Biggest test for young racer

SCOTT MILLER'S chiropractor is probably rubbing his hands in anticipation as the 19-year-old Masterton drag racer prepares for the drive of his life this weekend.
When the young man first ran his new top alcohol dragster at Taupo last month, it took two weeks of manipulation to straighten his back out afterwards.
That was a licence qualification (dragster unlimited) and test and tune outing, consisting of several half-track passes.
After the relative comfort of his Mustang, in which he garnered a couple of national records, the rail is a culture shock. It is unsprung and rigid, every bit of shake and shudder transmitting to the driver during burnout and launch. And the less smooth the launch, the rougher the ride. On one run the shaking was so bad the parachute was dislodged from its box and Miller had to abort. "You can feel a lot more than in the Mustang," said Miller. As he gets to know the car and his driving smooths out, much of the shaking will disappear.
But the Masterton mechanic, whose aim is to join the elite 200mph club next season, won't be feeling any pain this weekend.
The car has been a long time coming, with delays to the arrival of parts meaning he's missed the bulk of the season. The car was on display at the final Masterton Motorplex meeting of the season, still a long way from completion. But it's all coming together now.
"I'm itching to do a full pass at full throttle," he said.
At least he now knows that everything works, that several little teething problems have been sorted. That included unexpected things like the fuel tank. The original one held 15 litres of methanol (the car starts on petrol but runs on alcohol). 15 litres wasn't quite enough for a burnout followed by a run ? there was a risk of the fuel mix leaning out and damaging the engine ? so a 20 litre one went in.
This is not the sort of competition machinery you can test drive on a back street while the Law's not looking. Until he and the team fired the car up at Taupo Miller didn't even know if it would run, or if the gearbox worked, even though everything is either new or reconditioned.
That initial fire-up, incidentally, gives some idea of the cost of running a beast like this. Simply warming the engine up costs around $50. Five minutes running, not including a run down the strip, can cost $1500. A season is likely to cost $10,000, assuming nothing goes wrong.
"We were really nervous with the first run," said Miller. "It was nerve-wracking. We didn't know what it was going to do."
What it did do was record times of around 1 second for the first 60 feet, when Miller buttoned off. That time translates to a run in the mid-7s range and a top speed of around 170mph. Pretty good for the first time out, but the car's capable of a lot more.
In addition to the five-man Miller team, engine-builder Grant Rivers was on hand to fine-tune the 1200hp engine, a smallblock Ford V8, consisting of a Dart Windsor block and Cleveland heads, topped by a 671 supercharger providing 15lb of boost.
(Miller has dreams of a 1071 blower which would give him 25lb of boost, but the starting price of that is $5000.) Rivers had done a general tune-up, using the Mustang engine as a baseline, but Taupo is 3000ft above sea level and the settings had to be adjusted.
Obviously, the engine is the key to the operation, and it is pampered like a baby. The one thing the team don't have to worry about is the water ? there is none. But the oil is checked after every run and all lubricants are changed after each meeting. The automatic transmission will be reconditioned after every second meeting, to keep the car as reliable as possible.
Miller paid tribute to his crew. "No crew, no go," he said. "Honestly, I'd be lost without them." After each run they descend on the car and work flat out until the car leaves the pits for the next run. "Dad (Gavin) and I do a lot, but there's all the little bits that have to be done. The guys are totally dedicated," he said.
He's also got great support from his sponsors, including his boss, Tom Mason, who provided his first drum of methanol fuel. Others backing the effort are painter Phil Carman, PPG, Masterton Mitre 10, Pro Parts Palmerston North, and Rivers Speed and Spares (Grant Rivers donated his labour on the the engine project).
All going well this weekend, Miller's next outing will be at the nationals in Auckland two weeks later.
* At 19, Scott Miller is the youngest top alcohol competitor in the country, but he doesn't lack experience, having started racing a junior dragster at age 6. He is also coping well with the demands of being a high-profile racer. He's done his first TV interview (he's unsure when that will air) and he's been signed up to speak to students at Tararua College, where his sister Tasha is a teacher.
His theme is that dreams can come true, which is somehow appropriate.