 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Rapid Response Pat Davidson comes
off as a normal guy. The Upton, Massachusetts resident has a nice home, in
nice neighborhood; there’s really nothing to tip off the causal observer
to what Pat does for a living.
Davidson is the
owner, builder, and pilot of the world’s first and only jet-powered
ambulance. Sporting a stock International cab and a massive J-79 jet
engine where patients would normally ride, the Under Pressure jet
ambulance demands attention, even when sitting still. “All of this really
started in 1991 when I finally committed to becoming a jet racer,”
Davidson said. “I have wanted to race for a living since I was about six
years old. I had been bracket racing and running Super Comp in Division 1
but I just didn’t have the budget to compete with the top runners.” Davidson contacted
jet racing legend Dick Rosberg and purchased his “Fighting Irish”
jet-powered Funny Car. Rosberg taught Pat how to drive the car and
imparted a lot of sage advice about the business of racing jets. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t “That was a great
car. I switched bodies in 1992 and ran the car until I had a wreck in
Epping, NH during the 1995 season. I had been having some parachute
problems and decided to change the mounting points,” Davidson explained.
“When I pulled the chute after a run, it snagged on something and
wheeled me into the wall. It was a tough thing, because I really liked
that car. The worst part of the deal was that I still had dates left to
make that season.”
Davidson pooled all
of his resources over the following winter and repaired the car himself,
which has been the hallmark of his career to this point. He relies on his
own two hands to build, maintain, and repair his vehicles. After a
successful 1996 and 1996 season in the repaired flopper, he sold it. “I actually sold
that car to a guy in France named Bob Feeler. They are still racing that
car today, which is pretty cool,” Davidson said. The car has been
modified with the addition of a passenger seat. The current owners
actually take people for rides in the car. Talk about an e-ticket
experience! a
d v e r t i s e m e n t His French connection
is not the only international experience Davidson has. “I have had the
chance to see some interesting places in my career. In 1998, I traveled
down to Brazil with a group of racers to put on an exhibition in Curitiba,
the home town of late Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna. Guys like Brooks
Brown, Kirk Kuhns and Mike Smith (son of Paul Smith) were down there. The
crowds were absolutely enormous and the people really loved the show.
Brooks Brown actually met his current wife on that trip. We all had a
great time on that voyage.”
At that point in
time, however, aside from doing some occasional fill-in appearances for
the Hanna family, Davidson was not driving full time. He decided to open a
transmission and machine shop, which he maintained for four years before
the itch to return to the track got the best of him. He eventually sold
the machining end of the business to Paul Krause and liquidated the rest
of his assets. “I had been toying
with the idea of a jet fire truck since the late 1990s, but I found out
that someone already had one out there. Incidentally, I own that truck
now,” Davidson said. “I then decided to go with an ambulance because
it was unique and would make a great platform for one of these
vehicles.” Construction began in
late 1999 and was finally completed in 2004. In the meantime Davidson had
been driving Marion Carranca’s “Phantom” Jet Funny Car. Few jet
drivers can say they have performed in as many vehicles as Davidson, whose
personal list currently includes 10 different cars.
During the
ambulance’s four-year construction period, Davidson hand-built
everything on the truck. The chassis is his own design and every tube was
welded by his own two hands. “The truck weighs in at about 7,000 lbs.
The cab is a stock steel International unit. We had some trouble settling
on a nose for the truck and actually tried three different ones before we
found the one we liked, which is from an 8100 series big rig,” Davidson
said. “I built everything around the cab really. The box on the rear of
the truck was all hand-built, and that posed some problems during my early
runs, because the air pressure was wrong and it sucked the chutes back
into the box instead of letting them blossom out.” The truck made its
first passes down the track at Atco, New Jersey, and they weren’t
picture perfect. “We had a big problem with the afterburner not
lighting. That is really bad news for a jet performer because the fire
show is such a big part of what we do. I had to upgrade my fuel system to
make sure the burner was going to work. I was able to burn the wall that
they have behind the starting line though. I’m not sure how happy they
were with me about that one,” said Davidson. a
d v e r t i s e m e n t After the early
teething problems, however, the ambulance’s popularity skyrocketed.
Davidson has performed at a number of IHRA national events as well as many
“Night of Fire” events across the country and in Canada. “The best
run the truck has made so far is a 7.60 at 205 mph. The truck does have
more performance in it, but I want to increase it slowly and safely. Right
now, the truck really puts on a good show for the crowd,” Davidson said.
“As a racer it is tough to say that. I always want to go faster and push
the performance limits, but you have to do it in a smart way.
International did not design these trucks to go 200 mph so I am already
pushing it. I just want to make sure I do it the right way.”
Although driving the
jet truck is a blast, it is not exactly the easiest way to make a living
and Davidson acknowledges that. “It’s a lot harder to do this than to
go to a regular job every day, but I love it. I just want to be able to
continue to do this and grow in this industry. My goals aren’t too
lofty. I just want to support my family by performing in this truck.” As he mentioned
before, Davidson recently purchased a jet fire truck from Shannen Seydel.
The truck has a gorgeous 1940 Ford cab with a custom-built fire truck body
and two Rolls Royce Viper engines. Not to mention a drivers’ compartment
with a full, and somewhat staggering, compliment of switches, gauges, and
levers. “I was told about the truck being for sale in August and I
jumped on the chance to purchase it. I am not sure yet what I’m going to
do with it next season. I can’t fit in it, so I will need to find
someone to drive it if we decide to put it on the track. I like the idea
of having my own jet-powered fire department; that’s just cool to say!
The truck is way too nice to just have here in the shop, so we are going
to work really hard on a plan to run it next season. We’ll see what
happens over the winter,” Davidson said. Pat Davidson exhibits
the kind of heart and soul that permeates all genres of drag racing. He is
a self-made guy. His truck is an extension of himself and his abilities.
He knows every nut, bolt and piece of pipe that comprises the Under
Pressure Jet Ambulance and his pride shows. “If I didn’t build all of
my own stuff and handle all the aspects of this operation I would not be
able to do this for a living,” he said.
Although life on the
road may be more exciting than counting beans for a living, there are some
pitfalls out there as well. “The price of fuel is really crippling a lot
of us now. Our price for a show remains the same but our costs have been
rising so quickly that it has not kept up. No one loves doing this more
than I do. I just hope that the fuel situation turns around and we can get
back down to somewhere near the prices we had before,” Davidson said. A lot of people in
the United States can claim that their office is the cab of a truck. Not
many can claim that their truck is powered by an engine from a jet plane.
Pat Davidson is one of the few that can say both of those things with
certainty. It is always interesting to meet someone who has set their mind
on a goal and never deviated from the path to success. The drag racing
history books are filled with those that gave it their best shot and faded
away. Pat Davidson gave it his best shot and continues to light up the
night sky at race tracks across America. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
© Competitionplus 2005
|
|