6/9/2017
RacinBoys
Lucas Oil Top Fuel Hydro champ Sanders ready to take on Lake Lucas
By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- The fastest man on water says driving a Top Fuel Hydro drag boat is not for everyone.
"It's like everything slows down the faster I go," Bryan Sanders said. "I know that not everyone is built that way."
Sanders, who piloted the Tommy Thompson-owned Nitrochondriac to a 270 miles-per-hour run earlier this year, looks to make it three wins in three starts on the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series this weekend. The 6th annual John Haas Memorial Drag Boat Classic starts a three-day run on Friday at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland.
"We're ready, man," Sanders said of the trip to Lake Lucas. "We've had a big, long break since the last race and we are ready to go racing again. We love coming to Wheatland. That's our premier track."
Sanders won the Haas Memorial en route to his first Top Fuel Hydro series championship in 2016. The Nitrochondriac team hasn't missed a beat with wins in Arizona at Chandler's Valley of the Sun Spring Nationals and Parker's Colorado River Challenge.
His 270.38 mph clocking during a 3.445-second run at the Colorado River Challenge was one of the fastest ever on water. The fastest pass in history remains the 274.95 mph that Scott Lumbert ran two years ago in the Spirit of Texas boat.
Sanders said that all-time speed record is something he would like to achieve.
"Is there more to come from it? Yeah there's more to come," Sanders said earlier this week in a telephone interview from his Houston, Texas home. "We're not really leaning on it hard and it's running the numbers it's running. It can do more, for sure.
"I think 275 is very reachable and very do-able. I think we can make that happen. As we learn more in the progression of the boat and if we really wanted to step on it ... it's possible this thing could run 280."
Of course, it would take a perfect combination of water, wind, temperature and performance for that to happen.
"It depends on where you are for safety and shutdown," Sanders said. "When you get these speeds, this thing doesn't want to stop. Second thing is water conditions, meaning temperature of the water. The colder the water, the faster this thing wants to go. So you go to a place like Augusta (Georgia) or Parker (Arizona) where the water is cold, that's where you get your big numbers from. Phoenix is pretty much in the middle.
"You go to hot tracks and you're not going after the miles per hour as hard as you are the ET (elapsed time). We went to a hot track in Marble Falls (Texas) and we broke the ET record."
Sanders credits crew chief Todd Haas and owner Thompson for the results and for putting together a championship team. Haas came over to boat racing a year ago after several years working in NHRA drag racing on pavement with drivers such as Tony Schumacher and Cruz Pedregon.
"He made a big difference. He brought a lot of knowledge in technology with him over from NHRA, which he'd been with a long time," Sanders said. "He's an old boat racer so he knows the boats and bringing the technology (from NHRA) ... the latest and greatest ... he knows the boats. He knows how to apply it."
Sanders is a second-generation drag-boat racer. His dad drove Top Alcohol Flats for several years, but before Bryan began racing boats he drove NHRA turbocharged car-tire drag bikes.
"Then I boat one boat and then another," he said. "Now here I am, running Top-Fuel. It just progressed."
Asked to describe the sensation inside the capsule when the Top Fuel fires off the line and reaches 250 miles-per-hour you could almost envision Sanders smiling over the telephone.
"I tell you, I love it," he said. "I always get that little nerve-wracking deal right before I go. Who wouldn't? When they close that capsule, it's game on.
"The best sensation for me is when you throw the parachutes out and everything has done what it's supposed to do, that's when you take your breath. There's nothing quite like it."
Action in the Haas Memorial begins on Friday with the opening rounds of qualifying in both the pro and sportsman divisions. Saturday includes a doubleheader with racing both on Lake Lucas during the day and the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series on the dirt track at night. Drag boat weekend concludes on Sunday.
Schedule/ticket prices for the weekend:
John Haas Memorial Drag Boat Classic
(Friday schedule)
7 a.m. - Registration Opens
8 a.m. - Spectator Gates Open
9 a.m. - Round 1 Qualifying Sportsman Session
10:30 a.m. - Round 1 Qualifying Pro Session
12:30 p.m. - Round 2 Qualifying Sportsman Session
2 p.m. - Round 2 Qualifying Pro Session
(Ticket prices)
Age 6 and up GA/Pit Pass Combo-$10
5 and Under GA/Pit Pass Combo-FREE
Adult 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$50
Seniors (62 and up)/Military 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$44
Youth Ages (6-15) 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$20
All tickets include access to Drag Boat pit area
(Saturday schedule)
7 a.m. - Registration Opens
8 a.m. - Spectator Gates Open
9 a.m. - Round 1 Qualifying Sportsman Session
10:30 a.m. - Round 1 Qualifying Pro Session
12:30 p.m. - Round 2 Qualifying Sportsman Session
2 p.m. - Round 2 Qualifying Pro Session
(Ticket prices)
Adults GA/Pit Pass Combo (16 and up) $25
Seniors (62 and up)/Military GA/Pit Pass Combo (62 and up) $22
Youth GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 6 to 15) $10
Kids GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 5 and under) FREE
Family Pass GA/Pit Pass Combo $50 Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 3 Kids Ages (6-15)
Adult 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$50
Seniors (62 and up)/Military 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$44
Youth Ages (6-15) 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$20
All tickets include access to Drag Boat pit area.
(Sunday schedule)
8 a.m. - Spectator Gates Open
9 a.m. - Round 1 Qualifying Sportsman Session
9:30 a.m.- Round 1 Eliminations (TFH, TAH, TAF)
10:30 a.m. - Round 1 Eliminations (QE, PE, TE, ME, SE, RR, PWC, JR)
12:30 p.m. - Round 2 Eliminations (PM, PO)
1 p.m. - Round 2 Eliminations (TFH, TAH, TAF)
1:30 p.m. - Round 2 Eliminations (QE, PE, TE, ME, SE, RR, PWC, JR)
2:30 p.m. - Round 3 Eliminations (PM, PO)
2:45 p.m. - Round 3 Eliminations (JR, PWC, RR, SE, ME, TE, PE, QE)
3 p.m. - Final Round Eliminations All Classes
(Ticket prices)
Adults GA/Pit Pass Combo (16 and up) $25
Seniors (62 and up)/Military GA/Pit Pass Combo (62 and up) $22
Youth GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 6 to 15) $10
Kids GA/Pit Pass Combo (age 5 and under) FREE
Family Pass GA/Pit Pass Combo $50 Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 3 Kids Ages (6-15)
Adult 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$50
Seniors (62 and Up)/Military 3-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$44
Youth Ages (6-15) 2-Day GA/Pit Pass Combo-$20
All tickets include access to Drag Boat pit area.
On the dirt track:
(Saturday schedule)
Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:35.
(Tickets)
Adults (16 and up) $12
Seniors (62 and up)/Military $9
Youth (6-15) $5
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family Pass $25
Pit Pass $30
(All Saturday Drag Boat tickets plus three-day drag boat passes include admission to dirt-track races)
For ticket information on all dirt-track, drag-boat or off-road events contact admission director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at Nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com.
For complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived stories, ticket info and the 2017 racing schedule, visit http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Information including schedules, season results and archived stories on the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series can be found at http://www.LucasOilDragBoats.com.
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.
Click http://www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
In addition, fans can get social with Lucas Oil Speedway by following @LucasSpeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilSpeedway and on http://www.youtube.com/LucasOilSpeedway.
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
