot chute deploys, which catches air and pulls the primary chute behind it. The chutes are strapped to a bar at the back of the car, the straps pre-covered in Nomex to prevent fire damage, then packed into a bag, before the race.

The Stroud design came from necessity. The cross-form has been proven effective in the faster cars, namely top fuel, and funny car in the professional classes, as well as top alcohol and top alcohol funny cars in the amateur classes. These are great at stopping cars over 200 MPH. However, there are a number of categories in drag racing where the cars run under 200 MPH and the cross-form deploys too roughly, and would drag the car up. This problem was confirmed by Bill Simpson himself. When he first tested the cross-form at 100 MPH the car took off, and he was hospitalized and arrested. Bob Stroud, who is an engineer who has made a number of designs to airborne parachutes worked on the problem, and came up with the current design in the 1980’s. While Stroud developed the chute, many companies have made design changes.

For a time, these designs were relegated to the amateur classes of the NHRA. It was in May of 1990, at the AC-Delco Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway that the Stroud design came to the professional leagues, stopping Warren Johnson at the end of his races. It should also be noted that at that time, many drivers simply didn’t deploy their chutes at the end of a run. While their design has evolved over time, it still remains the standard for cars that race up to 205 MPH. This example comes from Dave Connolly’s 2014 Chevy Camaro. It measures 8 feet square. Dave autographed it after he finished using it. It has the same pilot chute design as the cross-form.

These parachutes and pilot chutes are massive, but are packed into a bag which measures 9 inches square. There are two designs that are used to launch a parachute. There is the empty box design, which mounts to the back of the car, and is opened by pulling the cable. The second is a pneumatic launcher, used with smaller cross form, and most Stroud chutes. Drag racing parachutes are almost always packed by the drivers themselves. As one driver so elegantly phrased it, “If doesn’t work, I have nobody to blame but myself.” How do drivers pack their own chutes? I’ll let driver Rickie Jones explain that:

Next week, I’m gonna go a bit off-topic, but it will be interesting!

By David G. Firestone

After The Vest Project, I need to go off topic for a bit. I’m going to discuss something I’ve done on The Driver Suit Blog Before. I don’t know where my fixation on lottery memorabilia came from I don’t know why I find this stuff interesting. I guess it had to do with the way I grew up. Up until my grandfather came to live with us at age 10, we only had free television. In the Chicago suburbs, that meant we had WBBM Channel 2, WMAQ Channel 5, WLS Channel 7, WGN Channel 9, WTTW Channel 11, and WFLD Fox 32. There were others, if you were lucky with your rabbit ears, but those were the ones we got. As such, we would watch the news on WGN, which was what my family liked.

A part of those newscasts were the Lottery drawings, which fascinated me, but I can never remember our family playing the lottery. Again, it goes back to what I said during my first Lottery column, when I said that “Human beings all have hope, but human beings need something to hope for, and something to inspire hope. For many, religion is that outlet. For others, it is their sports teams. For many, the hope that they could win millions in the lottery is that beacon of hope.”

The history of the lottery in the United States dates back to the 1600’s, while Europe was colonizing North America. Many colonies saw gambling as harmless fun, but as English investors waned to profit from the New World, this changed quickly. As time went on, each of the 13 original colonies had a lottery system in place to help fund the colonies. It became a civic duty to play the lottery. Recessions, scandals, and corruption had almost eliminated the lottery in the United States by 1868.

In 1934, Puerto Rico, then a US colony, started a legal lottery. It would take 30 years, but in 1964, New Hampshire started a lottery. Since then, 44 of 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Washington DC, and the US Virgin Islands have lotteries. Alabama, Mississippi, and Utah don’t have lotteries due to religious objections. Nevada has the gambling industry, and they don’t want competition, and Alaska and Hawaii, not being mainland states, aren’t worried about losing tickets out of state.

The lottery takes several forms. Scratch off tickets, first introduced in the 1970’s, are a very popular method of playing the lottery. There are many different kinds of games, with different rules. Pick 3, pick 4, main drawing, and Powerball have their origin in “numbers games.” Numbers games were popular in poorer areas of the country, especially urban areas. The game works by drawing balls that had numbers to pick the winner. A similar game was popular in South Florida and Cuba called “Bolita” or “little ball” was where betters would bet on which number would be pulled out of a bag containing 100 numbered balls.

