Category: friday feature

By David G. Firestone

I had originally scheduled this article for after the Route 66 Nationals, but sometimes, real life gets in the way. Shortly before the Route 66 Nationals, Terry Chandler who had been funding the Funny Cars of Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. passed away from cancer. I wasn’t sure what the best way to proceed was, and I decided to put it off until I had some information I didn’t have, and wasn’t available at the time. Since then, her husband revealed that both of their cars will be funded through 2020. I was glad that happened, and I’m happy her legacy will live on.

I’ve discussed Jack Beckman on The Driver Suit Blog many times. He is a great driver, he connects with the fans, and he was kind enough to grant me an interview last year. I’ve been into the Infinite Hero Challenge Coin program since the beginning, and love collecting them. Well, I’m back with another profile of the coins for 2017.

Launched in 2011, The Infinite Hero Foundation “…is to combat the most difficult front line issues – mental and physical – facing returning military heroes and their families.” Military personnel returning from overseas deployment face long term employment, mental and physical problems that the majority of Americans don’t understand. They work with other non-profit veterans groups and give out grants to help service men and women cope with these long term problems.

In April 2014, they started appearing on the side of Jack Beckman’s funny car. Terry Chandler, who also sponsors Tommy Johnson Jr.’s Make a Wish Foundation Funny Car, is the financial backer of the car. She pays for Infinite Hero to race on the sides of the car. This also began the NHRA coin program. When Jack Beckman gets into his funny car to race, he carries at least 5 Infinite Hero Challenge Coins in the pocket of his driver suit. Once the race is over, he will autograph them and sell them at the track and on eBay. They cost $100 with all proceeds going to the Infinite Hero Foundation.

The 2014 design is quite thick, and has a ridged edge. One side featured “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism,” around a globe design with an Oakley logo. Oakley is a partner with the Infinite Hero Foundation. The other side features an Infinite Hero Foundation logo with purple enamel. The coin was placed in a round, flat plastic container, with black foam braces. The coin lacks the blue enamel that the coin that comes with the glasses coin, and future coins, and has a very plain look. I do like the plain look. Jack used was identical to the one sold in stores. Jack autographed the plastic case. In 2014, this 1/24 scale die cast was produced. It is a full replica of Beckman’s funny car. Valvoline was a primary sponsor, and this was the only season Infinite Hero and Valvoline were together on the car. It’s also the only time that Infinite Hero Challenge appeared on the older Dodge funny car body. In 2015, the current body was introduced, and Pennzoil replaced Valvoline. Jack has autographed the windshield. A redesigned coin of the same size was introduced for 2015. The Oakley logos are gone. One side features a design similar to the globe design, but the globe design has been replaced with an American Flag design. “Courage, Honor, Virtue, Heroism” has been replaced with “Duty, Honor, Innovation, Courage.” The new emblem on the reverse side has one of the across bands removed. The new packaging is an upgrade, with the circular plastic cylinder replaced with an attractive box. It comes with a card that Jack Beckman autographed, and on the reverse it has the Infinite Hero Foundation Pledge. The first one is from The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Phoenix on February 22, 2015, where Jack was eliminated in the first round. The second one is from the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, where Beckman won the event, beating Courtney Force in the final round. Also in 2015, these hero cards were produced. Hero cards are given away at racing events and driver appearances. They have Jack’s picture, and information about the driver, team, and the Infinite Hero Challenge. For 2016, the coins got a major makeover. The Infinite Hero logo is now bigger. The words “Reimagine” and “Recovery” are stamped near the logo, and on the opposite side, a picture of Jack’s funny car replaces the flag motif. It should also be noted that the coin is slightly smaller, because it isn’t as tight in the coin case as the previous version. The Infinite Hero Pledge accompanies the coin. Also changed from 2016, Jack doesn’t sign the box and the pledge, he just signs the pledge. The 2017 Infinite Hero coin is slightly larger than the 2016 coin, and fits snugly in the box. The pledge piece remains unchanged. The coin itself has a plain pewter Infinite Hero Challenge logo on one side, and a blue enameled claw stripe design with a hex nut design on the border. Hero cards are given away at racing events and driver appearances. They have Jack’s picture, and information about the driver, team, and the Infinite Hero Challenge. For 2016-2017, a new card design was introduced. It has updated information, as well as the updated paint scheme introduced at the beginning of the season. Recently, I took a number of selfies with race car drivers, and made them into a book, and got them signed. This is me with Jack Beckman. Hector Arana signed the upper-left corner.

