Bubba Smoothe's Blog

OK I'm back

2008-07-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry sorry as my Argentina sweetheart would say. I have been away for awhile. Its been a month but we have just been busy and i have neglected the bloggers that are addicted to the followings of Bubba Smoothe.

First to Connie Kalitta and family. I mourn the loss of your son Scott. I can not imagine what you have been through.

With that said we have been busy as heck buying race cars , six pack of dragsters motors by the dozen and flying all over the country racing and taking in the sights of Jackson Hole and Yellowstone while looking over Pugent Sound as well. People take a break and travel occasionally we have a beautiful country still to see. Hopefully Wes will dawn the pages of DI with some of the team Nitro Fish travels. I wil lbe back up and running real soon.

The Moral Shield

2008-06-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

Some things to me in life I guess will always remain a mystery. (1) Where did the money come from? and we all know what I mean there, Looks like the fuel has been pulled over our eyes!!!!! (2) If all the adult dancers are only working to pay their way through college how come there hasn't been some type of scholarship created for the dedication and hard work and (3) why the hell did the IHRA turn down fuel funny car teams to attend the event in Budds Creek.

I mean nothing against the teams already competing but dont you think a DSR car or Bob Tasca might put a few more fans in the stand? Especially with car counts down 20 to 30 entries per class. A buddy of mine that tunes a DSR funny car said we may go to Budds Creek if they let us come. Hello IHRA its on the way to Englishtown. Why would you not want Beckman, Capps, Toliver ot Tasca to compete. We hear all the talk about the teams in IHRA using it for a training ground to get to the NHRA , well there is a great chance without the IHRA teams having to make the journey over to the NHRA playing field. OK here is something to mull over, say I am a investor with a little coin to drop into a struggling sanctioning body to possibly get it up and running and competitive with another sanctioning body that has coverage of each event on ESPN. What would be the first major perception I would see between attending say the US Nationals at Indy and the Nitroo Jam World Finals at the ROCK? Oppurtunities are taken not given that was something Stirling told me one night and I didnt forget it.

In the months to come remember what I told all of you about charities not having to report the donations and dollar amounts. It will be the biggest news of the century in drag racing.

Mitchell Scruggs

2008-06-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick get well soon to Mitchell Scruggs. The Scruggs family is a stellar group to be around. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Congrats to Shannon Jenkins , Doug Riesterer, Billy Harper and Slick on the sub 3's this weekend. Considering the track and the heat along with 4000 ft plus those are some good runs...

the babe of the month

2008-06-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

the shots that didnt make the magazine......guess this babe of the month and win a prize. bubba hint- click on any picture to enlarge. and we can trace all the people clicking to. so if you are a closet reader beware.........

when and where

2008-06-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well its that time of year when it is just hot as fuck everywhere you go. I for one growing up in the state of Florida dont mind the heat. However this year it just seems to be scalding a blaze already. The poor Horton digger has slowed down a tenth in the 1/8th of a mile at the local Saturday night track and that seems to be par for just about all the cars. Looks like the only things that have yet to slow down and maybe just the opposite is the Nitrous cars in IHRA and ADRL Pro Mod or Pro Nitrous competition. Looks like the Fulton loan entry of Jim Halsey is jumped off to a stellar season with three wins and a handful of low sub 4 second runs and the Reher Morrison powered 800 inch bullets of Castellana, Stoken 6.02 @ 237 are just bad to the bone , Slick Meyers, The Purple Gorillas are going rounds and putting record setting numbers along with Billy Harpers Viper rolling thru the lights with a 3.91 in his Buck powerplant. Even the 10.5 guys like the Hitman (Switzer Speedtech tuned) and Mrs. Wilson are flying witht the Feustel power. PAR and Scott Duggins has Kerry Crsby going 4.08 with a glide and Randy Weatherford on the verge of a 3 second pass, Sunset Racecraft have won about everything there is between Keith Raftery, Bert Prejan and Jason Dennis in Top World and Long Islands own Vinny Budano with a National Record in Pro Street trim and Shafiroff power, BES and T Bischoff went a 6.40 with a glide and also APD's John Kyle tuned a little 650 inch nitrous motor to a 6.42 with a glide. If the summertime like in the past is time for the nitrous cars to win races it looks to be a good Summer for a bunch of teams. Those who know understand all the hard work is paying off for several teams. Wow that last paragraph had a lot of Speedtech Nitrous cars in it....as well it should.

