Wed, 27 Dec 2006, 08:46 AM It was a Very Good Year

Courtesy of Rick Voegelin

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The 2006 season was the best year yet for the Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel team in the intensely competitive NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Starting the season with rookie Top Fuel driver Alan Bradshaw at the wheel of the BME Okuma dragster, the team competed in 13 rounds of the 23-race series. Bradshaw finished 15th in the championship standings and raced to career-best marks for elapsed time (4.545 seconds) and top speed (326.32 mph).

Bradshaw was the highest ranked driver who ran a partial schedule, finishing behind 14 full-time touring pros. Along the way, the BME team knocked off several heavy-hitters, including 2006 Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, 2006 Rookie of the Year J.R Todd, and second-generation driver Brandon Bernstein.

"All in all, 2006 was a very good year," said team owner/crew chief Bill Miller. "Finishing 15th in the championship after competing in less than 60 percent of the races was quite an accomplishment. It's a testament to what can be done by an enthusiastic and talented team of volunteers who put their hearts and souls into Top Fuel racing."

The performance of the BME dragster improved from a 4.69-second e.t. at the season-opening Winternationals to a 4.55 at the U.S. Nationals and 4.58s at the season-ending races in Las Vegas and Pomona. The highlight of the 2006 season was a semifinal round finish at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in June. Bradshaw defeated No. 1 qualifier Shumacher in the opening round and took out Todd in the second stanza before losing to points-leader Melanie Troxel.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Bradshaw brought a remarkable record to the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. The rookie racer had been first off the starting line in all 14 rounds of eliminations in which he had competed. Bradshaw's consistently quick reaction times had caught the attention of his rivals, and when he faced No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta on the last day of the season, Kalitta was ready. Bradshaw's bid for a perfect year of holeshots came up short when Kalitta left first with a .047-second reaction time to Bradshaw's .057-second r.t.

"We definitely had Doug's attention, and he told me later at the awards ceremony that he knew I wasn't about to leave anything on the table," Bradshaw recalled. "I told him that he'd spoiled my perfect record of leaving first, and he said that he knew he had to be on his game when he raced the BME team. I appreciated those words coming from such a successful racer.

"My first season in Top Fuel was everything I expected it to be and then some," said the driver from Odessa, Texas. "I'm really looking forward to next year - Bill is making strides with his engine and supercharger program, and the team is working together to reach a common goal. It's a great group of people, and I'm proud to be part of the BME team."

THE FINAL CURTAIN

The season finale in Pomona was another cliffhanger for the underdog team. The BME Okuma dragster wasn't in the show going into the final qualifying session, but the change to a prototype Gibson-Miller supercharger made the difference. Bradshaw made the field with a 4.585/308.32 mph on his last qualifying run.

"After qualifying 16th at Pomona, our game plan was to play spoiler on race day and maybe shake up the championship race," Bradshaw reported. "Unfortunately the track conditions changed on Sunday, and the left-hand lane was really a problem. He who qualifies best gets to pick the lane, so Kalitta made the logical decision and put us in the tricky side of the race track."

Miller continues the story: "The rubber was peeling up in the left lane, and the rest was bare concrete," he recalled. "We had anticipated better conditions, so we took weight off the clutch and backed down the spark timing to see if we could get down the track. The car went about 60 feet and had so much axle speed that it just disappeared in a cloud of tire smoke. And that was the end of our year."

THE SEASON TO COME

Preparations for the 2007 season are already underway at Bill Miller Engineering in Carson City, Nev. New Gibson-Miller superchargers are being tested on the dynamometer daily, and the chassis is continuing to lose weight.

"We're manufacturing new superchargers to replace the ones that are now nearly nine years old," Miller revealed. "The Gibson-Miller fuel injector has also become very popular among the top teams, so we're building more units to meet the demand.

"I've ordered three new clutches that are stiffer than our old units," he added. "The minimum weight in Top Fuel has been increased by 25 pounds, so our car will be that much closer to the lightweight cars."

The BME team will be back on track in January for preseason testing in Phoenix.

"I look for us to run mid to low 4.50s on a regular basis in 2007," Bradshaw predicted. "I think that will put us in a better qualifying spot. Qualifying ninth or 10th would sure beat running the No. 1 qualifier in the first round every weekend!

"Over the winter, I'll rest up, re-energize, and savor the season," Bradshaw continued. "I'll also reflect on the mistakes I may have made in the driver's seat and think about what I can do to improve my performance. My goal is to become a better driving machine next year."