Jack Beckman is a great driver, who races for a great sponsor, and supports a great cause. He has been really amazing not just to me, not just to to The Driver Suit Blog, but to the NHRA and their fan base. I’m glad he’s going to be racing for The Infinite Hero Challenge until 2020. As long as he is selling them, I will continue buying the Infinite Hero Challenge Coins, and promoting them on The Driver Suit Blog.

Next Week, we will continue something I started in July…

By David G. Firestone

The term “pole position” comes from horse racing, where the fastest qualifying horse would be placed on the inside part of the course, next to the pole. Though Qualifying takes several different forms, all drivers want the pole position.

In 1979, Busch Beer started sponsoring the pole award in the Winston Cup Series, with the pole award winners would race in the Busch Clash, before the Daytona 500. The Busch Clash lasted from 1979 until 1997, when it became the Budweiser Shootout in 2001, to 2012. The sponsorship spread to the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series as well. Anheuser-Busch dropped the sponsorship in 2012, and Molson took over. In the Cup and Xfinity Series, the pole award is sponsored by Coors Light. In the Truck Series, the pole award is sponsored by Keystone Light. With the new sponsor came these small flags given to the drivers and crew members of the pole winners.

This version is given to pole award winners who are under 21. The flag is 19 inches long, and 12 inches wide, is only printed on one side, and is in good condition. In 2015, nobody in the Cup series under 21 won the pole award. In the Xfinity Series, Erik Jones won pole awards at the Drive4Clots.com 300 at Fontana, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas, and the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol. Darrell Wallace Jr. won the pole at the Buckle Up 200 at Dover. Finally, Ben Rhodes won the pole at the Road America 180 at Road America.

In 2015, nobody in the Cup series under 21 won the pole award. In the Xfinity Series, Erik Jones won pole awards at Fontana, Texas, and Bristol. Darrell Wallace Jr. won the pole at the Dover. Finally, Ben Rhodes won the pole at Road America. In the Truck Series, Erik Jones won the pole at Kansas, Texas, Gateway, Iowa, Pocono,and Phoenix. Bobby Pierce won the pole at Eldora, and Cole Custer won the pole at Martinsville. This flag was given to one of their race teams at some point.

This flag was from 2015 at Dover, and would have been awarded to Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, or Ryan Blaney. It’s the same size as the under 21 flag, The flag is 19 inches long, and 12 inches wide, is only printed on one side, and is in good condition. These pole award flags are small when compared to a full-sized checkered flag, this one from the 2010 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Miami Grand Prix.What I find odd is that Coors Light sponsors the pole award, and they have a contest where the driver who wins the most Coors Light Pole Awards will win $100,000. While this is a great idea, for some reason, it’s never mentioned on any NASCAR telecast EVER! Why? Coors Light has done a terrible job promoting the pole award, and the fact that they are the Official Beer of NASCAR. While Monster Energy is the most promoted official beverage, followed up by Coca Cola, Coors never seems to get mentioned. Why is Coors Light not making more an effort?

Anyhow, next week will feature Driver Suit Blog favorite Jack Beckman.

By David G. Firestone

Since this weekend is the opening week for the NFL, I felt I’d shift gears, and talk about football memorabilia this week. I’m a football fan when I’m not watching auto racing. I didn’t get into football until I was in high school, but now I follow the NFL regularly. I almost got into the NFL Draft in 2016. I also periodically buy NFL memorabilia. As regular readers know, I buy game-used toss coins, but I also buy other NFL toss coins.

