There are thrash stories and then there are THRASH stories and this one certainly falls under the latter. During last weekend’s AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, the J&A Service Pro Mod series was competing. During round one eliminations, Indiana’s Mike Biehle turned on the win light but the victory was Pyrrhic because in the process he killed an engine. It seemed as though he was going to be done for the weekend but then an insane sounding plot was hatched and the wheels were put in motion for one of the wildest “kick saves” we have ever heard of.
Because the pro mod cars run their first round on Saturday and then pick up their eliminations again later in the morning on Sunday, there was a pretty decent time window to work in. Biehle had a guest at the race who owns a private plane and pretty soon you can see where this is going. They called Eric Dillard and the boys down at Pro Line and asked if there was any way to get a short block together in time. Dillard and the boys worked literally through the night to get it done and as they were working, Biehle’s friend with the plane was in the air from St Louis to Georgia.
The video you will see below was made home movie style by Eric Dillard at Pro Line Racing and it is fun. We see the engine being worked on, we see the thing being loaded into an airplane that is clearly not designed to haul anything but people, and we see the plane fire up and taxi off.
Biehle and his crew got the motor swapped, won their next round and ultimately lost to eventual event winner Rickie Smith in the semi-finals. The effort was worth it, the car was fast as blazes, and this is one of the neater engine thrash stories we have ever heard. It is interesting that the class’s “race on Saturday and Sunday” format helped them get this done!
