Haor Motorsports product is your first stop for Quality safety equipment for your car or your driver all of our safety equipment products are made in our facility in Albany Oregon from custom fit fire suits to racing seat belts superchar charger restraints engine diapers transmission blankets and many other musthave items our racing
History runs deep we are Racers building the finest safety equipment for Racers and we’re a proud supporter of the chaos oh wow we’re live David again okay good again all right at long last we are back on chaos live on a beautiful Wednesday night I at least it’s a
Beautiful Wednesday night here in North Texas but I came from West Texas where of all things it’s raining out there and um so they are they’re experiencing some of that wet stuff for the first time in a while but happy to have uh happy to have everybody tuning in for chaos live
And Lee man it’s been I’ve been seeing you all over the world of social media but getting a chance to talk with you it’s been a day or two so good to see you my friend good to see you daveid I am here in Tennessee just north of
Knoxville on my way home and decided to uh lots of echo who’s echoing let me ask that so uh yeah heading home finally get some time in there andh what a tremendous trip it has been PRI was great we had some chaos announcements while there and we’re able to catch up with many
Personalities of uh the chaos while there and uh good news for chaos out of the Performance Racing industry trade show well good yeah we have seen we have seen that there was a very good attendance and a very active show there at Indie and uh so so along those lines tell us
More well you know Larice Motorsports insurance they are continuing with us in the chaos world and uh Darren Foster Twisted shifters 360 steel uh he is continuing with Nitro chaos and going to be a title sponsor for races coming up as well as mcken Motorsports mcken Corporation is the Now official Fab
Source for both Nitro chaos and funny car chaos Dean Dublin and Gary Willer DMP awnings with chaos again for 2024 headlining the Nitro chaos tour so we’ve got many good sponsors and supporters on board and in fact one of the individuals on tonight supports chaos directly with
Their funds but also with a assisting many of our drivers in the proper safety equipment and apparel that they Need well very good to hear and I hope that we are I hope that this is going out better to the rest of the world than it is to in the studio with me as uh I’m getting not a whole lot of what you’re saying there but I do know that uh the
The news from Larice Motorsports and insurance from Twisted shifters and 360 steel and mckenny cour along with along with several other sponsors that have that have renewed for 2024 things are looking good up looking good and wanted to send a shout out there to Marvin rodex Christmas Blend keeping me infused
And Infused on uh on this Wednesday night for chaos live we’re gonna get a chance we’re going to talk safety tonight because safety is one of those things that whether it’s in the front of our Racers and fans minds or not it’s certainly something that is not far from
It and uh and of course it’s one of those things that should be front and center in our minds and of course we have one of the best in the industry is a supporter of the funny car chaos Nitro chaos world and we’ve got uh Dennis
Taylor coming up a little bit later on in the show and we’re going to get a chance to to uh talk with him hey uh Lee I just mentioned I was out in lck Texas and didn’t get a chance to see everybody’s favorite Andy mirors but I
Did get a chance to talk to him and uh and I got word from him that uh his reports are good and I’m not trying to create any any kind of emergency situation but you know Andy’s been a little bit under the weather but uh all
Of his reports are good he’s on the menend and he’s uh chomping it the bit to get back behind the butter flies of the Game Exchange jet dragster in 2024 and of course there’s uh uh there’s people that know Andy MIRS and everybody that knows Andy MIRS loves him so we
Want to send the best of him and uh and glad to hear the good news coming out uh from L Texas well that is certainly good news David and U may he continue to move forward in uh recouping uh it is certainly in chaos a a family we want to
See these people to continue in whoever they are to be doing the best that uh they can and it’s good to hear that uh moving forward and you know just dropped today uh someone moving forward in their program Wayne Hoffman is always doing something neat and cool and he has dropped what his
Livery will look like for the 2024 season or at least a part of it going with a look of dear old dad in the Western Auto days and that is a sharp looking car already that Firebird body that Wayne showed well it is and when and when the
Spy photos were released you know before and I I haven’t seen anything other than just the body I thought well we are we going Western Auto because that was that was the first thing that came to mind and uh is that was a that was a strong
Performing race car and of course I don’t know that there’s been I don’t know if there’s been another Western Auto sponsored machine but but Al Hoffman certainly had that it’ll be good to good to see that back uh back in the world of funny car racing in
2024 so there’s um there’s a lot of news that’s coming up and of course one of the next things that we’ll have on our calendar of course is the uhu the uh tuning seminar and uh the teams and tuning seminar that’s coming up with Will Hannah there at the Texas Motorplex
Coming up next month but right now you know there’s a whole lot of folks that are getting ready for family get togethers I uh I know that Levi Graves is getting a chance to see Christmas lights uh for the first time tonight and so uh if you can just imagine the Wonder
In a in a child’s eyes as we have experienced our eles and we’ve seen with those uh those that are close to us uh there’s going to be an awful lot of that taking place but really an opportunity to visit with our chaos family here as
We have uh you know been in the little bit of the off season here for a little bit but really enjoying the chance to get to get out in front of everybody and uh extend Christmas greetings and talk to some of the folks that help make sure
That our series continues to go on to go strong and uh to advance safely and so that’s you know that’s what’s coming up here in just a little bit our first guest is going to be coming up after the break and we will talk talk right after uh
