SILENT LIGHTNING AT THE DRAG STRIP
The EnergyRushTV team had been hearing for some time about various incarnations of electric speedsters making some amazing times at drag races around the country. This is the kind of thing we like to see for ourselves, so this summer several members of the EnergyRush crew journeyed to the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon to witness the raw power that can come from the combination of electricity and speed.
Our initial focus was on a unique motorcycle drag racer called the “Killacycle.” Supported by a large crew, rider Scotty Pollacheck took the beast out for its first run, but the back tire got so heated up from the pre-race spinning that it caught fire and came off the rim. On its next run down the dragway, the Killacycle did the quarter-mile in 8 seconds and hit a top speed of 158 miles per hour. Silently. It’s an eerie experience to see a vehicle going that fast – with no engine noise.
The Killacycle is made possible with significant sponsorship by A123 Batteries, a major manufacturer of state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries. It also makes use of chargers made by Manzanita Micro, another company that’s been visited by the EnergyRushTV team. Several of the crew members on the Killacycle team made reference to the racer as “just like a giant electric drill.” Sure, a drill that clocks 160 mph.
We also checked out an innocuous looking little car called the “White Zombie.” Piloted by longtime electric drag racer John Wayland, the White Zombie has $35,000 worth of lithium ion batteries on board (also donated by A123) and it was setting records that night. Wayland told us they were taking care not to go too fast, as once they achieved a certain time in the quarter-mile, they’d be ejected from competition at the track. Imagine – a battery-powered coupe getting kicked out of the drag races for going too fast!
The next day we joined all the electric drag racers for a breakfast meeting and demo at an east Portland coffee shop. We videotaped all manner of cycles, hybrids, three-wheelers and cars. At one point a couple of Portland police officers stopped by to check out the activity. It turned out one of the cops was a weekend motorcycle drag racer himself! Mugging for the cameras, John Wayland said to the officers, “But officers, I couldn’t have been speeding, this is an electric car!” Playing along, one of the cops responded, “Too bad, buddy, you’re busted anyway.”
There was an amazing cross-section of people at the event, including folks from outside the U.S. We interviewed an electric car enthusiast who came all the way from Australia with his son. We also spoke with Victor Juarez, an official from Mexico City who is in the process of converting 1,000 cars in that metropolis to electric cars. These cars were owned by the city and set to be retired but instead they will be repurposed as electric cars, making this the largest conversion contract to date. Hey, if they can do it there, we can do it here!
Finally, we scored an interview with Bill Moore, editor and publisher of EV World (www.evworld.com), a leading information source on electric headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Bill is clearly tuned in to the world of alternative vehicles and the future of transportation. He spoke at length about how General Motors has finally accepted the fact that alternative fuels are an inevitable part of our future as a society, as well as how various changes will need to be faced as we strive to reduce our carbon footprint and wean ourselves from a nationwide petroleum addiction.
All in all, our trip to the drag races yielded equal measures of excitement, exhilaration and enlightenment. We look forward to the next drag racing season, so we can go watch John Wayland and his White Zombie get kicked off the track for good – for going too fast. Silently.
Stay tuned for more adventures as we chronicle the travels of the EnergyRushTV roving camera crews.