All the pre 1934 lotteries had one major drawback that kept them from being as accepted as it is today. They were easily rigged, and people lost money on the racketeering that took place around them. Today, the equipment, the drawing, the tickets, and every other aspect is heavily supervised and regulated so that this kind of cheating is not possible. The level of security for a drawing is high, due to the amount of money involved.

One thing that I learned about lottery security is that most of the people directly involved don’t know what equipment is going to be used. 90 minutes before the drawing, the equipment is determined, tested, the host rehearsed, and by the time that is all done, the broadcast is almost ready to start. Though security is high, and equipment is tested, there is always the case that something can go wrong. Do a quick search for “lottery blooper” on YouTube, and you get several examples, including this one:

Security is also high because the amount of money can entice people to cheat, even those inside the system. The chance for cheating can’t be avoided either, as the Pennsylvania Lottery discovered on April 24, 1980, when the winning number for the Daily Number was 666, which tipped off the lottery officials that something was off. It turned out that Nick Perry, the announcer for the lottery drawing, and a group of people replaced the standard lottery balls with latex paint. Of the 10 lottery balls, 8 were replaced with these new balls, so there would reduce the number of possible combinations to eight: 444, 446, 464, 466, 644, 646, 664, and 666. The 666 combination seemed odd, so an investigation was conducted, the guilty parties were caught, and to this day, the number 666 in the Pennsylvania Lottery is referred to as a “Nick Perry.”

Another result of the amount of money involved being as high as it is, is that the equipment has to be specially designed under very secure conditions. Only a few companies have the ability to produce the equipment that is used, and the equipment itself is insanely expensive. One company that was very innovative in designing lottery equipment was Beitel Displays of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Though they are credited with designing the

Criterion, which is the design basis of most, if not all, big lottery machines. Though this was a lucrative business, it was only a side business, since Beitel Displays was primarily in business to design displays and exhibits for trade shows and companies.

According to a 1992 Lawrenceville Journal article concerning the company: “Mr. Beitel can count customers in 27 states, including New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington. His machines are in 40 countries, from South Africa to Iceland. He does not play the lottery.

The National Basketball Association conducts its annual lottery draft using a Beitel machine and the Virginia Slims Tournament sets its teams using one of the machines.

Next January, the European Community will become a Beitel customer when it begins its “Eurogame” lottery, using the Criterion machine, with a potential audience of 100 million people. Mr. Beitel expects the political changes in Eastern Europe to create another surge of business.

Poland is one of Mr. Beitel’s newest customers and he and the vice president of the lottery products division, Tracey S. Herrera, have been negotiating with representatives from Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.”

Such was the influence of Beitel Displays, that one of their main engineers founded SmartPlay in 1993, and four years later, acquired the the rights and licenses to all their products. SmartPlay is based in Ohio, and manufactures the equipment used for state and national lotteries.

The Criterion was a major contribution, but it had a setback, in that it needed special rubber balls to operate. These balls are very carefully made, and very carefully matched up into a set. One such example is this set of Beitel Criterion balls of unknown vintage. This kit of 30 rubber lottery balls is custom-made, with each ball costing $60 each. According to the SmartPlay website, “The weight of each ball is measured in Grams (g). Each ball weighs between 77.80 and 79.50 grams. The variation of each ball in any given set is +/- .60 grams from the average weight of all balls within that set.” Though most of the balls don’t show that much abuse, some show more than others. Each ball is stamped with “BEITEL USA.” The interesting thing I noticed about these balls is that they have no bounce to them whatsoever. In the machine, they can bounce, because they are either being blown around, or something is spinning them, but when you try to bounce one on a table, they just land.

Wining the lottery is the ultimate hope of those who play the lottery, as winning the race is the ultimate goal of those who race cars, as watching their favorite driver win is the ultimate goal of those who watch racing. Next week, I will begin a two-part series about one of the best tools at a drag racer’s disposal.

By David G. Firestone

Though NASCAR stands for “National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing” one of the major complaints is that the cars aren’t so much “stock” but “silhouette” cars. Stock cars are cars that are more or less bought off the showroom floor, brought to the track, and raced. Granted that early stock car racing was created by moonshine runners, who had souped up regular cars so that they could haul shine without attracting suspicion, and if the cops did light them up, the shiners could outrun the cops.