Right after our break with Dennis Taylor the official motor the official safety supplier of the funny car chaos Nitro chaos Championship tours and Taylor Motorsports owner will be with us right after we come back Taylor Motorsports products is your first stop for Quality safety equipment for your car or your
Driver all of our safety equipment products are made in our facility in Albany Oregon from custom fit fire suits to racing seat belts supercharger restraints engine diapers transmission blankets and many other must-have items our racing history runs deep we are Racers building the finest safety equipment for Racers and we’re a proud
Supporter of the chaos and we are back and welcome to you Dennis Taylor thank you so much for taking the time to be on chaos live for a lot of folks they’ve heard your name forever and ever but maybe have never seen the face before so we’re glad to
Get uh everybody to have the chance to to see you and and get a chance to hear from you welcome to chaos live uh oh s looks like we’ve got no sound Dennis did uh you get unmuted did you mute yourself somehow we had them good before the
Show all right Dennis try this for me leave the show and come back okay try that for Me all all right sir we’re going to have U Dennis leave the studio and he will log back in so he will be coming back here momentarily it happens yeah it does it does happen and U it’s it’s kind of funny how quickly uh how quickly some of this thing gets away
From you when you don’t do it like every other week like we’re doing during the during the racing season well it it’s it’s amazing how everything before you go live can seem like we are just fine this is a go and then it all goes Ary
Once you hit the live button but we’ll get Dennis back his sound was just fine during uh pre-show so during the show we’ll have him here in a few moments hopefully and he’s back can we hear him can you hear all right we can hear you now there can you hear me
Yes we can we can hear you welcome back that seems to have worked still have some feedback coming somewhere hey Dennis have to know you’ve raced uh you’ve raced Nitro you’ve raced funny cars you’ve raced Dragsters and of course we talk about that you guys are Racers helping Racers
To stay safe safe with the finest safety equipment available tell us the um how long did you race Nitro well I rased Nitro a couple of different times I uh drove Top Fuel cars back in the 80s from uh 81 through oh about 86 I
Guess and then I spent uh 20 plus years racing alcohol funny cars and then uh stopped and built a uh Nostalgia Nitro funny car that I raised for a few years and then my son started driving it he spent the last seven years or so driving
It so I’ve uh I think I’ve I spent most of my time in either Nitro or alcco alcohol powered cars wow so going going fast was definitely high on the list of priorities for Dennis Taylor you know one of the things that um people have this stereotype of racers as being 10
Feet tall and bulletproof and you know safety equipment what’s that but you find that there are a lot of racers that and and certainly the older we get maybe the wiser we get and it becomes very much uh and of course as fast as these cars are going these days it becomes
Very very important to people when did you start uh when when did was the light bulb moment that you thought I’m going to go ahead and start a business to protect myself and to protect my fellow racers well you know I think uh you know as you’re a young race car driver you
Always think you’re invis invincible and that you’re Superman and uh unfortunately I think too many younger Racers have the the thought that oh this it can’t happen to me type of thing but uh it was actually a uh a care kind of a career change I I had a custom
Upholstery shop things were starting to go downhill and it was just a matter of timing for me in h mandated engine diapers for alcohol and nitro cars back in the late part of 1993 and it just hit me at the right time I was driving somebody else’s
Alcohol funny car at the time and uh also building the engines for that team and it was like man I really should take this opportunity and run with it and it just it just flourished from that particular one item 6 months later we were into transmission blankets blower
Restraints and uh eventually seat belts and down the road I bought another company that I actually was a uh distributor for Phoenix custom out of Denver and that’s how we got involved in doing fire suits wow that is great so what I’m hearing is race car driver race car tuner engine
Builder safety equipment manufacturer I’m here in Ren Renaissance Man jack of all trades and and obviously not one of those guys who’s the master of none because you have certainly mastered the craft uh there with your company as you have people worldwide calling you
Up well that is true in fact uh we we Shi some stuff to Australia to a racer in Australia today and I’ve got some recertification stuff here from people in England Finland and Sweden at the moment that’s right well the uh the funny car chaos a few years ago whenever
It was mandated to go to one piece suits I know that uh that particular uh mandate was was something that uh that brought additional activity with people getting new fire suits getting fire suits converted and and that kind of thing and you know th those mandates they don’t come because people are you
Know somebody’s just trying to make things tough they’re actually trying to save folks folks lives and uh and and that’s a a very big deal we we lose people on occasion but the quality of safety equipment in Drag Racing yeah you remember the series uh and they walked
Away in the world of drag racing we’re so surprised when they don’t walk away because it’s so unusual well it certainly is unusual and uh you know anytime you see at least when I see a crash or a fire or something uh I I kind of don’t give it a
Second thought anymore you know about them not coming out of it and uh you know all of these rules that we have today you know through NH through cha chaos and all of that uh you know they’re they’re they’re pretty much all Written in Blood somebody had to
Sacrifice something so we could make the world better you know we didn’t start off knowing that uh you know we needed XYZ to uh you know to help people and of course materials and Technology have changed over the years too to make everything better it’s not uh it’s not