The commemorative coins used for the coin toss have become a collector’s market of their own. While made by different companies over the years, The Highland Mint, based in Melbourne, Florida has become the leader in sports commemorative coin manufacturing. They produce coins for the NFL for their coin tosses and fan souvenirs. An example is this 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers coin set, which has a standard coin, an NFL Kickoff Coin, and, strangely, an NFL Thanksgiving coin, even though Tampa Bay didn’t play on Thanksgiving in 2004, and played an AWAY game that week.This set, limited edition #10 of 1,500, is in decent condition with the coins in great condition, and the case a bit worse for wear. The first of three coins is the standard Buccaneers’ Home toss coin, which features a TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS logo on the front, and an NFL logo on the back. The NFL Kickoff coin is the second coin, this one features a Buccaneers’ helmet logo on the front and a 2004 NFL Kickoff logo on the rear. The third coins is the aforementioned Thanksgiving coin, which is odd, since the NFL only uses that logo on Thanksgiving day, not the whole week. It is the same as the NFL Kickoff coin, but with an NFL Thanksgiving Day logo. This is an example of a standard-issue NFL Highland Mint toss coin, this one the New York Giants, numbered 840 of 5000. It is in decent condition.

Everyone will always remember the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for a game between the Packers and the Colts that never happened. The game was canceled because the brand new field had to be repainted, and the field wasn’t ready in time. This commemorative silver coin, numbered 229 of 5,000, was made for the weekend festivities. It is in decent condition, but the case shows wear. This is a slightly smaller coin made to be sold in souvenir stands. It’s inexpensive, and smaller than the real coins. This was made for Super Bowl XXXVIII, which saw the Patriots beat the Panthers 32-29. It is in great condition. In addition to coins, I’m also into collecting other football items, such as this vintage tear-away jersey. For many years, football jerseys were made of durene, a treated, heavy polyester. This proved problematic for teams playing in hot weather cities, so a lighter jersey, similar to a t-shirt was introduced in the 1970’s. These jerseys were so delicate, they could be torn to shreds after only one game, and the NFL finally banned them, replacing them with the current mesh material. This example dates to the 1970’s, and shows heavy wear with tears all over.The numbers are heat-pressed on, and the front numbers show repair work. The shoulders show wear, including tears and stains. The back shows the same wear as the front, stains, tears, and repairs. This is a wristband that was worn by a member of the LA Rams in the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s, and it shows great use.The first player in football history to win a Super Bowl and an XFL Million Dollar Game, David Richie had an unremarkable career aside from that piece of trivia. He played in Super Bowl XXXII for the Denver Broncos, and the XFL Million Dollar Game in 2001. These gloves were worn by, and signed by David Richie. One piece of NFL gear that gets replaced frequently is the face mask. Often replaced because of damage, masks are a part of the helmet that suffers damage from impact more than the helmet shell. This example was worn by New York Giants Defensive Tackle Fred Robbins. It was worn on October 2, 2005, playing at home against the Rams. While his stats for the game were not impressive, the damage on this face mask is, with numerous dings and scuff marks.

I collect a lot of stadium memorabilia. One of my favorite things to collect is turf. Turf is pulled up and replaced every few years. This large example is the size of a doormat, and comes from the end zone of Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, home of the Oregon Ducks.Lyle Smith Field in Boise will forever be known for its blue turf, where the Boise State Broncos play. This is an example of that blue turf, one foot tall, in the shape of Idaho.Three Rivers Stadium was a cookie-cutter multi-purpose stadium in Pittsburgh. It lasted until 2001, when it was demolished, and replaced with newer venues. This plaque has a piece of turf and a piece of a seat.Every sports fan in San Francisco will forever remember Candlestick Park, be it for Joe Montana and Steve Young, or the 1989 Earthquake. It was also the site of the final concert of the Beatles. Like many classic stadiums, Candlestick has been demolished, and replaced with newer venues. While Candlestick Park used grass for most of its history, from 1970 to 1978, it had turf installed, and this 13″ by 13″ piece was given away. It shows nice use.This small 3″ by 3″ piece of Soldier Field Turf was used from 1977 to 1988, and was replaced by grass. When it was removed, it was sold in Shell stations with an 8 gallon fill-up. This piece has part white, and part green, and is in decent condition.Before the renovations which left it looking like a UFO landed on a Roman Colosseum, Soldier Field was a traditional stadium with a traditional look. In 2002, renovations began, and many old components were removed and replaced. Once such piece is ths GATE 31 sign, with a Walter Payton sticker still attached. It shows nice, weathered use. This last item is a set of notes written by Captain Beckwith from the Union College Dutchmen from 1895. For a document this old, it’s in great condition.I find NFL stuff to be interesting, and I’ve covered some aspects of my collection in previous articles. There are some things I would like to buy, such as yard markers, maybe a goal post, and some penalty flags. Speaking of flags, I’m going to discuss some racing flags next week.

