ENGLISHTOWN, NEW JERSEY • '03 first time in Jay Blake's car - 5.72 at 255 mph, still the fastest I've ever gone
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 second run on the Camaro – did the burnout twice as long as normal, just for the hell of it
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CHICAGO • '07 trying to qualify against all the big names from around the country who were in Chicago for the All Stars race
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 right before Follow A Dream's first round ever – we won
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 5.68, good for 6th at the time – ended up 11th in the fastest field ever
CENTERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS • '02 Jay had some cool studio work done the winter before our first season
MEMPHIS • '00 first 5-second run – skipped right over the 5.90s and 230s to a 5.85 at 244 mph
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA • '01 first 250-mph run - just made it, 250.09
COLUMBUS • '06 absolutely my favorite picture of all time
MORGANVILLE, NEW JERSEY • '02 the whole team went to Frank Manzo's shop when Jay bought the car from him, and he treated us all like royalty
BUDDS CREEK, MARYLAND • '95 first run in my first car - never had time to test, just showed up to race with two license runs for experience and almost qualified
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE • '96 last run in the same car, exactly one year later – the engine blew up, and I didn't race for years and never again with this car
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 Steve Addleman and I crossed the finish line thousandths of a second apart, and it looks like we hit the chutes simultaneously, too
BROWNSBURG, INDIANA • '07 Scott Wible upgraded my car from one end to the other during the off-season I worked out of his shop
WADSWORTH, OHIO • '06 My dad always let me use the back of his shop to work on my car - wrote a lot of stories for National DRAGSTER standing in front of that computer by the toolbox
CHICAGO • '02 5.671 against Kirk Williams, still my career best
BRADENTON, FLORIDA • '99 the blower exploded in high gear and we still almost won this round
READING, PENNSYLVANIA • '04 I did bottom end on my cars - wasn't the fastest, but they never came out
NORWALK, OHIO • '07 5.79 in Saturday qualifying for the Division 3 opener
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 off the line against bud Steve Gasparrelli in the first round of the U.S. Nationals – he came around me by 1/1000th of a second
COLUMBUS • '01 on the wrong end of another close one
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 fastest I ever went in one of my own cars, on a single Saturday morning at the U.S. Nationals
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 just back to the pits after the semi's at a Division 1 points meet
NORWALK • '95 well on the way to a 6.0 when the blower belt came off – the car stops accelerating so fast, it feels like your head's going to hit the dash
WADSVILLE • '06 firing the engine for the first time after the whole car was rebuilt over the winter. Hell yes I was nervous – I put most of it together
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 beat Manzo the first and last time I raced him – this is one of the nine straight times he beat me in between
OTTERBEIN, INDIANA • '03 my car was originally built for Manzo, but construction came to a halt before the cage went on because he didn't fit - the unfinished chassis sat in the rafters at Murf McKinney's for years until I came along
CHICAGO • '01 first run in the 5.70s, a 5.77 in last shot qualifying
NORWALK • '07 qualifying against Chris Foster – the throttle stuck at the finish line and absolutely scared the hell out of me
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 5.75 against Daniel Wilkerson, who now drives one of his dad's fuel cars
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 semifinals at a Division 1 race against Manzo – looks like we had him for a little while at least
JOLIET, ILLINOIS • '09 awesome 2010 Permatex paint scheme designed by Larry Williams - Circus Custom Paint used "Jungle Jim Blue" for the blue
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 coasting to a stop in last-shot qualifying for the U.S. Nationals – didn't make it
READING • '04 wonder what he's thinking?