Just us and the racers looking for things but uh the technical world has made things change as well Bobby Martin chiming in there saying he had one of those first uh blankets in 1993 and has been using Taylor products ever since then there are a number of relationships
That you have built and and uh established and cemented Through The Years there’s um that’s that’s quite you’ve got quite the Rolodex don’t you well I I I I I really do uh you know certainly our customers run the gamut from Top Fuel all the way down into the Sportsman
Classes and uh you know I’m just I’m just tickled to death that I’d like to call all of our customers friends as well you know I love to be able to go see them at the races and shake hands with them and and and and really get to
Know them as well but yeah you’re right pretty much pretty much everybody that uh that runs a you know a real fast car probably has something that we make they certainly don’t have all of it but one piece of the puzzle they probably do have on their
Cars now you uh you’re manufacturing fac facility is in Oregon uh has it always been there or have you had uh expansions Through The Years well we we were based in Southern California my whole life and uh eight years ago we made the big move to move
Uh our families and our business up here to Oregon the business climate in California is not what it used to be you know it’s funny you think back when I started in Drag Racing you know you used to be able to build a car bu build an engine
Have it painted and race it within about a 50 mile radius of Southern California and it’s just not that way anymore yes it has certainly certainly changed I’m of the I’m of that age group that you know could not wait for hot rod and carcraft to get in and then when I
You know at at one point when I got National dragster for a little while to wait for National dragster to come in every week you know to see the those results from Southern California from Irwindale and from Bakersville where we’re going this year and and um you
Know from Orange County and all those tracks out there and of course once a year Pomona but yes it has it has certainly changed and U and we’ve GL we’re glad you found a place where the business climate uh lends itself towards you being able to serve your clientele
Uh better and better all the time so are you still you know the evil Wicked me and nasty beautiful moach one funny car and that’s one of those things that I go back to the old T-shirts from the magazines 57 Chevy five sevs are evil wicked mean and nasty and that’s just
One of those things that stuck with me forever now that was the car you had and your son drove now that car has changed hands now right that’s that’s right in fact that car is in your neck of the woods now it was uh purchased a couple
Of months ago by a fellow by the name of Mike Irwin and uh that car you will see on the chaos tour next year from what I’m told funny car mike bringing the Machan out uh in 2024 that is going to be another one of those exciting developments we have uh been
Experiencing so much growth so many funny cars being built uh rebuilt coming out to to funny car chaos and you know a big part of the success of the series has to do with people like you and we are very thankful that uh that you support uh the racing through funny car
Chaos and Nitro chaos but have you seen anything like this in a while well I really haven’t seen it since uh you know the F let me tell you this story the first time I came and saw a chaos event uh was I don’t know three
Three years ago I think it was the very first race that uh Chris had at the Motorplex and there was something like 70 funny cars or 80 funny cars and I remember walking through the stageing lanes and what I reminisced about was that was just like the 70s
When I was a kid at Orange County International Raceway when you had all the funny cars from all the stars from all over the country and that’s exactly what it reminded me of and uh you know Chris and terara have done such a great job promoting the events and and there’s
Certainly a place in this world for funnyart chaos and and it’s tremendous I I’m a big supporter of what they’re trying to do well we’re we are so glad and and the number of of people with that exact same with that exact same reaction is like
You know you look you’re looking out of the tower I’m you know I’m in the tower I’m looking back and I’m going I can’t even see the end of the line out there it was it was just so great to have that many funny cars and you know Bubba
Corzine getting extremely excited about all those cars out there and and uh and the the young the youngsters I I can say that I’m old enough now that I can refer to somebody as youngsters but I love it for people who are the age now that I
Was then like you were then getting to experience that same rush and it I mean it is a it is a rush when you see that much color all those flip top bodies and then they start lining up and firing up and it is just uh it is just something
That is unmistakable and Unforgettable so so that was your first one and uh and we look forward to seeing you at uh at at many many more as you uh get the opportunity and take advantage of that and you know we’re excited to have uh uh
Be going Coast to Coast now as we uh added Maryland in 23 and adding California in 24 with uh bunny car Chaos on the east side and Nitro Chaos on the U on the West Side that’s going to be that’s going to be uh Coast to Coast for all things chaos we can’t
Wait yeah I think uh going to Bakers field at the end of the year will be a big shot in the arm I think you’ll see a lot of West Coast cars that uh would like to be involved in chaos and maybe can’t travel as far as they’d like to
But that gives them the opportunity now to show up at Bakersfield you know and a lot of people really think that you we hear this from the fans you know that Bakersfield is kind of like Hallowed Ground especially For You Know The Nostalgia movement and some of the the
Older body styles and what have you so I I really think Bakersfield would be a big hit for chaos yeah we we think so too and we we we’re hoping that everybody that can come to that one will come to that one as that could be another one of those
Reminiscent of the of the old days back when uh you know the March Meet used to have five rounds 32 32 Top Fuel dragsters U squaring off plus all the other categories out there it’s a a place where you know where dreams come true and place where Legends were
