Seems our last news left off with us heading to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, OH where we had a terrific license class and Adventure program! Our 2-day license class had a range of experienced racers bringing their own cars to students just getting started.

Next, our guys headed to Seattle for media rides for the 3rd Annual Rainier Cup at Pacific Raceways during the NHRA O’Reilly Northwest Nationals, followed by a great Super Comp/Super Gas licensing class the following week.

Then it was back home to Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, FL where the Top Alcohol Funny Car was put to work.  Welcome our newest TAFC driver – Denver!

As you read this we are at Maple Grove Raceway running a Super Comp/Super Gas license program, followed by our Dragster Adventure. Then back to Auto Plus Raceway for a Corporate Dragster Adventure, a SC/SG class, a TAFC class and then it will be out to Auto Club Dragway for the final west coast trip of the year.

Frank

Quotes from Recent Grads:

“I was impressed with how well everyone progresses in a short time. As a 35 plus year veteran of bracket racing I picked up some pointers and had a great time. Frank does a great job of keeping your attention politely explaining mistakes and also telling them they did good also.” ~John and Lisa

“Just want to say thank you so much for the exhilarating and informative experience. Frank has a very unique way of teaching his subjects ( I am still trying to absorb all of it). I recommend anybody to experience Franks drag racing class.” ~Wayne

“I can’t say enough about the school and Frank I will be 64 this year and can honestly say I have never met anyone like Frank if this school was available when I was young and I took the class my life would certainly have taken a different course. I have never seen so many good people in a school of any kind and it’s amazing it radiates from Frank to all staff and students.” ~Larry

“ Just wanted to say thanks for the wonderful experience, and fulfilling a dream I had thought unobtainable. The class was tremendous and very informative. Frank and his crew were great and the way you worked with my wife to arrange this was instramental in achieving my strong passion of being behind the wheel of a real drag car. Franks teaching goes further than the track, I have noticed changes in my daily driving and thinking, I have a great sense of accomplishment and confidence. Thanks again.” ~Gerald

Upcoming class dates – give us a call at 866-480-7223 with any questions or to schedule a date!

September 23-24 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG
October 9 – Fontana, CA ** Dragster Adventure
October 10 – Fontana, CA **Dragster Adventure (sold out)
October 15-16 – Fontana, CA – SC/SG
October 17 – Fontana, CA **Dragster Adventure (sold out)
October 28-29 – Gainesville, FL – TD
November 4-5 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG
November 21 – Gainesville, FL **Dragster Adventure
December 2-3 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG
December 4-5 – Gainesville, FL – PSM
December 4-5 – Gainesville, FL – TD
December 18-19 – Gainesville, FL – PSM
December 18-19 – Gainesville, FL – TD or Alky
December 30-31 – Auto Plus Raceway, Gainesville, FL – SC/SG

2015 CLASS DATES COMING SOON!!

www.frankhawley.com
866-480-7223

There are likely thousands of people far more qualified to write this than am I. I never served in the armed services, although I have tremendous admiration for those that currently serve and those that have. I did not know Jon Cavaiani his entire life but was fortunate enough to meet him several years ago and got to learn what an amazing man he was. And I’d like to remind the racing community that this past week our country lost a true hero.

I was introduced to Jon by Roger Burgess a number of years ago. Roger, also a vet, served with Jon for several years and the two had become close friends. Roger had also been a big supporter of the Medal Of Honor Society of which Jon was a member. When I was first introduced to Jon I must admit I was a little nervous however Jon made it instantly apparent he did not see himself as an important person. He was welcoming and not the least bit intimidating. His voice was raspy from a battle injury, his walk was stiff from another battle injury, his smile was huge and his handshakes and hugs were bigger. He laughed all the time.

I was working with R2B2 Racing at the time and Roger would host several Vietnam vets at each race. Jon would fly in for these ‘get-togethers’ to meet and spend time with each of the vets. If you took time to stand back and watch the interaction between Jon and the Vets it was amazing. They of course had the utmost respect for him but he also did for them. He was so giving of his time. He would talk to them about Drag Racing or their family or their time in the service or anything else. It was on these weekends that I also got to spend time with Jon.

I might guess that you don’t know the details of Jon’s story, his time as a POW, or why he was selected to receive the “Medal of Honor”. I think you should. You should buy a book about all of the Medal of Honor heroes or at the least search the internet and read about some of their stories, especially Jon’s.

One important point I’d like to share about the MOH members. They didn’t “win” the Medal Of Honor. It wasn’t a contest. It wasn’t a lottery. They didn’t do what they did, to earn the Medal of Honor. Not one of them was seeking this prestigious award. What they did was demonstrate incredible courage to protect and save the lives of others while placing their own lives at risk. It was a selfless act.

