There are certain drag racing truths that I tend to hold as self evident. One of them was that Ron Fassl was going to own the record for the quickest AA/FA pass of all time until the end of time. Can you blame me? It has been nine long years since Fassl laid down a titanic 5.293/278 mph run at Tulsa Raceway Park. Some guys have flirted with it, but no one had bested it in almost a decade. It just seemed like it was never going to happen…and then along came last weekend. Running at the famed Rt 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, Tom Motry’s Drastic Plastic AA/FA with shoe Joe Haas behind the wheel laid down one of the great passes in the history of drag racing with a 5.286/276.06 moon shot down the Chicagoland’s quickest patch of asphalt and concrete. On its face the run is incredible but when you learn a little about the car and Tom Motry, it gets exponentially better.
What could be cooler than resetting the all time AA/FA record? How about doing it with a single magneto engine, no data recorder, no clutch management, no computer, no boost gauge, no exhaust gas temp sensors, and a race weight of over 2600lbs! That’s right kids, this monster lap was done the old fashioned way. It was done in a car setup by a guy who uses his own experience and expertise with the baddest ass racing fuel on planet Earth and no assistance from anything else. This stuff wasn’t broken or missing, it has never been on the car in the first place. It makes the hair on our neck stand up thinking of how bad ass and awesome this whole thing is. Let’s not forget Haas in this equation because after all, it is he who managed to wrassle the inherently pissed off car down the race track without so much as a playback tach…ok, they may have a playback tach, I don’t have confirmation on that.
When you see the time slip, your eyes will bug out of your head. This was a bad ass run from top to bottom. The 60′ time is a mind boggling .892, which is breathtakingly quick for ANYTHING, let alone an AA/FA which is normally sideways by the time it goes 60 feet! Dig the eighth mile elapsed time of 3.511 and the MPH of 219.65. When you think about how hard this car is pulling the back half of the track your eyes may roll into your head. Making 60+ mph on the top end of the track is big stuff! Tom Motry had the phasers set on KILL for this one!
Below we have video of the runs as taken by the guys on the team and there’s a copy of the record setting time slip. It is exceptionally cool to see such a long standing record broken (Fassl still owns the fastest AA/FA pass with the back half of his previous record) and a performance advancement in the most untamed and nasty drag racing class ever conceived. The Drastic Plastic crew should be very proud of their accomplishment and I certainly going to enjoy an adult beverage on their behalf tonight. Hell, I may try to chug it in 5.286 seconds…or not. I’ll see how that plays out.
Congrats to Tom Motry, Joe Haas, and the entire crew! This is 100% BangShift Approved bad-assery!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE TIME SLIP AND WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE RECORD BREAKING RUN!
That’s the way real drag racing used to be…….asskicking on innovation and balls.
This is great but what a shame I don’t see more bodies in that stands. People always talk about how great the ol’ AA/FA class is & we should “bring it back” & I agree but it’s not going anywhere without people in the stands..!
come on down to arizona…..
Need this class back in full glory. Make admission prices a little less, and the people will be there. Bring the “TRUE” fuel altereds back,SINGLE MAG, 50 GALLON FUEL PUMPS, and cars that are “DRIVEN” (NOT COMPUTERIZED), and the stands will be full I guarantee it. Famoso (Bakersfield) is the place to do it. The racing surface is primo, and the Bowsers know how to put on a program. “”””LET’S DO IT””””
To get this class back in full glory we need to get the SULLIVANS, the BOYDS, the WITCH DOCTORS, etc. on board. These guys are the best! JOE HAAS, my hat is off to you! You are the man, and we need more of them!
Hizoot, you bring up an interesting point. First, to pack the stands at Rt 66, you are going to need 70,000 people to get off their lazy arses, put away their computers and cell phones for a day or two and deal with large crowds, pay big bucks at the gate, deal with high heat & humidity, take a beating by astronomical concession prices and sit on a hot aluminum bench in the blazing sun.
There is a lot to be said about smaller venues.
halve the price to get in ,,,,,double the crowd!
Tom Motry, Lockport ILLINOIS! We have guys who know how to tune nitro motors. Don Schumacher, The Greek, Austin Coil, Gary Dyer and Tom Motry!
Don’t forget Wilk & Ziz. Motry always runs good at our place no matter who drives it. I’m trying to remember them all. Tom himself, Rick Kraft, Tim Cullinan, Lisa Coil are some of them.
Was lucky enough to be at Joliet Last Saturday to see the incredible performance by the Tom Motry and the Drastic plastic AAFA. What made it even more amazing was the night match race between Drastic Plastic and Dave Hirata in the AFD dragster who ran 250+ in the mid 5s and obviously lost, It felt like an earthquake. Hats off to both teams and the Joliet Route 66 raceway for putting on the great program at a reasonable price. 20.00 bucks…..
Greg, Dirty Fred Mandoline, Bob Bode, Creasy family, Kenny Safford, all know nitro too. Just say’n. Tom is amazing. Guess he paid attention to what Austin taught him back in 82&83. The guy runs hard even when he’s just playing, booked in or not! One of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He’d be really dangerous with some backing.
Really dig the team’s ‘BASIC’ approach ! Congrats !
Was this done in 1320 or the new 1K ?
If you look at the time slip, it shows you it was 1320ft. ET at 1000ft was 4.471
Totally love it! seeing a fuel altered step up and run that level is amazing. These are low budget dudes running a lot of motor and NITRO! Congrats to them. I want to see more of the old Sullivan car and the Speed sport guys. I’ve seen them both run in the 5’s as well!
Awesome!
We were there just for testing and just kind of paired our self up with hirata cause we figured we could atleast make it look like exhibition. Tom was there under his own radar. The car danced for the first 400ft, to the point where dad (joe haas) thought lift or no lift. He legged it out and it started pulling!
The north side of the stands they keep closed off. They open the south side (pit side)
Congrats on the record run and thanks for all the hard work you guys do.
Thanks, Brian!! no one deserves more credit than Tom, Joe, and Joey for what they’ve accomplished! Joe and Joey have cut their teeth on our team as crew for over 14 years and we’re proud to have gotten Joe licensed in an alcohol ride a few years back. we also helped him early on in the transition to the dark side where he’s absolutely performed as a seasoned vet!! Joey has grown with his dad in this sport to the point where this fall he takes delivery of his own BB/FC….the same one his dad licensed in! Tom’s expertise goes without saying…….one of the best on the planet! i can’t imagine what he could do with a truckload of $$$$$$!! THAT would really turn some heads! again, we appreciate your article and spreading the good news! now….LET’S ROCK!!
Awesome!
Mental chronometry (R/T): .149 – was that a .4 or .5 or .000 tree? Just asking.
.892 60 is hauling.
+ 60 or so on the big end is just pure HP!