Established and uh for us to be able to bring chaos out there is definitely going to be fun hey what’s uh what’s the holidays season look like uh for the Taylor family well we’re so busy here at the shop with the recertifications and and new stuff you know for next year there’s
Really not much of an off season but uh I got to tell you the only day we really take off here you know will be Christmas so we can spend it uh everybody can spend it with their families but uh day after Christmas we’ll be hard you know back at it trying
To get everything done in time for uh for everybody that needs their stuff yeah that’s right the offseason for the racers that’s not the offseason for the manufacturers you guys are people are counting on you to uh to be the Santa Claus so to speak because you
Got to deliver maybe not on Christmas Eve but uh certainly before racing season starts well it it comes sooner than uh you know than you think NH has moved their program back but that doesn’t mean it you know it doesn’t start you know chaos starts uh you know
Fairly early you’ve got the big Pro Race going on in February the uh the regional series starting at the first part of March in Gainesville then you got the gator Nationals right after that and uh you know the March Meet as well the first weekend of March I believe is the
Is the March meet so we got the Nostalgia guys to make sure that they get taken care of as well are you sensing in our sport uh a res a bit of growth in not only chaos but in NHRA in other areas of all types of
Racing are you sensing an upsurge uh in interest and activity well I certainly am and I mean you know look at some of the pro announcements that came last week at the PRI show uh you know some of some of the guys that uh you know that are Fielding
Teams you know you had Jacob mcneel that bought buddy Hull’s car there in Texas and the Shawn Reed racing operation and you know sha Reed’s planning to run a full 21 race schedule with NHRA we’re also seeing a lot more interest in Top alcohol dragster you know you’ve got Randy Meyer that rents
Out rides and you’ve got the uh you know you’ve got the MC Phillips family that’s Fielding a couple of different cars for three or four drivers and uh I think it’s just a matter of time really before we see the alcohol funny car thing kick back up again I really
Believe uh this aiel dragster or aiel funny car thing will will kind of come around we’ll see more cars and that’s another chance for you know for guys to get their feet wet by by renting rides and those cars as well but uh yeah I
Think racing in general we do a lot of a lot of work with the tractor pull industry indry too and that is really you know going crazy right now and we certainly don’t see less Racers coming in we def definitely see more coming in than going out well that that is outstanding and
That’s great great for those of us because you know there was there was a time it was like hard to make a hard to make a full field in certain categories and and uh that just seems to be seems to have changed as as additional people are stepping forward sponsors are
Stepping forward and uh you know the coverage that is afforded the the racers and the sponsors you know you talking about the top alcohol funny car the injected uh Nitro you know Top alcohol funny car running in that class you know our own Lee craft has has uh been giving
A lot of exposure to the alcohol Dragster and alcohol funny card categories and and of course you know he also does a lot of work with one of our sponsors mckenny Corporation and they are busy at mckenny just like you’re busy at uh Taylor Motorsports it’s like
Everybody is is really turning out a lot of work and that that just bodess well for the future of our great sport so I’m really excited to see that and uh and all of that means is hey invite somebody to the races have them come out and see
What all the excitement is about because you know there’s just nothing about it nothing like it and you’ve sat behind those uh throbbing supercharged engines and you’ve sat in front of them too um what’s uh what were some of your favorite rides uh in your racing
Career well they they all have H you know some sort of being a favorite you know of course uh I I I I got to tell you of all the cars I’ve I’ve driven in you know the different classes uh alcohol funny car was C certainly where
Not only where I had the the most success but the most fun and I I probably missed that more than anything the you know revving it up on the starting line and swapping feet and shifting it twice and you know those cars were fast you know I I actually went faster
In an alcohol funny car than I than I did in a Top Field Dragster and it was uh you know technical things that progressed over the years and all that and uh the Nitro Nostalgia car was a lot of fun uh it was a little easier to
Drive but it is pretty cool you know driving it at night and you’ve got the fire coming out the the pipes you know you can you can see it out the side window that was that was an awful lot of fun but I got to tell you alcohol funny
Car for me that’s why I’m so passionate about these alcohol class classes is I really miss driving those cars I I think that uh Bill naves and Kirk Williams would concur and Lance Van Allen and a lot of those guys that like to swap feet and um and they they would
Probably bear you out on that story that that’s where it’s at absolutely well what’s uh what what’s next for Taylor Motorsports products as far as uh where the business goes from here well and the last two or three years we’ve gotten more involved in different forms of
Racing there’s a fair amount of uh dirt late model Circle Track Racing up here in Oregon and those guys have have uh realized that we moved to town and we’re selling seat belts and window Nets and fire suits as well to a lot of those Roundy Round Guys the tractor pole
Market has gotten huge for us uh some rule changes this year with we’ve been building an awful lot of uh Turbo charger restraints or turbocharger blankets there’s been some real changes that have mandated that to happen you know a little bit more this year and uh We’ve also built
Uh some restraints for the promods that have the prochargers after NH had some incidents uh earlier in the year so we we’ve now got that going on and uh every once in a while we get involved in some industrial application we’ve made uh uh kind of like uh bulletproof blankets for big