Close as I may come to IOWA

2008-05-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well its that time of month again. and I mean a Kodak and not tex moment. Its was off to KC to shoot the June cover for DI. I like KC because of all the fond memories I have with a magician by the name Monica Krajewski. She was the one that probably got away from the Bubbster back in the day. Anyway the call came in from ole Wesly I needed to have my gear in KC at an undisclosed location to shoot the June cover for the ole mag. So my flight was booked and i had a last minute pimento cheese sandwich and cupcake and headed for the B-ham airport to go North for the weekend. Upong arriving and and arranging all the lights and hooking up with the make up artist for our two models involved with the BOM shoot i started working with TS on his cover. What a great family and staff. They accomodated all our needs and even gorged us to the verge of sloth at the local Italian restaurant Salvatore. Well it being a holiday weekend i decided to stay the remaing days in the North of Missouri in a little town of La Plata just to really relax and catch up and check in with the boss at the DI production studio. Sometimes just chilling out with a couple buddies with no big plans helps you remember things aren't that bad. After a visit to the Killer Pear Tree and a nother another gorging we booked the UFC fight and watched as the prodigy BJ Penn re confirmed why he is the champ and why Tito Ortiz could remain happy the rest of his life just banging Jenna Jameson. I would have stopped fighting years ago for that trade off.

While all this was happening I guess a bunch of nitrous cars globally set the record straight on the dominate nitrous company in the market. Something like a 6.02 @ 237.3 and a collection of wins by the Hitman Mike Hill at Twiggs county, a R/U finish in Baharain tuned by the origianl KGB Guru. Curt Frderich taking the win in TS at Milan.

Gateway to the West

2008-05-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dallas and not the city and a fine bar in Sauget, Il would be the first stop of 2008 for the original ZOO crew plus three this weekend. After a long day of racing at the WSC 1 and being harassed by every security guard in a green shirt we finally hit the town late Friday and I mean late Friday night. If everything in the World was as negotiable as a lap dance I think my world would be a little less hectic. What a cool turn out at the Gateway to the West as far as diversity goes in the Pro Mod Outlaw class. We had turbo, pro chargers, super charger, nitrous cars and a few naturally aspirated power plants. Hopefully next year the rules will be just a little clear before the teams get there and more will show up. The deal paid 35k to win and 10k runner up, to me that is a no brainer to go race where you have a real good chance of winning. Congrats to the Lynch mob for dominating the class, the boys from Woodstock are just hardcore racers that eat, think and drink horsepower, anything that carries the wheels to the 900 ft mark and runs 227 gets my vote for BAMF of the year.

A special thought goes out to Aeromotives Steve Matusek and get well soon, that accident was scary and it’s a testament to all the safety equipment and Larsen built racecraft you were able to walk away with out serious injury.

Just a quick note to the low life scum bag who broke in to my boyz REPO’s truck I hope that one of the items you took gets your ass 10 years minimum in federal prison. That is one car theft you should have not been involved with and Missouri is definetly the wrong state to venture out into the black market with a weapon, your day will come.

If you get to St Louis book a room at the lumiere hotel and check out the muffin tops at Burgers Bobs restaurant and hit a few slots on the fun also, just watch out for the freaks in the elevators

