DIEHL PUTS EXPLOSIONS BEHIND HIM; RACING BRISTOL
Wed, 2010-06-16 14:00
A downtrodden Jeff Diehl exited the remains of his exploded Funny Car, the look on his face telling the story. His words confirmed the disappointment.
“I gotta go home, I’m out,” he told ESPN2 in an interview after the disaster at Rt 66 Dragway.
No one would have blamed the independent racer for throwing in the towel considering this was his second major, body-crunching accident in 2010. Just nine races earlier in Concord, NC, Diehl launched a body skyward during qualifying at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
This time, a broken header forced the car into a massive wheelstand, ignited the engine and the imbalance of exhaust forced Diehl into the retaining wall.
A downtrodden Jeff Diehl exited the remains of his exploded Funny Car, the look on his face telling the story. His words confirmed the disappointment.
“I gotta go home, I’m out,” he told ESPN2 in an interview after the disaster at Rt 66 Dragway.
No one would have blamed the independent racer for throwing in the towel considering this was his second major, body-crunching accident in 2010. Just nine races earlier in Concord, NC, Diehl launched a body skyward during qualifying at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
This time, a broken header forced the car into a massive wheelstand, ignited the engine and the imbalance of exhaust forced Diehl into the retaining wall.Diehl has learned how important a network of friends can be. Thanks to their assistance, he’ll race in this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
“I’m using the same body that blew up in Charlotte,” said Diehl. “I repaired it and gave it to Mike at Rimz One to hang up in his shop, so he returned it to put back on my car. We even got the tin and stuff anodized, so it’s a race car right now and not something we threw together.”
Richard Hartman, a former Funny Car racer turned Top Fuel crew chief, provided access to his Hartman Machine Works shop and veteran chassis builder J. Ed Horton performed a front-half job on the crunched chassis. Dustin Gatliff and Joey Junta sorted the team’s racing inventory and assembled the race car after the new front-half was complete. Diehl himself crafted new tin for his hot rod.
Diehl also learned just how important encouragement from family and friends can be to an independent nitro racer chasing a dream.
“My wife, Leeza, told me that if I came home, I wasn’t going to fix it,” said Diehl. “I stayed with the car where I had nothing to do except work. With J-Ed welding on it during his work hours and Dustin and Joey with me all the time, it’s amazing how much we got done in a week.
“I couldn’t have done this without the people who support our team. Rimz One Wheels, Tires & Accessories was with us the whole way. Lescure Company is going to help us out on the Western Swing, and knowing that was a huge motivator to get back out there. Pirana Z Apparel is going to come back on board with us, too.”
“I gotta go home, I’m out,” he told ESPN2 in an interview after the disaster at Rt 66 Dragway.
No one would have blamed the independent racer for throwing in the towel considering this was his second major, body-crunching accident in 2010. Just nine races earlier in Concord, NC, Diehl launched a body skyward during qualifying at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
This time, a broken header forced the car into a massive wheelstand, ignited the engine and the imbalance of exhaust forced Diehl into the retaining wall.
A downtrodden Jeff Diehl exited the remains of his exploded Funny Car, the look on his face telling the story. His words confirmed the disappointment.
“I gotta go home, I’m out,” he told ESPN2 in an interview after the disaster at Rt 66 Dragway.No one would have blamed the independent racer for throwing in the towel considering this was his second major, body-crunching accident in 2010. Just nine races earlier in Concord, NC, Diehl launched a body skyward during qualifying at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
This time, a broken header forced the car into a massive wheelstand, ignited the engine and the imbalance of exhaust forced Diehl into the retaining wall.Diehl has learned how important a network of friends can be. Thanks to their assistance, he’ll race in this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
“I’m using the same body that blew up in Charlotte,” said Diehl. “I repaired it and gave it to Mike at Rimz One to hang up in his shop, so he returned it to put back on my car. We even got the tin and stuff anodized, so it’s a race car right now and not something we threw together.”
Richard Hartman, a former Funny Car racer turned Top Fuel crew chief, provided access to his Hartman Machine Works shop and veteran chassis builder J. Ed Horton performed a front-half job on the crunched chassis. Dustin Gatliff and Joey Junta sorted the team’s racing inventory and assembled the race car after the new front-half was complete. Diehl himself crafted new tin for his hot rod.
Diehl also learned just how important encouragement from family and friends can be to an independent nitro racer chasing a dream.
“My wife, Leeza, told me that if I came home, I wasn’t going to fix it,” said Diehl. “I stayed with the car where I had nothing to do except work. With J-Ed welding on it during his work hours and Dustin and Joey with me all the time, it’s amazing how much we got done in a week.
“I couldn’t have done this without the people who support our team. Rimz One Wheels, Tires & Accessories was with us the whole way. Lescure Company is going to help us out on the Western Swing, and knowing that was a huge motivator to get back out there. Pirana Z Apparel is going to come back on board with us, too.”
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