The standard NASCAR race cars are silhouette cars, meaning that while they are designed to look like their showroom counterparts, they have as much in common with them as LeBron James does with a junior varsity high school basketball player. Showroom cars are built for driving families to and from school, work, to the grocery store, and so on. Race cars are built to do one thing…race. It’s been pointed out that the term “stock” shouldn’t apply to NASCAR race cars anymore, and I tend to agree with that sentiment.

While NASCAR might not be racing “stock” cars anymore, there are a number of racing series that are running stock cars in 2016. Such series include the Pirelli World Challenge, the Canadian Touring Car Championship, a number of other classes and events in the SCCA, and the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is a series that has had a decent amount of success.

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge has two different classes, “Grand Sport” and “Street Tuner.” Grand Sport or GS features large displacement 6, 8, 10, or 12 cylinder engine sports cars. GS also features small displacement 4-cylinder forced induction sports cars. Street Tuner, or ST features smaller 4-cylinder, 5-cylinder or 6-cylinder sedans, hatchbacks, coupes or convertibles. Though some minor modifications are allowed, for the most part, these cars are identical to their showroom counterparts. These cars aren’t specially built race cars, but the cars that you or I might drive to work in.

Regardless of if drivers are racing professionally for a well-paying, championship caliber team, or a weekend warrior racing for personal glory, there is one thing that they all want in the end. It’s also the most iconic item in auto racing, the checkered flag. As I stated in my Uni-Watch Flag column: “The most iconic flag in motor sports is universally used to indicate that the race has ended. Its exact origins are unknown, but the first picture of a checkered flag being used to end a race was at the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island. NASCAR and IndyCar checkered flags carry the Sunoco logo.”

The tradition of the Sunoco logo on the checkered flag was actually started by Unocal. From 1948 to 2003, Unocal was the official fuel sponsor of NASCAR. As such, their logos appeared on the checkered flags during the 1980’s. It was around that same time that the race used flags would be customized with the name of the event, and presented to the driver, a process that continues to this day. One such example is this 2010 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Miami Grand Prix flag.The second race of the 2010 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge was the Miami Grand Prix on March 6, 2010. During that 91 lap race, the #61 Roush Performance Mustang, driven by Billy Johnson, and Jack Roush Jr., won the overall event in GS, and the #25 Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5 driven by Derek Whitis won ST. As Roush and Johnson were the overall winners, they were presented with this customized Sunoco race winner flag.The flag shows a heavy amount of use, including numerous stains all over, and some light snagging. The flag features the Sunoco logo on the front. Traditionally, flags are designed so that the pattern starts on the left side, and this flag is no different. The white stripe is the area where the flag pole is inserted. After the race, when the stains occurred, blue and yellow letters were heat-pressed onto the flag, which read “GRAND PRIX OF MIAMI CSTCC SERIES MARCH 6 2010.” The flag is meant to be displayed with the front only showing, because the back of the flag has the Sunoco logo reversed. The staining present on the front, is clearly visible on the reverse.Every driver who races wants to be the first one to see that black and white checkered flag. It’s the one hope of all drivers. I’ve discussed hope on The Driver Suit Blog before. I’m going to revisit my post on hope next week.

By David G. Firestone

This is the final installment of The Vest Project. I know, I’m happy too. I enjoyed this when I started, but now I’m glad it’s over; I promise that you won’t see the word “vest” on this blog for a long time after this post. The three-piece firesuit is a quirk of racing suit design that made sense, but never really caught on.

This last vest is from The Sprint Cup Series, and is the only vest I’ve come across from the Cup Series. It was from BAM Racing in 2006. BAM stands for Beth Ann Morgenthau, the owner of the team. Their racing team started in 2001 racing Fords part time. In 2002, they switched to Dodge, which they raced until they folded in 2008. Their driver lineup included Ken Schrader, 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and former Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday. Though they had 3 top 10’s with Schrader over the course of three seasons, 2003, 2004, and 2005, they never scored a top 5, or a win.

2006 would be a forgettable year for BAM Racing. Though they tried to start 33 races out of the 36 race season, they failed to qualify for 8 of them, and the ones that they did qualify for. One of the four drivers that raced for BAM was former US Air Force E-3 AWACS Air Surveillance Technician Brent Sherman. As his Air Force career is winding down, Sherman went to the Jim Russell Racing School in Sonoma, California, and eventually won a scholarship to race. He has raced in Indy Lights, ARCA, and NASCAR. He won an ARCA race, the 2006 Hantz Group 200 at Michigan. He raced 6 races in 2006 for BAM Racing, and tried to qualify for two more, with his dedicated sponsor Serta Mattresses. During those 8 races, a crew member wore this Simpson vest.Issued to a crew member named B Benton, the vest shows light use.

