The powerful roar of the afterburner drowned out the high-pitched whine of the turbine as Mark Stevens hit the throttle sending the Redstone entry down the track during the July 2 Jet Car Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
Piloting jet-powered drag racers isn't anything new to the Wheat Ridge man.
"My dad bought a jet funny car when I was still in junior high school," Stevens said. "I learned to work on the car, did some practice driving and got licensed at 15 to drive and race a jet funny car. So, I guess I have been involved in jet-powered dragsters for about 35 years now."
The fun driving the car has kept him interested.
"There is no way to describe what it is like coming off the starting line," he said. "It is such a rush. The car launched at 4.5 times the force of gravity and covers 60 feet in less than a second."
The jet cars pull to the staging area and fire up the engine. A huge plume of white smoke erupts from the tail pipe. The cars come to the starting line, the drivers rev up the engines then light off the afterburner so, when the green light comes on, the car rockets down the track with flame shooting out of the tailpipe.
It is a side-by-side race from a standing start. Both cars roar off the line and head down the track to the finish line a quarter mile away. Typically, a jet car covers the quarter mile in about five seconds --; the dragster is traveling about 270 to 280 miles an hour as it crosses the finish line.
The jet car Stevens drives is sponsored and maintained by Redstone College in Broomfield.
Redstone College offers classes to train technicians for jobs in the aviation, energy and electronic fields. Course plans include class study in theory as well as hands-on practice to develop the needed skills for the career field.
"I love driving the car," said Stevens, a Wheat Ridge High School graduate. "But I think the most fun for me is being in the pits talking to the fans and talking to people about the potential the training they will receive at Redstone can change their lives. It is a plus for us that the engine in the car ties into what we teach at Redstone, so fans can see that engine in action."
The Redstone College jet dragster is powered by a J-85 engine, the same engine used in the Talon fighter plane.
Fans gathered around the jet car in the pits and Casey Rowe, Redstone veteran's coordinator, talked about the vehicle.
"This two-stage turbine jet engine produces about 9,000 pounds of thrust," he told the fans. "To put that in perspective, if we stood the car vertically, the engine power would send it straight up into the air."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Wheat-Ridge-man-is-a-part-of-the-jet-set,226751
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