Jon pointed out to me once that there were definitely many, many more acts of selfless courage that never got reported simply because no one survived to tell the story.

The last time I was with Jon was in Washington DC. A friend of ours, Bob Pence, hosted a “Christmas Concert for the Troops” at the Kennedy Center. My wife, Lana and I were told we could bring a guest. We immediately thought of Jon. I was not sure if he would make the trip across the country for one night but I called to ask. He said that if it was a tribute to the “troops”, he’d be there. That night at the Kennedy Center I saw, among many others, a US Army General wait in line to shake Jon’s hand. I sat next to Jon while he was introduced to the audience of thousands which gave him a standing ovation and when the evening was over I watched him slowly descend a flight of stairs carefully holding the railing. I asked him if he was hurting tonight? He laughed out loud and said he was always hurting! Jon was a man who gave everything and asked for nothing in return.

I remember being at a race with Jon. We’d lost first round and exploded a motor. I was sitting in the pits more than a little dejected. Jon walked over and asked what was wrong. I told him we’d had a bad day. He smiled kindly, put his hand on my back and said, “Frank, I’ve seen bad days…this isn’t one of them.”

If you never got to meet Jon, I wish you had. He would have added something to your life.

Last week there were 80 living Medal of Honor recipients. This week there are 79.

To Sergeant Major Jon Cavaiani, a man who lived in the arena…thanks for your kindness and service.

We already miss you.

Frank Hawley

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”    ― Theodore Roosevelt

Our guys and the “Hawler” have been racking up some miles already this year. During the last few months we’ve held license classes, Dragster Adventures and Corporate programs at Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville; Auto Club Dragway in Fontana; Royal Purple Raceway in Houston; Atlanta Dragway (private corporate group), John Force Racing Corporate Group (pictured below) in Las Vegas; Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis; and now we’re off to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk where we’ll be holding our popular two-day Super Comp/Super Gas license class, a corporate adventure and our popular Dragster Adventure!

Then we’ll be heading to Seattle to do media rides for the 3rd Annual Ranier Cup with class the week following the NHRA O’Reilly Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

In between regular classes we’ve been having some fun working with Discovery Canada (full release soon) and Top Gear !

Attached is a short video produced by one of our grads from our June Super Comp licensing class at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA. It’s a very nice piece with some aerial shots from a ‘drone’ camera. Click on the following link to watch. Hope you like it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvGlLct0lo

Frank

 
Here are some upcoming class dates – give us a call at 866-480-7223 with any questions or to schedule a date!

August 6-7 – Seattle, WA – SC/SG; August 19 – Gainesville, FL – TAFC; August 26 – Gainesville, FL – TAFC;
September 3-4 – Reading, PA SC/SG; September 5 – Reading, PA **Dragster Adventure;
September 23-24 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG; October 10 – Fontana, CA **Dragster Adventure;
October 15-16 – Fontana, CA – SC/SG; October 17 – Fontana, CA **Dragster Adventure;
October 28 – Gainesville, FL – TD; November 4-5 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG;
November 21 – Gainesville, FL **Dragster Adventure; December 2-3 – Gainesville, FL – SC/SG;
December 4-5 – Gainesville, FL – PSM; December 18-19 – Gainesville, FL – PSM
December 30-31 – Auto Plus Raceway, Gainesville, FL – SC/SG

Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School will return to hold its most popular course, the two-day Super Class, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The one and only 2014 stop for the school at the premiere NHRA facility will be held July 21 and 22.

“There are different reasons drivers attend our courses,” said school founder Frank Hawley. “Some are looking to get a competition license while others just want to drive a fast dragster and check another item off their bucket list. Every class has a combination of experienced racers and folks that have never been down a drag strip. The course is designed to work for drivers with various levels of experience.”

“We hold our classes at many NHRA tracks. The staff, as well at the entire Summit Motorsports park facility, is one of the best you’ll find anywhere in the country,” said Hawley. “The Bader’s make us, and our students, feel very welcome and give us a superb surface in which to conduct our course.”

The two-day Super Class allows drivers of all backgrounds the opportunity to earn their NHRA competition driver’s license in the school’s Chevy Performance 572/720R equipped Super Comp Dragster or Super Gas Firebird, with some drivers even leaving the class with both licenses, all while being able to take in Hawley’s Personal Performance Development lectures.

No experience is necessary to take the course and several spots are also available for drivers to participate in the class utilizing their own car for training, as well.