Industrial fans and and uh test equipment and uh there there there seems to be a whole a whole another side to Industrial uh ballistic safety equipment that we’re just kind of now exploring so I think that may be part of the future that is outstanding and and good
To know you know whenever you do something so well that that uh that the word of mouth gets around it uh it’s a great way to build a business and obviously your business is growing uh because of the quality of of work that you guys do and I can’t tell you enough
Dennis how much we appreciate you for all the support you give to our Racers and to our series and I’m telling you it is such a delight to have you on and have people get a chance to meet you and find out more of your story and uh so
Thank you so much for spending some time with us here uh this evening well you’re welcome and thanks for having me you know no matter what we get involved with here at Taylor Motorsports uh you know our our our passion is still drag racing and it’s
It’s it’s always going to be that way and uh I’m just happy that we’re able to give back a little bit to the sport that we love so much wow it’s it is greatly appreciated hey to you to your family to all the people that make the great things happen
At Taylor Motorsports product we want to send seasons greetings happy holidays Merry Christmas and uh you know and blessings to you and all of those in your circle and again we look forward to seeing you at the races and and of course Racers you can all find them at tayor Motorsports
Products.com and of course uh they will be delighted to help you with all the safety equipment applications that you need again Dennis thank you so much for being with us here tonight thanks for having me David and Lee and uh Merry Christmas to everybody and we’ll see you first of the year
Outstanding well ladies and gentlemen there you have it Dennis Taylor bringing the story to you from right there at their place uh up in Oregon where all the good stuff is manufactured and shipped from like he said worldwide just sent some stuff out today to Australia so the the word has definitely gotten
Around so we are delighted that he is a big part of the program at chaos and uh we look forward to seeing him coming up at the season opener sounds like we might get a chance to see him in person there at the Texas Motorplex April 4th
Fifth and six for the kickoff of the Season can’t wait hey we’re going to be talking with one of the guys with boots on the ground so to speak at all the chaos events as Brad Thompson is going to be uh up next our next guest here as
We continue our final chaos show of the 2023 calendar year so right after this Brad Thompson coming your way stay with us chaos Nation whether you are near or far you can finally represent funny car chaos wherever you are at the chaos store.com is the place to visit to get
Your merch from the world’s only Outlaw funny car series and there’s even exclusive deals online as in the three t-shirts you are seeing right now on your screen but it’s more than just the teas you can get your funny car chaos stickers hats beanies everything else
World of funny car chaos there at the chaos store.com spell Paving Services provides professional customer service and performance for your next industrial or large scale private Paving project from parking lots roads and driveways to seal coat chip seal concrete and asphalt there’s no job too big for the team at
Spell Paving Services serving a 500m radius from Dallas Fort Worth spell Paving Services has you covered call 21438 43056 to get a competitive quote today and tell them the chaos sent You welcome back to chaos live hey I don’t know if everybody picked up on it uh during that last interview but Fred spell the owner of spell Paving Services was up at PRI and of course he’s got his own race car now and he’s he got fitted for a Taylor Motorsports products
Firesuit while he’s up there in Indianapolis so he was chiming in on that a little bit earlier hey joining us tonight Bradley Thompson brother it is so good to see your smiling face and welcome to chaos live thank you David you know what you are you are one
Of those guys that has been that uh with chaos since the very beginning either as a participant or as a supporting cast member of some kind because you uh I think at the first one did you have two cars at the first one yeah I ran a
Nostalgia funny car that I restored and uh my AFX uh Pontiac Tempest uh at the fir very first race of chaos yeah I mean a lot of folks that have been following funny car chaos all these years they’ve seen Fire Engine 2 several several times but fire engine 3
That was such a cool car and I gota I I have to ask you to tell people kind of that story uh about how you found it and restored it because I I just think that’s one of the coolest things of your story and and it’s one of the coolest
Things of anybody’s story in my book because of all the bases that it hits with love of the sport so can you tell us about that yeah uh I we were getting ready to head out to go to uh the Meltdown drags up in Illinois with the
AFX car and I was waiting for some guys to get here to the shop and uh and go with me and I was on Craigs List thumbing through it and this funny car came up and it was a uh Nostalgia 70 transm funny car that was supposed to be
Just tyres and if anybody knows me I am a huge Pontiac fan I’ve raced Pontiacs and only Pontiacs and uh I called the guy he uh we talked for an hour about this car and I said all right I’m coming to see you I’ll be there in two hours
Well the car was listed in Oklahoma City which about two hours from me so he goes uh no I’m in St Louis so I had to I said well I will see you tomorrow I unhooked from the big big race trailer and I hooked my flat bed and headed for St
Louis and uh purchased the car brought it back spent uh about 17 months restoring it and uh with original Pontiac blown motor and started testing it at uh Northstar and uh that’s how when Chris and I were talking about it uh doing some match races uh we said I said yeah let’s do
Some match races and and that’s pretty much how the first fny car chaos because we were going to only do like four or eight cars if we could get them together and it exploded I mean we ended up with 30 some odd cars funny cars at that very