The collar has no logos on them. The old Simpson warranty label is sewn into the cowl, along with an identification tag stating that the vest is issued to B Benton. Benton is also written on the tag in Sharpie. The right chest features a NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES logo, a SIMPSON logo, and a GOODYEAR logo present.The left chest features a BAM RACING logo and a Dodge logo.The front torso has a SERTA logo embroidered in white and yellow in the blue background material.The bottom hems don’t feature comfort straps, unlike Impact vests. The shoulder epaulets feature Simpson logos, but are otherwise unadorned.  The back of the vest doesn’t show any real wear.The back of the neck is unadorned, but just below the neck, there is WWW.BAM49RACING.COM embroidered into it.The back torso features a SERTA logo above a BAM RACING logo. That’s it! The Vest Project is officially over! I don’t have to discuss vests anymore! Next Week, I’m going to discuss a form of trophy that all drivers want and often get!

By David G. Firestone

Not all drivers are full-time drivers. There are many drivers in many national racing series who have real jobs, but race because they love to race. NHRA Pro Stock driver V Gaines races his shark-toothed Dodge Dart on weekends, but for the remainder of the week, he is Vieri Gaines, and he is the CEO of Western Distributing Transportation Corporation. Another example is Matt Hagans, who raced in ARCA, ASA, and NASCAR, but is also the owner of Indianapolis-based Eagle Creek Aviation Services.

Eagle Creek Aviation Services is a private aircraft sales and service company founded in 1982. Since then, they have become a national company, with a number of locations across the country. Hagans has built the business well, and has a lot of dedicated customers. He has built his business, and earned his wealth. He enjoys racing stock cars in his spare time.

Although he has worked with fellow businessman turned enthusiast Todd Braun for a few races, most of his races were with his own team and his own sponsorship. As he bounced around in ARCA, racing in a few events each season over the course of 5 years, raced in 20 events. During those seasons, one of his crew members wore this very plain Impact size M vest.The vest shows light use, not uncommon for a vest used for as few as 20 races.

The collar has no logos of any kind, nor is there a cowl tag present. Though the vest would have been used during his ARCA racing, there are no logos of any kind on the chest areas. The only logo of any kind on this vest is a large HAGANS RACING logo, which, for some reason, is blue on a slightly lighter shade of blue.The warranty label is located next to the zipper inside the vest, behind the front logo.The all-familiar comfort straps are present on the sides of the hem. The shoulders have epaulets, that aside from Impact logos are unadorned. The standard vest sleeve holes are present as well. The back of the vest doesn’t show wear, and has no logos of any kind on it at all. Over 13 different articles thus far, The Vest Project has covered a number of different vests, and the issues surrounding them, and pit crew firesuits as well. We’ve covered vests from the Camping World Truck Series, and The Xfinity Series, but next week, for the final article in The Vest Project, we go to The Sprint Cup!

By David G. Firestone

I had planned for the continuation of The Vest Project with an ARCA vest, but I’m going to hold off on that, because I’ve decided to go in a different direction this week. As my annual summer sabbatical comes to an end, I look back at the month of fun that I’ve had. Sadly, I didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do, because of weather issues, it was either too hot or full on thunderstorms. But I did get to have some fun.

My good buddy Josh came in, and my old clique from high school got together again for the first time in two years. I’m gonna say that I miss all of the guys getting together and hanging out. One of the things we made a point to do was to go to The Emporium, which is a vintage video game arcade and bar. All the games run on tokens, and each game is one token. If you are in the Chicago area, I suggest you take a visit, it’s worth it.

As I mentioned, I went to the Route 66 Nationals on Saturday July 9, and had a great time. In fact, that’s how a lot of my vacation time was spent, relaxing, and watching racing. The weather was very hot, so hot, that taking the dog for a walk at some points was a risky proposition. Lucy is a very timid creature, and I didn’t want to expose her for too long. So I had a few projects I had to slash, at least for the time being. Other times, thunderstorms dominated the weather, which kept my video feed busy.

I also did a couple box breaks,

and something…well I like it.