As with any of the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School classes or locations throughout the U.S., space is very limited for the class to be held July 21-22 at Summit Motorsports Park. A few seats are still available, so don’t miss the opportunity to work with the Two-time NHRA Nitro Funny Car World Champion, Frank Hawley, when the school makes its one Ohio stop for 2014.

See our complete list of all upcoming class dates and locations on our website or call us at 866-480-7223!

If you watched the 2014 season premiere of the History channel’s show “Top Gear”, you witnessed one of the best “Top Gear” episodes ever! The show’s hosts Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrera tore up the streets of north central Florida before taking to the Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Florida for some wheelstanding, tire smoking action at the Gatornationals! If you didn’t see it… go right now to the History Channel web site and check for future air times.

The premise of the show is that 2 of the 3 hosts will get a chance to race a couple of current model Super Stock cars in an ‘old style’ side-by-side 2 out of 3 match race at the NHRA Gatornationals. In order to choose which two will get to compete, the hosts go through a series of crazy qualifying tests while driving super fast vintage muscle cars in and around Gainesville Florida. Then it’s on to the NHRA Gatornationals!

Well it wasn’t quite that simple. In order to race a 9 second car at a dragstrip a driver needs to qualify for a Competition driver’s license. The Top Gear producers needed their drivers to get the proper training and obtain their competition racing licenses before they ever thought of driving at the Gatornationals. That’s when they called Frank Hawley.

“The producers actually called us several months ago and explained to us the format of the show,” said Hawley. “Even though each of the hosts had spent many hours behind the wheel of some crazy fast machines they knew that preparing them to race at the Gatornationals, in front of thousands of people would require some training and time behind the wheel. I felt honored that after all of their research they choose our school to train their drivers.”

All 3 hosts spent plenty of time at the wheel of Hawley’s Super Gas cars practicing burn-outs, staging, working on Reaction Times as well as reviewing video and attending lectures.

“Rutledge, Tanner and Adam were absolutely wonderful to work with,” said Hawley. “They were very professional and focused when they needed to be and a few minutes later they were laughing and making fun of one another”.

Also, take a look at Rutledge Wood on You Tube.

http://youtu.be/t4ZRc60jZZ4

“I also want to thank Linda Wolkovitch, the show’s Producer,” added Hawley. “Linda and her team did an amazing amount of behind the scenes work to make this happen.”

 To get yourself , your friends or your group behind the wheel at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School … visit us at www.frankhawley.com or call 866-480-7223.

Recently a group of corporate executives got their first introduction to NHRA Drag Racing courtesy of John Force Racing, Just Marketing, Inc. and Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. The group attended and competed in Frank Hawley’s Dragster Adventure Challenge at the Strip in Las Vegas. The private session included members of a number of America’s top companies.

“We are constantly working to grow NHRA drag racing as well as our race teams. In order to grow our sport you’ve got to get people excited about it and I couldn’t think of any better way to do that than to get them behind the wheel of a dragster,” said Force. “Hawley and I have worked together for years and I don’t know anyone else I’d want to represent John Force Racing and our sport more than Frank Hawley and his team.”

“It’s always a lot of fun to work with John,” said Hawley. “John’s entire team was there – John, Robert, Courtney and Brittany. Each one of them pitched in and helped make this a memorable day for all of the participants. Everyone was thrilled when they got the chance to get behind the wheel and blast down the track.”

Following rides in the school’s 2-seat race cars, each participant made practice runs in the school’s Adventure Dragsters prior to competing in the side-by-side Dragster Adventure Challenge.

“I was impressed, but not surprised by how competitive these folks were. They absolutely loved the side-by-side racing,” said Hawley. “It was a great day that would not have been possible without the great planning and organization of the folks at Just Marketing. They handled everything from a cocktail reception the night before to road signs and decorations in the suites! They are a very well organized marketing group and a pleasure to work with.”

Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School operates at tracks across the country. If you or your group is interested in the Adventure of a lifetime, check out the school at www.frankhawley.com or give them a call at 866-480-7223.

By Jeff Smith

Photos by Mike Morgan and Jeff Smith

For 28 years Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School has been the leader in drag race driving instruction and licensing.  Thousands of bracket and class racers and many of today’s Pros are on the graduate list.

This year the school has added a new program, the Dragster Adventure.  The Dragster Adventure puts drivers behind the wheel of a real competition-styled 230” wheelbase dragster and lets them race in “side-by-side” competition!

Unlike the cars in Hawley’s well-known “Licensing Programs” which require a medical and two days of instruction, the Adventure Dragsters are powered by ZZ454 Chevy big blocks which are a milder version of the school’s 572 c.i. competition engines.  However, even the ZZ454s are a little too powerful and to keep the cars away from 9-second runs, as per NHRA licensing requirements, the engines are throttled back to produce 10-second, 130 mph performances.  But don’t think for a minute that these cars aren’t fast…they’re really fast!