By David G. Firestone

We’re going to do things a little differently this week. This pair of racing boots has been interesting to research, and I’ve decided to go ahead with I have found out about these boots. Let’s start out with what I know for sure. They are a pair of Puma Future Cat Hi Pro P boots, red and white in color, which show decent use. Matt Halliday’s signature on each side, with the inscription “2007” on each side. Now let’s see why there is more to these than meets the eye.

In addition to the signatures, I purchased these from Matt Halliday’s eBay page. He stated that these were boots he wore during the 2007 Champ Car season, during which he raced three races for Eric Bachelart and sponsored by 42 below, at Las Vegas, Long Beach, and Houston, where he didn’t score a top 10 in any race. The boots show wear consistent with this.

The right boot shows use, with discoloration, scuff marks, and Matt Halliday’s signature with the inscription “2007” on the inside near the Puma logo.

Now here comes the odd thing. The tag on the tongue has the name Daniel Gaunt written on the tag in Sharpie. The boots do not show heavy use. It doesn’t appear to me that they were used by multiple drivers for multiple seasons. Also, since the two never raced together on the same team, it seems unlikely that this was a team decision to give Matt these boots. It should also be noted that in his Champ Car pictures, Halliday can clearly be seen wearing a pair of Pumas, so were these boots prepared for Gaunt and used by Halliday? That could be, especially if the boots weren’t right for Gaunt, but right for Halliday.

The left boot shows some discoloration, and some scuff marks, and has been signed by Halliday on the outside on the white, again with the “2007” inscription.

Like the right boot, the tongue has DANIEL GAUNT written in Sharpie on the tag.I’m not sure what to make of these boots. Matt Halliday claims he wore them during his one season in Champ Car, and maybe he did. There is evidence he wore Pumas during his time in Champ Car, and since drivers will wear more than one pair of shoes during a season, it’s likely he is telling the truth on that. It’s also theoretically possible that since he also raced V8 Supercars in 2007, that he could have worn the boots in both.

Based on the amount of wear the shoes show, I don’t think they were worn by both drivers. Race car drivers are control freaks, and their uniform choices reflect this. Now if Daniel Gaunt wore them once or twice testing his car, and didn’t like them, and didn’t want to wear them, and gave them to Halliday, that could explain it too. The fact that these came from Halliday, and he stated that he wore these during his Champ Car career is telling. Since these two have only raced a total of six races together in their careers, it’s possible that they are friends outside of racing. Both were born in Auckland, New Zealand, and both rose through the racing ranks to get to the top of their careers, so it’s a real possibility.

In any event, these are a beautiful pair of racing boots, which, while minimalist, are well designed and attractive. They have been an interesting thing to research, and I had fun with it. Next week, we will look at some NFL stuff to commemorate the start of the season.

By David G. Firestone

Going off topic again this week. I’m not the biggest fan of tennis. I don’t understand a lot of the rules, and I don’t understand the scoring system, even though I took a class on it in high school. That said, tennis has a huge fan base. Naturally, the tennis memorabilia market is ripe, but unlike most other sports, until recently, The ATP was slower to wake than most other leagues. Now that the ATP is embracing the memorabilia market, the match-used market has a lot to offer.

This weekend marks the start of the second oldest of the Grand Slam tournaments, the US Open dates back to 1881, at the Newport Casino, in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1915, it was moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York, where it was held until 1977, when the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center was opened in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, where it is played to this day.

The tournament has had some legendary winners, including on the women’s side, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. On the men’s side, you have Richard Sears, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal,and Novak Djokovic. There have also been 19 players who went on to earn the Grand Slam. Tennis balls have been yellow since 1972, due to being more visible on television, than the previous white design. I have some Ace Authentic US Open match-used tennis balls.