First race and it it was a great time I mean I I really miss driving that car well you know that was that was one of those things and you know how I am with the funny cars from the early 70s and um because I saw Jess Tyrie and
Emerald Dragway in the Texas California challenge maybe that same exact car I think it was because it was it was a Gen 2 uh firebird and uh I think he was running hem power at that time but but yeah I mean that was one of those that
Was one of those moments in history that you know really set the hook for me back back when I was a kid and and then for you to have that car and to restore it so beautifully you know what life is about passion and if if you have something that you’re passionate about
Uh and you can do it and you know race cars is one of those things racing is one of those things caring for others and taking care of their safety is another one of those you found a way to take that passion and make it your profession as as a first responder yeah
Uh I started I I was a started back in 84 out of college as a volunteer fireman and moved then few years later moved to Texas uh started on volunteer department here in Gainesville Texas in’ 88 and in ‘ 91 they hired me on and I was a hired
On paid fireman for 29 years and I retired just a few years ago but uh yeah firefighting’s been my passion but so was racing and you can tell by the name on my car how much it meant to me yeah you definitely you certainly can
Um so all of the training 29 years did you say9 years 29 years during those 29 years you learned a thing or two about saving lives and about putting out fires and about protecting people how much of that translates to the racetrack oh a
Lot a whole lot uh you know in the fire service it’s a never ending education uh you got to know a little of everything structure fires uh buildings uh pmat even you know Emergency Care people care uh my biggest passion in the fire service was Auto exucation and that was
What I taught in my department and other volunteer departments around the area and that’s every time I could get a class on EX exucation that’s what I did and then I taught it back in our our department and uh it it was a big thing
For me and you know I started out with Chris in sh at the very beginning running my AFX car in my Trans Am and we had some instance and that was one of my things I kept Chris and I would talk about is we go some of these races with
SH and and we had some fast cars and there was no fire or medical at these racetracks and that bothered me and we had several incidents bad incidents at these tracks so it was always a passion of mind to get something started and you know right after Ken’s uh accident at the
Motorplex uh I mean just a week or so after that Chris called me and he knew I had a passion for this and he goes put something together what can we do to make this to you know help chaos and I started putting things together and you
Know with Chris and several other people you know we we’re putting together what we can do to you know make it safer and make sure we got enough fire and EMS uh Personnel on scene to keep the r safe that is outstanding and it’s one of
The things one of the things that people might not exactly get is just because you know how to put out fires and just because you’re well trained with putting out a house fire or something like that doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how to get a race car driver out of a
Race car that’s either on fire or in a crash situation or both and for someone like you to be at the racetrack with a handson you know firstperson experience knowing about how race cars work how you get them open how you get the driver out that’s an added layer of safety that uh
That goes with you and people who are trained like you being at the racetrack am I right oh yeah definitely you know I I’ve been not only as a fireman but I I’ve also been in the chassis business building race guards for 26 years now you know I started out back in 97
Working for Joe mundan which was a big builder in superc conf and super gas cars and alcohol graduat and I mean I’ve been working for him for years and then when he retired I’ve carried on in my own shop and we’re still doing it today
Uh you know I know how these cars are built I know what they’ll take I know what it takes to take them apart if we need to uh you know all these guys with these cars need to start looking at as the off seon is go over every nut and
Bolt on these cars and see if you’ve got any cracks in that chassis and you know that’s where the little things go wrong and you know we have a problem at the track uh right now at this time right over here I got uh Jade’s the Nemesis is
Sitting here in the shop we’re we’re doing some updates on it and fixing some things on it and getting her ready for this next season so you know this is big to me all the way around from the chassis all the way to to safety at the
Track when I’m there at the end of the track with the uh uh Racers okay just for uh don’t don’t tell anybody else but is there a power plant in that in that chassis no it’s a bear chassis but but believe me uh We’ve made some updates they’re going to be putting
Down some serious J or Phils building some serious power for it it’s going to be it’s going to be quick well it’s already plenty quick I’ll tell you what that that cash money that went to them for the 3 second big block uh funny car run that was that was out of sight
Oh yeah and so I I can’t wait to see what uh what’s coming from them and from so many others this year you know this offseason we just start talking about this and I just get all giddy and excited and can’t wait for it to happen
You know but uh you know but we’re talking safety here tonight and uh which is exactly why we wanted to have you have you on board for someone with a passion for racing who may also be uh uh a first responder a firemen um what would you recommend for
Them uh that they could do to make uh to make the racing World safer where they live well like I said before the number one thing is the car that that’s the bullet and the gun you know we got to make sure that car’s safe and going over
Every nut and bolt and checking the chassis and making sure everything’s safe in them uh making sure you know you know our fuel systems our hoses everything on this car are up toate and and good the safety equipment especially uh what the guys are wearing don’t
Don’t get chiny on well this time I’m not going to wear my gloves or I’m GNA wear a lighter glove no because like they said uh it will sneak up on you and something will go bad uh I’m I’m a big believer in the safety equipment and we