Busy is a good thing

2008-05-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well here it is the middle of the week and I’m just getting ready to leave my 9 to 5 gig however it is just touching after 10 pm on the Central Time Zone. Seems like we stay so busy with vendors, engine builders, small speed shops, large speed shops and the novice just scared to death of the horse power in the bottle it leaves little time to catch up on the administrative side of things.plus we are putting together the new mullis 4-link dragster, We are still a young company at Speedtech so we are yet to hire a receptionist, accountant, staff photographer, welder, programmer, janitor, fabricator, media specialist, CMO, extra sales staff etc …We all pitch in to get things done on the production floor and in the front office. Luckily we all come from a nice background of racing rather it be on dirt or asphalt and can handle a diverse array of questions. Not sure how many of you have experience with cnc equipment , those who do know what I mean by saying those freaking things will build anything as long as you have a guru like we do writing the programs. Its like having three more employees producing parts that help get your margain a little tighter. It really helps to keep all things in house the best you can without going overkill. With the ability to run 24 hours a day im already looking for other venues to get into with these beast . I mean outside the box , perfect example is this 1800 dollar titanium implant they are getting ready to anchor into my jaw. Why the heck don’t we make these things. Im sure there is more to it than what it looks like but it can not be that damn much that it cost 1800 bucks, which leads me into another market like hip joint ball and sockets that aaron marlow invented and patented, I bet he had some drag race blood in him somewhere.or Hirotsugu Muratsu, the peron that patented the total knee replacement. Just something for all you cnc owners out there to think about just paste this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjBYZn5y2-I&feature=related and watch it

Red Bull Air Races...

2008-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

First off, if you read Esquire Magazine (May 2008), you’ll probably join me in thanking Connie Kalitta and all those associated with his company for getting the our parished soldiers back to their loved ones. There was a 10-page story in the magazine about Sgt. Robert Montgomery, from start to finish, on how he gave his life for his country and made the trip home. I won’t express my views on the bad shit going on in Iraq and the surrounding countries, but it makes me proud to be an American and have an association with the Conrad Kalitta, who was our February cover story.

Well, this last weekend I enjoyed a pleasured change of racing scenery in San Diego, California. Maddie Stephens of Red Bull World Wide invited Wesley and myself to attend the 2nd stop on the Red Bull Air Race World Tour this past weekend – held at San Diego Bay. At first I figured it was some sort of sick joke from the NHRA Media department – they always make us feel so welcome at their events. But after realizing it was a real offer and that Red Bull wanted our publication there just to see the spectacle of air racing, I quickly redeemed some Delta Sky Miles and booked a ticket. San Diego is a beautiful city with a perfect temperate and city center to keep you busy 24/7. After arriving at the media center and getting credentialed, Wes and I were informed of all the “can’t miss” happenings of the Red Bull Air Race. These people really know what they’re doing; from meet and greets with the pilots to VIP Pre-Parties, they’ve got it figured out. They even had a media-only part on top of the historic Hotel Solamar and its outdoor 4th story bar jSix. Free Red Bull, free booze and gorgeous women to enjoy my company – it was fantastic. Not to mention the scheduled “Pit Lane Walk” where the media is invited to interview the pilots and photograph the crews/planes before the race starts. What a novel concept?

The race alone is tremendous, if you dig air races. There were 120,000 people in attendance over the 2-day event. The pilots push these planes to instantaneous 10G snap rolls and maneuvers that almost break their body. These pilots cover a four-mile course in roughly one-minute and 18-seconds – that should give you an idea as to the performance of these people and machines. They come into the opening gate at 240mph just 65 feet above the bay. It’s a qualified field where the quickest 8 (Super 8’s) pilots race off for the win. If you live in the Detroit area I suggest you go to the next event here at the end of May. The tour only makes two stops in the states this year on the 10-race circuit. A globally marketed event, the air races drew 400,000 people in Abu Dhabi last month. If a company like Red Bull can do this globablly than what we were missing with companies like Coca-Cola and the NHRA. A race can be fun, too. Street parties, guerilla marketing, attendee participation, city-wide activation – not just a one-liner from John Force. I think our buddies Max Naylor, last year with Jagermeister, and Joe Parsons with Monster Energy deserve a bunch of credit for trying to get more people involved and create new fans of drag racing. It was terribly upsetting last year to see with my own eyes the NHRA telling the Monster Energy guys to to turn down the music in their pit area after they’d brought in a professional DJ and a great crowd. Just curious, but what exactly is “too loud” in the Top Fuel and Funny Car pits?

It seems that anytime someone gets creative in the NHRA they end up having to beg for forgiveness. I’d say that’s why so many teams struggle to get major corporate backing because they know that no matter how much a bang-for-your-buck the NHRA may be – you can’t activate your sponsorship when you get there. I’d say a trip to a Red Bull Air Race or a Monster Energy-backed Super Cross event would do a lot of good for the hierarchy at NHRA.