These examples are from 2007, are in baseball cubes, and have Ace Authentic hologram stickers with 2007 US OPEN MATCH-USED BALL printed on the sticker. This example is from the 2008 US Open, and this one was used by Novak Djokovic. It has 2007 US OPEN MATCH-USED BALL NOVAK DJOKOVIC printed on the Ace Authentic sticker.Like many other sports, tennis uses a coin toss to determine who serves and who receives. From at least 2008 to 2013, the US Open used Highland Mint made flip coins. Like other flip coins, these were custom designed for the occasion. I have a couple of match-used coins from the 2013 Tournament.

The Men’s Doubles saw Leander Paes and Radek Štěpánek defeat Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the Finals. On the way to the finals, Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares defeated Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo at Louis Armstrong Stadium 7–5, 6–4 on September 5, 2013. This coin was used for the coin toss. This Highland Mint made coin was authenticated by MeiGray, which the US Open used from 2012 to 2015 for their memorabilia. It comes with a full Letter of Authenticity, and MeiGray hologram, in a MeiGray folder. The Women’s Doubles saw Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká defeat Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua on September 7 6–7(4–7), 6–1, 6–4 . To get there, Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká had to beat Sania Mirza and China Zheng Jie in the Women’s Doubles Semifinals on September 5 6–2, 6–2. The day before, Mirza and Zheng Jie defeated Hsieh Su-wei and China Peng Shuai 6–4, 7–6(7–5) in the Quarter Finals at Louis Armstrong Stadium. This Highland Mint Coin, #18 was used for the coin toss. This Highland Mint made coin was authenticated by MeiGray. It comes with a full Letter of Authenticity, and MeiGray hologram, in a MeiGray folder. The Highland Mint made US Open Coins for retail. These are numbered higher than match-used coins, and the Match-Used coins have .999 FINE SILVER stamped into the side, near the serial number, whereas the retail coins do not.For the next 14 days, the tennis world will be focused on New York City and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will be its busiest as the best tennis players from around the world compete in one of the most respected tennis tournaments and try to win the U.S. National Championship trophy, one of the most coveted in tennis. Who the winners will be will be known on September 10.

Next week, I will discuss a pair of IndyCar boots.

By David G. Firestone

I’m not a golfer. I don’t play gold, though I do watch The Masters every year. You know who does play golf in their off-duty hours? Many race car drivers play golf. The quiet course, and calming effect that the game has is a great way to calm down from the noise of the race track.

Golf companies like to use cross-promotion to help promote their products. From sponsoring celebrity players and tournaments, to sponsoring race cars, golf companies understand that people love the sport.

Founded in 1979, TaylorMade first made a 12-degree loft metalwood. By 1997, the company had made millions, and Adidas bought the company. By 2006, they became the second golf company to earn over a billion dollars. In 2005, the company focus shifted to taking over the driver market, which has proven to be a great move. One such driver is the R1, which was introduced in 2013. To promote the release, this R1 Simpson karting suit was made, for some promotion that has been lost to history.When I first saw the suit, I thought that it was for when Chad Head was sponsored by TaylorMade for the 2015 Circle K NHRA Winternationals. I knew it wasn’t a driver suit, but I thought that it was for promotional purposes. After looking into it, I realized that the car was running a TaylorMade Areoburner scheme, and Head was wearing his normal suit, made by Stand 21. While I have found evidence showing that TaylorMade did some golf cart racing, I haven’t been able to find proof that this suit was used in a golf cart race. This suit exists, but for what, I guess I’ll never know.This non-Nomex suit shows some wear with scuff marks and stains.