I did get a chance to take some pictures with my new camera, but due to a number of issues, such as heat, and restrictions due to events, I didn’t get anywhere near the photos I wanted. One thing I did do was pay attention to racing merchandise. I’ve been following sports and collecting sports stuff my whole life. I’ve seen the merchandise booth take many different forms, and have many different aspects. Officially licensed merchandise has gotten bigger over the years, and I’m not even going to talk about unofficial stuff. It’s not that often I see an officially licensed item that just makes my head hurt, but I’ve found something that has.

In the internet age, people are realizing that there are items for sale that they never knew they wanted. Sports fans are a very easy group to sell something to, in that they will buy most anything with their team logo on it. NASCAR fans are no different. Fans want stuff specific to their favorite driver. NASCAR’s online store is marketing this. It’s a race-used piston rod, with no indication as to which driver used it. You don’t know who used it…so why have it? The whole point of the race-used hobby is that fans can buy stuff used by their favorite driver and his team. Having a generic “race-used” item defeats the purpose of race-used memorabilia entirely. You don’t know which driver used it, you don’t know which team it came from, and you begin to question if it is authentic. Let me pay $70 for something I can’t prove is real…yeah, that’s a good deal.

While the piston rod is generic to the point of absurdity, the polar opposite is true for this Kyle Busch train set. For $299 plus shipping, you have an O-scale engine, three cars, and a caboose, all decked out in Kyle’s #18 paint scheme. As a bonus, the train also has two 1:64 die cast cars. That’s were things get interesting, since O-scale in model railroad translates to 1:48 to 1:43.5, depending on location, in the US it’s an even 1:48. To put it simply, you have a 1:48 train pulling a pair of 1:64 die cast cars. Scale be damned, we have sales to make! If Lionel’s creative team had more sense, they would have the train pull two 1:48 scale cars, which not only would be to perfect scale, but would create a rarer, more desirable version of the car, thus creating incentive for more collectors to buy it.

While those two are amazing, the item that gobsmacked me it this: Yes, that’s an autograph funny car, nothing really unusual about that…but what’s that logo on the front? For reasons I can’t understand, the NHRA decided to license A PLAIN WHITE CAR WITH NO LOGOS! Why? Why would you officially license something that is unpainted, and can’t in any way be connected to your brand? I can’t wrap my arms around this. While I have seen other examples, those do have official logos actually on the car. But looking at the back of the box gets even more entertaining. Ford has used the Mustang for their run in the NHRA, yet for whatever reason, the trademark on the bottom states it a TARUS, despite the fact it’s clearly modeled after a Mustang. Even so, using model names is a moot point, since nowhere on the car does it say anything about what model the car actually is. Nowhere on the car does it say that this is a Ford, nor does it say what model it is. Never mind the fact that it also lists Motorcraft and Areomax as trademarks, which, again, aren’t present on the car in any way. At least Goodyear’s logos are on the tires, so I can give them a pass.

This was made in 2002, which Ertl and Racing Champions were focusing more on quality than quantity in their racing die casts for the first time in the history of ever. Anyone who bought racing die casts in the 1990’s could go to Toys R Us, or Target, or Venture, and buy these for $1. Granted there were better options which were pricier, and Dale Earnhardt isn’t a part of these sets, but they were the cheap kids toys of the die cast market. But when you are trying to give the impression of quality, releasing an unpainted car that is for some reason officially licensed, and has the wrong model on the box doesn’t exactly scream quality goods.

This wouldn’t really work anyway, as the gloss coating increases the chance of the signature smudging before it dries, which when you are a little kid getting autographs from drivers, is a fate worse than death. A matte finish would be much better, and it would be easier to sign at an event. How over-budget and desperate for sales was Ertl that they decided to save the Chinese workers a half-step, and not apply decals, and package and sell this as an autograph car? I would seriously love to know who came up with that, and how it got to the shelves.

As idiotic as this is, they missed a great chance to make this an awesome product. Here is what you would have to do. Change the packaging from “autograph car” to “paint your own car” and add some paints and stickers. If you gave kids the chance to paint their own unique car, without the hassle of having to build the model first, this would be a gem. Even modern autograph cars make it clear that they are good for customization, and this one has official logos painted on the car. Then again, what more should be expected of a toy company that advertised its die cast tractors more than anything else?

Ok, we got off track(pun intended) and next week, that ARCA vest.