That’s it for now. Check out the poicture of the two little LUCID fairies we met at the Red Bull Terminal Party. Now, I completely understand why absinthe has been outlawed in the U.S. for 95 years.

Hot-lanta...

2008-05-21T10:05:00.001-07:00

This blog stuff is pretty cool. I’m getting a lot of feedback from the readers and a couple critiques from a few guys who probably still read Playboy in the closest. This last weekend I headed out to Commerce, GA for the NHRA Southern Nationals with a pile of Speedtech stuff to deliver before I put the Bubba Smoothe cape on and get after my Drag Illustrated responsibilities. It’s pretty funny to see guys like Bob Newberry of Top Alcohol Funny Car fame and Phil Shuler, crew chief for the Rockstar Nitro Funny Car, like nitrous too. Both of them called and ordered parts this week from Speedtech. Mr. Newberry is putting together a little footbrake street truck and Shuler is doing a balls-out 3-system manifold for a big tire Mustang. Good to know we have an appeal to the blown guys when they aren’t getting paid to race. Seems like we’ve sparked some interest in our wire harness systems also – the ones we distribute for Spaghetti menders in some of the Pro Stock ranks. I’m taking a unit over to go through with one of the crew chiefs this weekend. It should be real nice to clean up the vast number of wires that get plumbed on these 500ci Pro Stock cars. Speaking of 500-inch, it’s going to be great to see last year’s cover boy Dave Connolly get his ass back to work in a race car. He is way too good not to be bangin’ gears through a Liberty 5-speed.

Look out Athens on Saturday night cause Bubba and my pal Old Dirty Bastard JC will be out on the prowl – probably have a few of those closest Playboy readers with us.
Also want to wish good luck to all the Dart Dash contestants that use Speedtech. Jeff Pitman, Bert Prejan, Keith Raferty, and Anthony Munao. Kick some butt – Speedtech style.
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The Rock...

2008-05-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

What a weekend at The Rock. The fabled Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina managed to provide even more racing history this last weekend while I created a little bit of my own at another Rockingham landmark. Not only did I get to see all my friends from years past at the track, all of whom we’re struggling to get down the Rockingham track, we also met up at a local staple in the Aberdeen community by the name of Pure Gold - a place where racers and golfers go after a hard day at the track or on the links.

And a hard couple of days is exactly what everyone had at The Rock. It’s amazing that a track as prestigious as this struggled so badly to give the racers an equal surface on Friday and Saturday. In the first round of Pro Stock only one car went down the left lane and just a handful of back-pedaling Pro Mods made it down it as well, the best being Ed Hoover with a outside-looking-in 6.19 lap.

What, why, who and when is the problem. The teams that did make it had to squint just to see the ET/MPH posted on the scoreboards because of expired light bulbs – and people actually question why car counts and fan base fades. Those burnt-out light bulbs are the perfect metaphor for a great majority of the guys and gals out here doing this deal. Still screwed in, but obviously burnt out.

Beyond that, I was excited to see the number of engine builders involved, hands on, with their customers and/or racing themselves. It was great to see Scott Duggins of PAR from Spartanburg, who’s one of the coolest f*#$&@ I know, always managing to remain even-keel, guys like Billy Albert, Sandy Wilkins, Nesbitt Racing Engines and APD’s John Kile (carb guy of choice for my dragster). What a diverse group of people from one small region in the country. It’s astonishing that these guys manage to have the business they do considering their geographical location…

As far as I’m concerned, the industry-theme of the weekend was that customer service is paramount no matter what arena you may be in. One car’s performance doesn’t mean a hill of beans to the other 200 cars out there.

The beginning...

2008-05-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a busy weekend, I have a minute to sit down and give you the story behind the seemingly infamous Bubba Smoothe. Those who know me best call me “Sharpy”, a nickname given to me by Tommy Mauney – yes, the bad ass chassis builder from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Most recently, though, it’s been “Bubba Smoothe” and I can’t seem to shake it.