The collar is of the standard variety, and has a TaylorMade logo heat-pressed into it.The cowl has a Simpson non-Nomex warranty tag, as well as a tag with washing instructions.The upper chest has no adornment to speak of. The front torso has a large orange and green R1 logo heat pressed into it.The suit has an orange belt, below the white torso, and the belt is unadorned.The orange legs have a white TAYLORMADE logo and wordmark heat-pressed into the left leg, in television position. For some reason, the right leg is unadorned.The shoulders have white epaulets, outlined in silver, and aside from SIMPSON logos, are unadorned. The sleeves are in green, and the right sleeve has TAYLORMADE TUNED PERFORMANCE heat-pressed into it, though the placement could be considered television position for open-wheel cars. The left sleeve is unadorned. The back of the suit shows some light scuff marks on the white material.The orange collar has no adornment on the back.The back torso shows some light scuff marks on the white material.While I get the idea of golf companies using racing to help promote their products, I would still love to know what this suit was used for. For most of my collection, racing and non-racing, I at least have the knowledge of what this item was used for. This is one of the few items where I don’t know where, when, and why it was used. Sometimes in life you can get this information, sometimes you can’t.

Next week, I’m doing an article on the US Open.

By David G. Firestone

Founded by Robert Bosch in 1886, Robert Bosch GmbH is the leading supplier of automotive parts in the world. Better known simply as Bosch, the company also makes building supplies, and industrial products. Bosch is generally accepted as making the first commercially viable spark plug in 1902, and had a patent for one in 1898. Bosch currently owns 440 subsidiaries, in addition to the auto parts business.

Bosch in Mexico has 3 different locations, the first in Mexico City, the second in Mexicali, and the third in Juarez. There are also a number of mechanics operating under the Bosch name. Recently, the company celebrated the 20th Anniversary of making platinum spark plugs in Mexico. To commemorate the event, the company had this cotton jumpsuit was made.The suit shows no real use, and is in great condition.

The collar has a button snap, with a Mexican flag on the right side, and a German flag on the left.The suit is made by Tejidos y Acabados Industriales S.A. de C.V.. Their manufacturer tag is located in the cowl.The chest has a large BOSCH logo, and four patches, which read BUJIAS which translates to plugs, FRENOS which translates to brakes, ALTERNADORES which translates to Alternators, and for some reason, FUEL INJECTORS in English, which would translate to inyectores de combustible in Spanish.The suit has no beltThe blue legs have white pockets with red closures on them.The shoulders have red epaulets, with Robert Bosch GmbH logos and AUTOMOTRIZ, which is Spanish for automotive. The sleeves have patches. On the right sleeve, the upper patches have REGULADORES which translates to regulators, and BATERIAS which translates to batteries, and the lower sleeve has FILTROS which translates to filters in television position. The left sleeve has a black patch, with a spark plug design with 20 ANOS DE BUJAIS DE PLANTO embroidered into it. That translates to “20 years of platinum sparks.” There is a second patch with CABLES,and a third patch, with MARCHAS, which translates to Marches, which is an automotive term in Mexico. The back of the suit shows no wear.The neck is in red fabric and has no adornment on the back of the neck.The back torso has a BOSCH RACING TEAM logo embroidered into it.Bosch continues to be a force in automotive, industrial and home improvement technology. Being the largest auto part company, and a major supplier of industrial equipment and power tools, they are invested in most industries in the world. They are a well-known sponsor of auto racing as well, sponsoring events and cars.

Next Week, Golf and racing collide in an unusual way.

By David G. Firestone

‘Tis the beginning of August, my vacation has ended, and I’m back to normal on The Driver Suit Blog. I’m rested, refreshed, and ready for anything. I had a great vacation! I really do love doing The Driver Suit Blog, but I need a break, and nothing beats July in Chicago!

The first week was more or less spend getting ready for the Route 66 Nationals. I had to do a few things to get ready, but then the weekend finally came and I went, enjoyed myself, and had a great time with my friends!

What I love about having time off is that I can work on side projects, and not have to worry about time constraints, which is an issue, due to both The Driver Suit Blog and my works schedule. I was able to get a lot of work done without interruptions.

Much of my time was spent working on box break videos,

beer review videos,

soda review videos,

and thunderstorm videos.

These videos are somewhat time consuming, but just being able to sit down and work on these videos can be a challenge sometimes. But I did what I wanted to do, and I got my videos done, and I’m happy with them.

I also got to spend some more time hanging out with my friends, which due to schedule conflicts isn’t easy to do. I had a great time with them, I’ve known them since high school, and we are still close after all these years.

