Question: What is green and goes 160 MPH in less than the length of a football field?
I have no idea how Scott got into this unbelievable sport, way back when, but I would imagine it went something like this:
Scott: “Hey Carl, have you ever wondered how fast you can cover 300 feet?”
Carl: “Nope, why do you ask?”
Scott: “Well, I think I can do it in less than 3 seconds.”
Carl: “What! Are you out of your mind? Maybe you if you had an F-16 Tom Cat, doing a flyby. Do you have one?”
Scott: “You know I don’t have one!”
Carl: “Well then, I guess it is not possible then.”
Scott: “Well I think it is.”
Carl: “Have you been hit on the head again? Maybe you could do it if you got back a mile or so in a Corvette and started once you hit 100 MPH?”
Scott: “Nah, I was thinking we would do this from a standing start.”
Carl: “Well, I guess you would need to borrow an NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car from Jim Dunn.”
Scott: “Nah, that would be too easy on pavement. I was thinking of doing it in the dirt.”
Carl: “WHAT!? Now I know you were hit on the head! On dirt? You are outta your mind.”
Scott: “Yeah, you are right, dirt would be too easy, let’s do it in SAND!”
Carl: “Ok buddy, just lie down here on this couch, and put this cold cloth on your forehead and it will all be alright. Now look at this ink spot on this card and tell me what you see?”
Scott: “Stop with all that! I feel fine, now where can I find a motor... a very big motor?”
As I laster learned, Scott built his first sand jeep “Thumper”, a 1974 CJ-5 Jeep with the help of his dad, George “Pops” Whipple, while still in his teens. After being introduced to organized sand drag racing in the late 1980s, Scott fell in love with the sand track and the need for speed. Scott steadily moved up through the various racing classifications – all the time pursuing his dream of one day driving with some of the top fuel racing idols he had always looked up to. That dream came true in 2002, when Scott made his first pass down the track behind the wheel of the Canidae Pet Foods 6000 Horsepower Top Fuel Sand Dragster. The dream that began in his teens became reality when Scott joined many of those racing idols in the top echelon of sand drag racing, competing as one of the world’s top fuel sand.
Over the years, Scott and the
CANIDAE Racing Top Fuel Team have set numerous world records for both speed and ET and as defending 2008 NSDA (National Sand Drag Association) season champion continue to be a dominant force on the dirt track today.
Fast-forward to today. Scott is the man to beat on the NSDA circuit and there is a good reason for that... HE IS FAST! Scott invited me and my son to watch the final round of the Winter Nationals in Yuma, AZ this past Sunday to witness this intense sport. If you have ever been to a big time drag race at the local drag strip you know the impressiveness of these cars. Those drivers are constantly trying to figure out how not to spin the tires so they can make it down the track and there the drivers are on a clean, hard, smooth patch of concrete! These sand drag cars have to launch in a fine, soft, loamy substance and somehow find something that resembles traction. As it turns out, they are so good at finding this traction; they pull the front wheels off the ground for almost half the track! Their huge Goodyear tires with paddles bolted on, in what I would assume to be some strategic fashion, throw dirt 200 feet behind the car and 75 feet in the air. It is amazing! But even more amazing is the fact that these lunatics cover the entire 300 foot track in less than 2.40 seconds from a standing start! So the next time you hear the sand drags are coming to town, do yourself a favor, grab your buddies, grab your family, and grab the neighbors and head down to the sand drags. You won’t be disappointed! Oh yeah, tell Scott, that I said “Hi.” He will not be hard to miss; he is the guy driving the green blur.
Jason Cobb
CANIDAE Pet Foods Top Fuel Team will defend their world record and NSDA championship title at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex and the 2010 Walt's RV Summer Nationals.
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