The moniker came along during a photo shoot in Runaway Bay, Jamaica a few years ago. It was Chuck Melton, father of Sean Melton of Urban Hillbilly Action Videos who bestowed the nickname on me. Basically, we spend a week every year in Jamaica shooting pictures of models for the BabeXtremeOnline.com calendars and after a 15-hour day of taking pictures, most the girls want to see how the images turned out. Well, Chuck started to notice the random women leaving my room, strictly work related, and tagged me the “Bubba Smoothe”. It’s a lot of fun and having the initials B.S. fits perfectly with the politics involved in drag racing from time to time.

I grew up in sunny Tampa, Florida and have some really fond memories of guys like Bruce Allen, Tony Christian, Warren Johnson and Morris Campbell, Jr. blasting up and down the local drag strips. I spent a lot of time at the tracks in St. Pete and Bradenton and ended up meeting a group of people that would forever change my world. People like Steve Cohen, Corky and Sherry Markwart, the Brannens, Hollingsworths, Tim Butler, Jim Carlton and Mel Eaves who would later give me a pit crew job at the age of 19 – helping with his Top Sportsman car at the time.

One of the most influential people in my life was during those years, his name was Gordie Hmiel, cousin of Steve Hmiel of DEI Inc, who was just moving to Lenoir, NC and starting his own engine business. After a couple seasons Gordie asked if I would like to go to work for him. The answer, of course, was “yes”. We’re talking about the first guy to make a 6-second pass in a nitrous-assisted door car in Bristol, Tennessee. From racing on the track to the business that is racing, Gordie taught me a great deal, but the most important lessons were on life in general.

At the time I was spending my weekends at some of the hottest Quick-8 spots in the world; places like Shuffletown, Mooresville, Farmington, Greer and Coastal Plains, hanging out with guys like Ed Hoover, Michael Martin, Ronnie Sox, Tim McAmis, Tommy Mauney and Ronnie Hood – just to name a few. Unfortunately, that rush came to a tragic end one Friday morning when the plane Gordie and his father were piloting crashed in the woods of Warner Robbins, Georgia, killing the both of them and racer Tony Cox.

Two guys showed up at the door that weekend and told me that everything would be okay; their names are Roger and Mike Sanders, they helped a broke kid with a little cash and made sure no one tried to take advantage of the situation. When the dust settled both Gene Fulton and Tommy Mauney had offered me jobs. I thought Tommy and Gene were both gifted in the individual professions, but I wanted to race and TM had a bad ass Willy’s at the time. Tommy is a blessed individual with talents that reach much further than just drag racing. He kept me in check and more importantly kept me educated. I could never repay him for what he had the patience to teach me.

After a short stint working for Brad Jeter I decided to venture into a different world, still greasy, but a different kind of grease – the restaurant business. I opened 132 units worldwide for a well-known company called Ruby Tuesday, all the while staying in touch with my buddies – Gene Fulton, Shannon Jenkins, Tim McAmis and a few years ago I was presented with an opportunity to help get a little nitrous company started named Speedtech.

It’s been a challenge, but a very rewarding one. It’s been a demanding industry to be involved in, fortunately for us we have a strong core of engine builders and racers that will listen and work with us to become a better company and build a constantly improving product.
As for photography, which is what I’m best known for here at Di (that’s probably debatable), it’s been a passion of mine since I was 7 years old. Back then I was just a kid who was handed a camera to take pictures during rec. center soccer games for the local news. With such a diversified history, I figured there is no better way to document the story than with photos. It’s great to know that there are some people out there who enjoy my images that have been printed in Drag Illustrated.

Hey Everyone...

2008-05-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it’s Bubba, writing in on my first blog entry. There’s plenty to write about in the future and I’ll be sure to fill you in on me, what I do on a day to day basis along with my past – touching on the wealth of memories I have from drag racing competition and the high performance industry over the last 20 years. At the moment, though, I’m flying solo at the race car shop tonight trying to get my Horton-built rear engine dragster ready to race at Jim Howard’s Super Seven Series race at Montgomery Motorsports Park this weekend. With a little bit of luck we’ll bring home that big check and I’ll have a little extra motivation for my next entry.

Till then, have a great race weekend and be safe out there on those highways, byways, eighth-milers and quarters.

Bubba