All in all I needed the time to decompress and relax. Now that we are done with that, back to normal! Next week, I’ll discuss a Bosch promotional suit.

By David G. Firestone

She has 22 national event wins, 2 Pro Stock Championships, is a former junior dragster champion, and even has had a Disney Channel movie made about her life. She is the 35^th woman to win an NHRA event, the first woman to win a Pro Stock race, and the first woman to win a Pro Stock championship. Yet Erica Enders-Stevens isn’t flashy, or uptight. She remains humble and devoted to racing.

Erica started her racing career in 1992, in the first Junior Dragster season. She would win the second race of her career. After earning 38 wins in Junior Dragster, she moved up to Super Gas, earning a win in Super Gas, at Houston, her home town track. She joined the Pro Stock ranks in 2005 with Cagnazzi Racing. She was the first woman to qualify in the top half of the field, made the final round in Chicago, and won more rounds than every other woman in the history of the category COMBINED!

2011 saw Erica beat Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch in the first round of the Gatornationals, and set a new Pro Stock speed record that same event. At the 2012 Route 66 Nationals, she won her first Pro Stock Wally, and her boyfriend Richie Stevens Jr. proposed to her. 2012 saw her win three more races. 2013 saw her win two races, the last with Cagnazzi Racing.

In 2014, she joined Elite Motorsports, and that could be considered her breakout year. She had 6 wins, the most of her career up to that point, and the most of any woman in the class up to that point. She also won the K&N Horsepower Challenge, and earned her first Pro Stock championship. 2015 would see her win her second Pro Stock Championship, this time winning 9 races, the most of any woman in a single season in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, and solidifying her rank as second on the list of most wins by a female driver with 22.

2016 saw a shift in Pro Stock equipment rules, the first since 1982. Elite made the decision to switch from Chevy to Dodge, with disastrous results. While KB Racing thrived, Elite struggled, Erica went from a championship driver, to a driver who struggled to win rounds. Her frustration was visible, but she kept on fighting. 2017 has seen her return to Chevy horsepower, and she has had a career resurgence.

The first championship came in 2014. Her crew rallied around her, and helped her win six races that season. During an event win, and the championship celebration, a crew member was issued these two win hats.The first hat, a yellow event win hat is in great condition.The left side has 2014 on the brim, and the PRO STOCK WINNER patch sewn into it.The back of the hat has an NHRA logo embroidered into it. On driver hats, the track location is on the Velcro closure, but on crew hats, this is left blank.The right side features the official Mello Yello Drag Racing Series slogan “GO ON YELLO embroidered into it.The top of the cap has black eyelets, which are for keeping the wearer cool, and a black squatchee, which is the button on top of the cap.The inside of the cap is in good condition, and the under-brim has GO ON YELLO heat-pressed into it in yellow ink on black material.2014 saw Erica Enders-Stevens win her first Pro Stock championship. Surrounded by crew members and family, she celebrated with her over-sized Wally Championship trophy. During that celebration, one of her crew members wore this white championship hat. The white hat is possibly inspired by John Force’s tendency to wear white hats. I got her to sign it at the Route 66 Nationals

The white hat is in great condition, with Erica signature on the brim in black Sharpie.

Like the race winner’s hat, the left side has 2014 on the brim, but this one has the PRO STOCK CHAMPION patch sewn into it.The back of the cap has an NHRA logo embroidered into it, and CHAMPION embroidered on the Velcro closure.

As with the race winner’s hat, the right side features the official Mello Yello Drag Racing Series slogan “GO ON YELLO embroidered into it.The top of the cap has the black eyelets, and the black squatchee.The inside of the cap is in good condition, and the under-brim has GO ON YELLO heat-pressed into it in yellow ink on black material, same with the yellow hat.Erica Enders-Stevens has had a great career, and has broken ground for women in the NHRA, even when it seems that is no longer possible. Her career is rebounding after a bad season, having won the New England Nationals at Epping, her first event since 2015. She loves what she does, and cares deeply about her craft.

Next week I’ll discuss my baseball memorabilia collection.