The design of the cars, allows students to get up to speed in a half-day course and if they choose to, enter into ‘side-by-side’ eliminations in the afternoon.  So when Frank invited me to do some racing at the Media Challenge, I jumped at the chance.

The race was at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA which was re-opened this spring.  I joined a number of other journalists for the one-day course offered by Hawley.  The event was to promote both the re-opening of the Auto Club Dragway and the return of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School to Southern California.

To add a little excitement to the race and to give some folks much needed advice, Hawley invited John Force Racing driver Robert Hight and Don Schumacher Racing driver Jack Beckman (a veteran Hawley school instructor), as guest instructors.  Nitro FC racer Jeff Arend, a sales rep for Hawley, joined in to help coach the media.

It all sounded like great fun, but these are very quick dragsters and just like you wouldn’t put a neophyte in an aircraft with no instruction, the same is true with these dragsters.  First, we spent an hour or so with Frank in the classroom going over the intricacies of how to drive his dragster, then we moved outside where we were fitted with helmets and the all-important safety gear and driving suits.  Finally, we learned how to get in and out of that tight cockpit so at least we looked like a 20-year veteran.

Once we had the basic instructions committed to memory, it was time to drive the cars.  We first had to perform a burnout, stage the car, react to the ‘Tree’ and make an 1/8^th-mile pass.  Once we’d managed that successfully under Frank’s and the rest of the coaches watchful eyes, we returned to make a full quarter-mile run and prepare for qualifying, which would be based on Reaction Time.

The format for the race was a .500 Pro Tree, and a handicapped start with dial-ins.  5.0 Mustang and Super Ford magazine’s KJ Jones hit a perfect 0.000 reaction time to take the top spot in qualifying.  On the other end of the field was Car Craft’s Douglas Glad who red lighted and therefore found himself at the bottom of the ladder.  Using a Pro ladder, this placed Jones and Glad against each other in the first round.  The rest of the field also paired up based on their qualifying times.

Although we were given instructions on dialing the cars in, each participant had to choose their own dial-ins.  There were a few variables to consider including the drivers weight, the order the cars ran, temperature changes and more. Both Beckman and Hight helped their respective teams figure out how to negotiate the dial-ins based on each car’s previous best e.t.

The first matchup promised to be exciting as Glad had to take on top qualifier Jones. Both reaction times were within 0.005-second giving KJ the ever-so-slight advantage.  KJ slowed only 0.008 against his 10.62 dial-in which seemed close enough to deliver the win, but Glad nailed his, running right on his 10.78 dial to take the win.  First round also saw several racers forget to pull their shift lever back into First gear after the burnout, which meant the car left in high gear. Among the victims of this oversight were the author, Henry De Los Santos, and at least one other. Racer Alex Rogeo looked good in her first pass with an impressive 10.45 on her 10.44 dial-in. This was impressive given all the variables, but she has lots of bracket racing experience so she knows the bracket game well.

Hot Rod’s Elana Sherr transitioned to the second round as did Camaro Performers’ Nick Licata, Vette’s Steven Rupp, Speed Scene Live’s Donnie Couch, and Car Craft’s Douglas Glad.  Alex beat Elana in the all-girl race when Elana broke out after pulling off an excellent reaction time advantage, Couch put Calin Head out with a great start, and Rupp beat his buddy in an in-house duel when Licata redlighted.

For the semi-final round, Glad met Alex the Car Girl. Glad nailed the ‘Tree but slowed against his dial-in giving Alex the win light when she ran dead on her 10.32 dial-in. That produced the closest race of the event with a 0.023-second margin of victory. On the other side of the ladder, Couch bested Rupp when the ‘Vette editor gave away a 0.063-second advantage on the starting line when he slowed against his dial-in. This gave us the final round of Alex The Car Girl versus Couch The Big Guy. Couch got the slower dial-in head start and both cut lights within 0.016 with Couch taking the advantage. Alex had been living on the edge of her dial-in all day and the gamble finally caught up with her when she broke out by a scant 0.020-second but it was enough to give Couch the win and the champion’s trophy.

Hawley’s Dragster Adventure program is an absolute blast.  It is the only place where you can learn how to drive a 130 mph dragster and race it in competition in one single day.  Hawley takes this program around the country to various tracks and it’s the perfect way to spend a day with your friends or for a company outing.

Check the school’s website www.frankhawley.com and see when they’ll be in your area.

