[Jeff Higgins]

O.k., so it controls a bypass that is a part of the pump itself? That sounds like a pretty darn simple and obvious solution. Of course with the advantage of purpose-built components available today, I guess there is no reason why they couldn't. I can't even remember what pump they ran way back when, but I'm pretty sure is was rather crudely adapted from something else. Like a farm implement or something...

Those components today are simply amazing. The TFX block is so strong I hear they can actually throw a rod or even break a crank inside of one and still run that block on the next pass. The old cast Donovan and Keith Black blocks would split wide open. The old Lenco two speeds would come apart pretty regularly, as would the Halibrand quick change rear ends. They busted up all of that stuff all of the time. Now you never see a tranny or rear end let go, with over double the power going through them.

Heh heh heh... I ran that simulator too, when they had it up here in Seattle. I never did finish a pass that I actually stayed on the gas. I figured it was rigged just to impress us, but I later heard it is actually quite realistic.

While all the old guys with the funny car are long gone, one guy in our plaster and plastic tooling shop has an old fuel altered. It's the old Nanook. He runs exhibitions with it; all that nostalgia drag stuff that's so big now. I was whining about how hard that Army simulator was to drive when I was out in the shop one day. I didn't see him at the races, but of course he was there. The other guys that were with him said he nailed every pass on the simulator, where the rest of them fared about like us. Gino said is was pretty darn realistic.