Need to we’re going to need to make sure that everything’s up to date and right and also when we’re going down the track guys this is my biggest pet peeve with with funny car drivers drop your shoots I’ve seen too many cars you’ll come down at the top end of a track
After a good pole and they don’t drop the shoots and they rely on their brakes to slow them down and if some little something goes wrong in that brake system you’re off into the track into the bushes into the trees and into the corn field just you know we need to we need
To think safety all the time even even as a driver that’s right hey Mike I saw your comment there that you are doing exactly what Bradley is recommending checking every nut checking every bolt making sure the chassis is safe that’s what you’re doing and we look forward to
Seeing you at funny carart chaos in 2024 you know your passion has carried on another generation as uh your daughter is now uh tell us tell us what she’s doing well I’ve got a daughter she’s uh in her seventh year at Tulsa fire and she’s a Tulsa fireman she just
Made lieutenant this past week or last week and she’s an officer on a on a paramedic truck and she she is ate up with it but she grew up with it from day one she was born I was a fireman and she’s grown up in the fire station and
She started out at 9 years old in a junior and we put her in a super comp at 15 she ran some Outlaw stuff and uh she she drove a super comp dragster for several years before she got out of it and started the career wow and you know that that is so
Cool and talk about someone that following in their in their parents’ footsteps I know that’s got to make you proud yep and also have two stepsons that are in the fire academy right now so we got a we got a big family of firemen well and I it makes me think
About uh the Back in Black crew you’ve got Cody and you got Alex and they are both uh both firemen and uh so that that fraternity grows and I know it’s a Brotherhood that uh that all of you have H something that you share that you’re very very passionate about it thank God
So we we’re happy happy about that so 2024 chaos events safety standpoint you’ve got uh you’ve got the equipment that’s that you’ve had uh any changes for the coming year well uh working with Chris we’ve got some new equipment we’ve got some bunker gear and some fire
Clothing that’s been donated to us uh Chris has uh just purchased a four-wheeler which we’re going to make another quick response uh fire little fire rig out of it and it will also have the push bar on it so we can get the cars off the track quicker and uh you
Know keep the keep the show rolling well that’s excellent just another step up another step up another step up and that’s you know continuous Improvement you talk about it being a an ongoing education process it’s an ongoing improvement process and and Chris is Chris and Tara are very
Committed to making sure that uh that the drivers uh have have an Ever improving situation with regard to safety Michael Neil chimes in and says that uh it’s always great to know that you sir are at the top end of the of the racetrack when they’re about to to come
Uh come their way towards the top end thank you thank you for everything you do buddy all right and Fred spell uh he talked about that new four-wheeler uh Fred spell certainly very uh heavily involved in helping to make that happen you know fr spell has been just such a
Blessing to the series so Fred we really appreciate you sir very much for all the all the continued support well Brett you’re at the chassis shop I guess you’re about to call it a day are you going to go ahead and work until 11:30 or 12 no we’re calling it a
Day it’s been a long day all right tommy guns you’re in Sanger is that where the Chessy shop s yep Sanger Texas okay all right right there on I35 North north of Denton not too far from where the original funny car chaos event took place at the old Northstar Dragway and they’re turning
Out race cars and turning out quality work up there at tommy guns Speed Shop that’s our man in this with the safety plan he’s Bradley Thompson and brother it’s great to see you here and thank you for telling telling your story uh the safety story of funny car chaos thank
You David all right man that’s uh a great uh great time I’m talking there with Bradley and we’ll see him at the first race of the Season at the Texas Motorplex coming up that first weekend of April it’s the weekend after Easter so you got your calendars marked for
Easter on that last weekend of March the next weekend is the weekend that we are all looking forward to so much is that uh first race of the 2024 season at the Texas Motorplex going to be there with the solar eclipse and and all that jazz
And all of you tuning in so I’ll be right back uh after this break and Lee and I will wrap things up here on this episode of chaos live what can 360 steel do for you we make custom steel products made right here in Illinois fire Pips of all kinds
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Cars on and off the track trailers and Equipment Larice even pays Racers contingencies at the fling bracket races don’t wait until it’s too late call Larice Motorsports insurance today Lee we have such great friends of funny car chaos that are that are our sponsors and Racers and supporters it is
I just love what we do we definitely have a tremendous crowd around chaos and in chaos those that are racing those that are supporting it and goes beyond the chaos and it goes beyond the track and uh it is a great Bunch for sure you know Dennis he helped me out
With coverage in Pomona concerning NHRA alcohol racing and Fred spell has has helped out as well and Bradley while we definitely in chaos it is good that we’re advancing in safety as the competition of this Series has continued to advance and you know we’ve seen some serious incidents it’s racing so the
More that we have out there for those in chaos competing in it and around it the better so Fred thank you for your help in supporting Chaos on the safety side and the Endeavors there and thank you Bradley for your expertise and your efforts as well it is uh just about Christmas
Season uh just about time for opening presents and family gatherings and all those kind of things I know you Homeward Bound and uh it’s going to be I’m I’m headed out on another trip starting on Saturday to uh do some do a little family visitation uh at the Points East