Thanks to the Hawley’s and the staff for a great day!

NHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Jeff Arend has joined Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School team as a Program Sales Representative.  Jeff will be working with 18 year school veteran Paul Shields in a position for which Jeff is uniquely qualified.  Jeff’s entire career has been devoted to drag racing.  He has worked as a mechanic, instructor, sales rep and race car driver…a position he currently holds as driver for the “Grime Boss” NHRA Nitro Funny Car campaigned by drag race legend Jim Dunn.

Jeff Arend and Frank Hawley go way back.  Both natives of Ontario, Canada, Jeff and Frank grew up racing at the same drag strips in Southern Ontario and both fulfilled their childhood dreams of one day getting a shot in the “big show”, driving NHRA Nitro Funny Cars.

When Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School opened its west coast program back in 1996 Frank needed experienced, skilled drag racing mechanics and drivers to maintain the school cars and instruct the classes.  Jeff Arend was one of the first people he called.

“I had known Jeff for many years and was very familiar with his skill set,” said Hawley.  “I needed someone that could tune and maintain our Alcohol cars as well as instruct our drivers.  Jeff could do it all,” continued Hawley.  “I met with Jeff, offered him a position and he accepted.”

About the same time Jeff signed on, another “up and coming” driver came to work for the school.  Current Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car driver Jack Beckman joined Jeff.  “We had quite a staff,” said Hawley!

When the School’s lease at Pomona was not renewed several years ago the west coast staff continued building their own individual drag racing careers but the relationships and friendships stayed intact.

“We are enjoying a time of growth at our racing school,” said Hawley.  “We have new programs we are offering and new race tracks we will be attending.  Jeff will be a great asset to our team and a great help to our customers.  He understands every aspect of our business and of course everything about drag racing.  Jeff will be able to help answer anyone’s questions and guide them to the perfect program,” said Hawley.

“I’m excited about working with the school again,” said Jeff.  “I love talking with folks about drag racing and my job is wide ranging.  On one call I’ll be talking with a guy that wants to come out and race his friends in our “side-by-side” Dragster Adventure, the next call I’ll be helping a future racer decide on the right direction he or she should take with their racing career and then I’ll be talking with a company executive or owner about a corporate day for their sales force,” said Jeff.

“The fact that I’m currently racing a Nitro Funny Car on the NHRA Mello Yellow series is a real bonus for me and our customers.  I’ll be at every major drag strip in the country this year and although I get very busy sometimes helping the crew with the car, it will provide a great opportunity for folks to stop by our pit and talk about their racing plans and how Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School may help them achieve their goals or fulfill their dreams,” said Jeff.

Contact Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School at www.frankhawley.com or 866-480-7223!

Paul Shields x102, pshields@frankhawley.com

Jeff Arend x103, jarend@frankhawley.com

Click on the link below to read about what we’ve been up to so far this year!  It’s been very busy indeed!

Frank Hawley School News – March 2014

We have lots more exciting things going on! More updates coming soon!

Contact us to schedule your Adventure or License Course!

866-480-7223

www.frankhawley.com

Frigid temperatures across the country didn’t stop students at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School from bringing in the New Year with a roar at the school’s annual “New Years” class held in Gainesville, FL.  Blue skies and warm temperatures greeted the drivers that made the trip south.  Following two days of tire smoking action and over 70 quarter mile runs, a new group of NHRA competition licensed drivers will start the 2014 season on the right track. 

Classes will continue here at Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville for the next several weeks and then we’ll be headed west for Phoenix, AZ.  This will be the school’s first trip ever to the Phoenix track.

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is the new name for the facility in Phoenix, previously called Firebird Raceway.  The raceway is under new management.  I’ve been talking with the folks there just this week and I think racers, fans and our students will be quite impressed when they see the racetrack.  They have a new concrete racing surface, new state of the art Compulink timing system and many other improvements.  Our Phoenix class will run Feb 25/26, just after the National Event and before the Division event which will give our students the chance to take in some NHRA racing action in addition to driving our cars.

The school will be back in Gainesville after our Phoenix trip with classes in March following the Gatornationals.  This class is always popular with students looking to escape the long winter, travel south to watch the Gatornationals and enjoy some race car driving at the school.

Then it’s off to Fontana, California for the school’s debut at Auto Club Dragway.  We are so excited about the re-opening of the drag strip at Fontana!  Our classes begin at Fontana in April with our competition licensing courses and our new Adventure Dragster course which offers ‘side-by-side’ racing.  The Fontana, California track will be a regular visit on our 2014 tour.

In the next few weeks watch for updates on our new race cars and new transporters!

Frank