During his 9-5 workday, Chris Raschke, the Director of Sales and Marketing for ARP, helps his customers go as fast as possible. Then, when the proverbial whistle blows at the end of the day, Raschke assumes the role of a speed demon.
Well, he’s not exactly a speed demon, but he does drive one, and he loves to go fast.
For the last few years, Raschke has driven George Poteet’s Speed Demon E/Fuel Blown Streamliner. But recently, Raschke was invited to drive Wayne Jesel’s B/Blown Fuel Modified pickup, and when the experience was complete, they claimed an SCTA El Mirage series championship and a new record.
Raschke and Jesel had talked for a while about teaming up, going back as far as 2006, but this same year, Bonneville icon George Poteet approached him about working on the crew for his famous Speed Demon streamliner. It was an opportunity Raschke couldn’t turn down.
“George Poteet asked a good friend of mine, Steve Watt, at Maxwell Industries, to crew on the car. Kenny Duttweiler did the engines for it. And when Steve asked me, ‘If I’d like to do that, I wasn’t dare going to turn it down.”
Raschke loves the thrill of speed, whether it is behind the wheel or standing behind it. He’d dabbled in drag racing with a Super Comp car and even turned left in the mini-stockers close to his Ventura, CA. home.
He was as immersed as one could be for turning wrenches on such a famous car.
After a while, his work ethic and relentless drive caught the eye of Poteet, who then offered him a chance to drive the streamliner.
“I loved everything about Bonneville, but as soon as he gave me the chance to drive, it took my passion to another level,” Raschke said.
Raschke earned his Bonneville driving credentials behind the wheel of the famous 369 Roadster. It was the White Goose Bar, Greg Waters, and team who requested he license in their car.
“That’s just another thing that made me so more excited and passionate about the salt is the people that they’re willing to let you drive their race car and not just any race car,” Raschke said. “One of the best Roadsters out there.”
Raschke’s driving career began to gain steam as Jesel returned to offer him an opportunity to drive the truck and he earned the first of the momentous hats, gaining a red hat for going 200 miles per hour.
Little did he know it would be the first of many hats collected along the way.
“When George asked me to drive the car, I really didn’t believe it,” Raschke admitted. “But when we showed up at the track, he took me aside, and we drove for around four hours. He told me everything that he thought I should know about driving that car. Then, we went out and got in it and I licensed it during my first 300 mile-hour pass. Then I went back out and I ran 391 with a broken engine, kicked some rods out of it, but that was pretty exciting.”
Most recently, Raschke picked up the 12th Hot Rod trophy for the Speed Demon team. He also ran his best speed of 459.734.
When Raschke concluded his latest Bonneville experience, one affected by rain and a shortened course on which he ran only 333 miles per hour, Jesel came calling again.
“Wayne up to me and said, ‘I’m going to retire that truck,” Raschke said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s really too bad because it’s such a great truck; I wonder what else we could do? If you think you want to run El Mirage, the dirt, the dry lake bed, he goes, ‘I’d like to go out there and try to win a championship.”
Jesel entrusted Raschke to prepare the truck housed in one of ARP’s climate-controlled shops. The two and their crew would meet ahead of events to prepare the truck. And sometimes, they’d just meet at the event.
They first ran the truck at a course in Arkansas,
“That was the first time I’d ever done that,” Raschke recalled. “We set a record there. From there, we came to California, and we started running the first event. We set a record at that event, and it’s a six-event season. We set records at each event.”
Jesel has had the truck for 19 years, and has run it in multiple configurations. It has run everything from a twin-turbo 390-inch engine to a naturally aspirated 304. The late Danny Jesel’s Equal-Eight engine has made its way between the fenders before.
“The main thing with the Jesel truck is Wayne always has a plan,” Raschke explained. “When you show up the racetrack, he says, ‘This is what we’re going to run. This is what we’re going to do.”
“And 90% of the time it works out.”
Rascke drove the truck in the twin-turbocharged, C/Blown Fuel configuration and set the record at 232 miles per hour.
Raschke said he plans to return to the Speed Demon cockpit next season where he hopes to earn those accolades Poteet was focused on before his passing. He’s already earned the black hat for a 400 mph run. He’s missing the blue hat for a 300 mile per hour record.
This time, they are bringing a 256-inch engine to go for the E/Blown Fuel Streamliner record.
“Hopefully, we can get the E-record somewhere in the 390 to 420 mile-an-hour range,” Raschke said.
And for Raschke, who interacts daily with drag racing, stock car, and Formula 1 racing, his time on the salt flats and other timing organizations has provided an arena of his own.
“It is very gratifying,” Raschke said. “When you are one-to-one with the car, there is no feeling like that. I love the sensation of speed and going fast, and when you throw in what we do at ARP to help others achieve their dreams, it’s well beyond gratifying. It’s the time of your life, and right now, I’m having it.”