Of here so um it’s been great seeing you and hey man I I really appreciate all the work that you do with the uh with the sports and categories the alcohol dragsters and the alcohol funny cars you know you are doing some great work out there my
Friend I appreciate that David thank you trying to you know in a lot of ways give exposure no matter where I’m at to those that need more exposure period you know even what I’m doing at mckenny Corp murf and Tate and the team that’s there realized that they needed a social media
Presence but they didn’t know how to do it they weren’t sure what they were getting into and I think been able to take their social media and move it forward and make people realize that murf’s not dead there are people thought he had died and it’s like no murf’s
Alive and well in fact he’s out there on Jim Whitley’s car right now grinding on it and I I think as well you know the the alcohol classes they have such great racing such great personalities they needed more exposure and then you look at where chaos is this continual growing great competitive
Series and the people that are there they need their stories told as well there are fabulous competitors amongst the chaos ranks and it is so fascinating in chaos because of the Run what you’ve BR nature it’s a funny car bring it and you get so many different combinations so
Many different types of people why are they running what they’re running and how do they get it all together like it’s exciting to hear you know Jade has her chassis in the shop and making updates and uh briefly with field there at PRI and they they’re ready to go and they’re
Going to be quicker and they’re going to be faster and they were holding back a little bit even I think last year uh to some extent we all know they were but uh you know they showed their hand up there at Albuquerque that oh you can do that
Up at this elevation and then we show then they showed out at mocan and it’s definitely going to be good to see uh the Nemesis be a nemesis possibly in the a field I’m fully expecting that in uh 20 24 Kirk Williams spoke with him briefly at PRI was able to introduce him
To murf there at the mcken booth and they are uh they they have laid the keill if you will on a brand new Williams Brothers racing chassis andh they’re going to have a new chassis for 2024 and uh they are going to come out Swinging with the intent to take back a
Crown in funny car chaos competition so it’s heating up you have people doing things throughout the land in chaos Nation to get ready for 2024 and Vive for a funny car chaos championship and Vive for a Nitro chaos Championship ah yeah Darren good job man
That he went and got the photos there is Wayne Hoffman’s ride for 2024 wow that looks even better than I thought it is spectacular it’s it is awesome yes he’s he is breaking the drag racing internet right now on social media all right well well bring it on
Big Boy bring it on that is outstanding to see and I can’t wait to see it up close and personal at at the Texas Motor PL it’s gonna be good it’s gonna be good yeah hey shout out to Ed wolf you know our Ed wolf is one of the best friends
That a racer can have and he’s certainly been one of the best friends that funny car chaos uh has ever had and uh we want to send our best wishes to him and understand there was a tornado nearby and that may have impacted them but Ed we’re thinking about you praying for you
We love you can’t wait to see you and wishing you a merry Christmas too out there um some folks are going to be coming in for the uh January event of motx uh the uh the tuning seminar the cats that will Hannah’s putting on in conjunction with funny car chaos so that
Gathering I think there’s 50 60 it may be more by now as the numbers continue to come up with people who are heading this way but you know what last show of the Season Lee man I I gotta tell you it is the anticipation is building for the
Banquet coming up in February where we get to pass out the trophies and the loot and all those the accolades that have been earned by the incredible group of racers that we have I’m telling you just cannot wait to see everybody and get together again so uh if you haven’t
Already got your reservations made you know it’s coming up February 3D and that’s going to be the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa and a good time will be had you can Bank on that certainly looking forward to being there and uh the cat deal that will Hannah is putting on
Briefly had him on briefly talked with him about that on my show several weeks back now and that is such a great thing glad that’s taking place and again that’s just going to elevate people within chaos and be that much more competitive from them to be able to
Glean from someone like will Hannah who has definitely the prowess within tuning and driving and knowhow of these cars so it is going to be interesting to hear the reports from people leaving that program and saying hey I learned something we’re going to apply it and you’re going to see us running better
And everybody running better gives us that much more in storylines for 2024 and yeah I can’t wait for the banquet wonder what story lines are going to take place there that we we might be able to well I was say we going to be able to
See right but we yeah we won’t be able to tell them and be like you you should just been there that’s right yeah right yeah yeah that’s right well 2024 racing season better faster safer and but always a great time and it’s going to be so much fun again there’s only two kinds
Of people those love funny car chaos those who have never been and if you’re somebody that’s never 2024 is just ahead hey Lee thanks so much for all that you do and for being here tonight I guess that’s going to put a wrap on the put a bow on this show and
Uh we uh understand we’ve got another one coming up in just a couple of weeks so watch out and uh we’ll keep keep you posted on that uh on that upcoming show that uh is kind of being worked on in the background as we speak so for all of you merry Christmas happy
Holidays we will see you on the next show uh we’re thinking about you and we can’t wait till the next time that we get to shake hands and give a hug and do a little more bench racing so that’s going to do it for tonight chaos live we
Will see you at the DRFT good night Everybody N
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