INDIANAPOLIS • '01 running Chuck Cheeseman in a points meet final – the trans flipped a sprag, and he got around me with a 6.08
CORTLAND, OHIO • '05 getting the body mounted at John and Ryan Sheridan's shop – I "helped"
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 45-minute wait after somebody oiled the track right in front of us – gives the driver a lot of time to think
READING • '01 Gary Hanshe couldn't make it to the track, so my mom filled in for him backing me up from the burnout - people loved it
READING • '04 against Uncle Frank, sometimes your quickest run and best light of the year still aren't enough, like here - me: 5.67, him: 5.55
MORGANVILLE • '02 Jay's come a long way from the day he picked up Manzo's four-year-old car and loaded it in brother Jimmy Blake's trailer
CHICAGO • '06 ran the whole 2006 season with the body in primer – engine and clutch parts always came first
NORWALK • '06 the only time I match raced - went to Norwalk to shake down the new Monte Carlo, they were having a UDRA race that night, and we went three rounds
POMONA, CALIFORNIA • '98 final round of the Media Challenge against Jason Baffrey - first race I ever won
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 by far the best shot of the Camaro – sent by a fan
INDIANAPOLIS • '01 raced one of my all-time heroes, Bob Newberry, first round at my first Indy – never saw him until high gear, then he went right by me
READING • '04 needless to say, my chances of winning always went way up when my dad was there and I didn't have to be my own crew chief
COLUMBUS • '02 old friends from high school and college were in the stands for this qualifying lap against Newberry – 5.82
CHICAGO • '07 5.73 against Wayne Butler in qualifying – felt like a .60-something
NORWALK • '98 Carl Ruth and Mike Smigielski called me in L.A. on a Wednesday, and I was driving their car at the IHRA World Nationals that Friday
JACKSONVILLE • '03 going all the way to Florida to pick up the body and delivering it to Virginia to be mounted actually seemed like a pretty good idea at one point
INDIANAPOLIS • '07 last run in the Monte Carlo – Jay's car, with Dave Ray driving, was in the other lane, and we both ran the same e.t.: 5.68
NORWALK • '07 no one cares more about whether parachutes come out than moms, and with my mom on the job, they always did
COLUMBUS • '04 second time out – threw a bunch of clutch at it for this run and it didn't quite make it
COLUMBUS • '02 coasting to a stop alongside Tate Branch, the first guy I ever raced in NHRA competition back in 2000
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 you don't get very far in eliminations at a Division 1 event before this guy's pulling up next to you in the lanes
CHICAGO • '06 first run in more than a year and first in the Monte Carlo – 5.87
NORWALK • '07 qualifying against Mike Bell – 5.69, quickest of the season to that point
ENGLISHTOWN • '03 our only qualifying attempt at this race and the first official run for Follow A Dream – 5.73 for the number 4 spot
COLUMBUS • '04 Ron Rummel (left) and Gary Hanshe dropped everything to do the clutch for me at this divisional meet
GAINESVILLE • '02 about to be the 16th straight driver to fall to Manzo in a national event final, a record for any category until the streak of 20-some in a row that he's on right now
WEST LEBANON, NEW YORK • '03 burnout before first round against Mickey Ferro - 2/10,000ths of a second in the lights, the closest Alcohol Funny Car race ever at the time
NORWALK • '07 my best (and only) help the last few years came from Tyler Doyle, a kid from my hometown who has a lot of mechanical ability
BRISTOL • '95 6.12 on my sixth run in a Funny Car for the number 1 spot
INDIANAPOLIS • '07 the TVR staff: Tyler, my dad, and me – sometimes, just Tyler and me
COLUMBUS • '03 the only run I made in Jay's car without crew chief Tom Howell there – he was delayed getting out of Boston and had to tune the car over the phone
READING • '04 out the back door against my friend Eric Lourie at the Keystone Nationals
HOUSTON • '00 one day you don't have a ride and haven't raced in years, the next you're flying to Texas to drive a nationally competitive car – 5.80-flat was pretty good back then
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 Newberry, Manzo, Lance Larsen, Scott Palmer, Brian Corradi, and a bunch of people were up there for my first run in my brand-new car - looks like they were a little nervous, too
READING • '01 seven-hundredths came off my career best with a 5.70 on this run, side-by-side with Steve Harker's identical time
INDIANAPOLIS • '03 went from not qualified to right in the middle of the field in the last-ditch session with this engine – Tommy and the guys worked 'round the clock to build it after the one in the car at Cecil County blew up and caught fire
CHICAGO • '07 5.83 off the trailer – needed a little more counterweight for a starting line that good
