STEVE HUFF
challenge and, once you do it, you’re like, “Well.
Now what?” And that’s it.
The scene after you set the record was so surreal
and seeing your emotions just added to
how special it all was. What stands out about
that night in Tucson?
The timing was right. I waited until May 11 to
see what the governor in California would say.
And then they said, “No, we’re not lifting anything.”
So I called up [Tucson Dragway track
operator] Jim Hughes and said, “Jim, I need your
track.” He said, “No sweat. Come on out.” It was
always a great surface.
I had to get it done. I just had to get the 200
out of the way. We’ll go faster, but I had to do it.
Nobody was waiting for me and I sure as hell
wasn’t going to wait to give anybody else any
chances. And then we saw an opportunity as well,
with the lack of motorsports news. We thought, “If
we do it now, it’s the only thing that’s newsworthy.”
We went there, on our first day out, and only
made it to half-track. I made a 330-foot pass, and
then I made an eighth-mile pass and I failed the
fourth time. We made another hit, I pedaled it,
but it just wasn’t there and I ran 185 (mph) or
something.
I looked at the data and we’re going 188 at the
1000-foot. I told the team, I said, “But here’s our
data. I think we can get Garlits. He’s at 189. I think
we can get 192 to 195 out of it. I need to get back
to the drawing board.” And the team agreed. I
tucked the ‘chutes back up, we charged the batteries,
and we went back out at midnight on that last
one. I made the hit and I just stayed in it. I heard
screaming in my radio and I heard “two-something”
and I radioed back and said, “What?” And
again, two-something and that was it. I knew it.
I thought it was the most incredible thing. And
when that comes at closing time, instantly
you just start looking back at the journey.
It was surreal.
“I HAD TO GET IT
DONE. I JUST HAD TO
GET THE 200 OUT OF
THE WAY. WE’LL GO
FASTER, BUT I HAD
TO DO IT. NOBODY
WAS WAITING FOR
ME AND I SURE AS
HELL WASN’T GOING
TO WAIT TO GIVE
ANYBODY ELSE
ANY CHANCES.”
I’ve been developing a television show for the
last seven years. Again, I’m going to go back to
education. It’s critical for me. My television show
is called Speed Geeks, The Science of Speed. This is
MythBusters goes to the racetrack. This is a show
that will explain math, science and physics, and
we do that with different vehicles. And currently,
as of today, we’re in talks with Adam Carolla and
Nate Adams of Chassy [Media], because they
have expressed that they want to be the production
entity for the show.
So, I think that it helped me get the interest
from the people I wanted the interest from. We
need to teach, and we need to have a fun way to
teach, and we’re just kind of missing that. So if
I get anything out of this, hopefully it gets the
deal signed around on the show that I’ve been
diligently working on for seven years or so. DI
math and science of it all.
He talked with Drag IllustrateD about the
journey, the emotional scene that followed and
what’s next.
It’s quite a road you’ve been on. How does
one go from owning a motorcycle repair shop
to making history in an electric dragster?
I’ve never looked for easy challenges. Let’s pick
the hardest one in the book. Let’s find something
challenging. It’s the process and if you do the
process right, the results will be tremendous. Between
the math, the science, the physics, the art
of it is beautiful, and then you go do it.
The electric thing just kind of inspired me to
try to do something new. Not because I get bored
easily. Everything has been a challenge. You want
to ride a Top Fuel bike and go six seconds at over
200 miles an hour? Trust me, it’s going to be a
With the way your mind works, it’s
already processing the next thing. So
what’s next up on the list?
We’re going out to being the first in the
6.00s and I have the utmost confidence
that it’ll happen. Without question, since
the drive home I’ve been thinking about
how to build a clutch for this car. Everything
I’ve built is open-source. Nothing is
a secret on this car. If someone asks me
about this car, I’ll give them an honest
answer and, in fact, I’ll teach them how
to beat me. We’re very competitive and it’s
a hell of a lot of fun. I’ve been back here
trying to figure out the clutch so we can
go ahead and go faster.
Well, you’ve certainly received a lot
of notoriety with this and the reaction
to this has been tremendous. What’s
one thing you hope to gain from this
historic mark?
June 2020
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