READING • '04 Sunday morning before second round at the Keystones
INDIANAPOLIS • '03 running Newberry during qualifying – we made the field but couldn't come back for only the second rainout in the 49-year history of the U.S. Nationals
NORWALK • '07 always considered Norwalk a home track – everybody loves racing there
COLUMBUS • '06 final round, best light ever, threw the belt at 100 feet but won anyway when Danny Townsend crashed
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 just turned off the track after a 5.75 in U.S. Nationals qualifying – number 8 at the time
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 we were still finishing the car at the track, so T.J. took on this last-minute task – he was a perfect choice, the most particular person I know
BRISTOL • '01 raced at Bristol twice and got runner-up both times – this was the NHRA event with Jeff and Bonnie McGaffic's car
WADSWORTH • '04 looks almost done, but the car's still months away from its debut at the 50th U.S. Nationals
NORWALK • '07 planned half-track shutoff on the first run of the year
COLUMBUS • '04 Harry Rydbom, who crewed for my dad in the '80s, was a lot of help during my abbreviated 2004 and 2005 "seasons"
MEMPHIS • '00 qualified 4th at my first national event and got past Tate Branch and Jay Payne
WADSWORTH • '06 always fired it up at the shop before taking off for a race – I like to be ready when I get there
WADSWORTH • '04 right after the Camaro came back from Scotty Palmer's paint shop in Missouri – he even painted defoggers in the rear window
INDIANAPOLIS • '06 you always want the guy bringing you up to the line to be somebody who's been there and knows what it's like, and my dad's done it all
READING • '03 the puke tank blew up behind my head before the semi's at Cecil County, so Jay had me wear my helmet whenever we warmed up the car from then on
LAS VEGAS • '09 Jay helped unload the car for the AAPEX show in Vegas. He always directs everything – half the time, you'd never know he can't see
NUMIDIA, PENNSYLVANIA • '03 5.88 in qualifying against Manzo - too bad this wasn't eliminations
READING • '02 leaving the pits for TVR's first ever national event round – we won
WADSWORTH • '04 1 or 2 in the morning, done for the day
READING • '03 last race with Jay before I started my own team – good outing: semi's
CHICAGO • '06 headed to the line to race Manzo first round - that's who you get when you qualify 16th
CHICAGO • '00 second run ever in NHRA competition – shook so hard, the chutes fell out
INDIANAPOLIS • '01 back when Alcohol Funny Cars were called Federal-Mogul Funny Cars
NORWALK • '07 best-looking ride I ever had – 'til now
BRISTOL • '95 made it to the line just in time to race Dennis Bedrosian in the semi's – had to get strapped in back in the pits
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 Manzo noticed something wrong with the brakes on the car's initial run and came over to tell me exactly how to set up a dual master cylinder
READING • '04 third race as an owner, making progress – 5.89 the run before this, 5.82 here against Chris Brown, 5.75 in the first round, and 5.67 in the second
CINCINNATI • '01 Cheeseman's car got into the 1,000-foot cone on this run and blew a tire, shredding the left rear quarterpanel and sending him into my lane as we were going across the finish line – Cincinnati's not where you want that happening
CHICAGO • '06 wheels-up launch in qualifying – everybody's aggressive at Route 66 Raceway
GAINESVILLE • '01 5.90 in Saturday qualifying for the number 5 position
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA • '99 6.23 to 6.15 over Melinda Green at the IHRA Winternationals
ATLANTA • '05 last full run on the Camaro – my friend Greg Elliott was in the other lane
INDIANAPOLIS • '07 warm-up before last-shot qualifying Sunday morning – changed trans ratios and rebuilt the engine overnight, and made the quickest run of the year, 5.68
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 getting fitted for the car right before we went up to the lanes for its first run ever
NUMIDIA • '03 driving for Jay's team in 2003 was the most fun I've ever had racing
BUDDS CREEK • '96 second round against Jim Lape – he could have won the IHRA championship that year
ATCO, NEW JERSEY • '03 had to borrow a trans from Newberry for the first round, and the ratio was too low - hiked the front end and smoked the tires like a fuel car
READING • '01 hi mom!
INDIANAPOLIS • '04 never had a chance to test, so the Camaro's first runs came at Indy – a 5.89 here got us in for a while
DARLINGTON • '99 this thing came flying off the chassis in the lights that night and lifted the whole car five feet off the ground just past the finish line – qualified on the run with a 6.33
GAINESVILLE • '02 semifinal single at the Gatornationals
INDIANAPOLIS • '07 last time out – 5.72 on this run, then a 5.71, another 5.71, and a 5.68