'DAGO DAYS'

[BuckyD]

DAGO Days - 'Top Qualifier'...

Though surely- 'conspicuous by her absence' at Reno '09 NCAR (& since, to date)- Race #4 DAGO RED was thought to be back in good hands w/original owner- Frank Taylor & company, getting thoroughly 'repreened' for all sorts of exciting future speed quests, including more air racing competition & an assault on the 3-km World's Absolute Propellor Speed Record- currently held by Lyle Shelton & #77 Rare Bear. (Ed. note- As we now know, that ended up not panning-out after-all, regrettably... )

Nonetheless, DAGO was likely there at Reno '09- 'in spirit', no doubt, checking out her competition for future air racing sorties. In the meantime, I thought it might be timely & appropriate to launch a new thread inviting site-goer contributions of notes & pics highlighting DAGO RED's long & distinguished career to date - to run from now until her much hoped-for return to the sky one day in the future. DAGO's roster of 'caretakers' over the the years, reads as an impressive- 'Who's-Who' list of Unlimited Class air racing history.

For starters, here's a photo mini-gallery 'then & now' comparison- revisiting DAGO RED's 1982 racing roots, flown by Ron Hevle & last year's Reno '08 impressive last-running under the reins of Unlimited race pilot- Dan Martin & his capable crew. Race #4 was 'Top Qualifier' both in her '82 rookie year (440.565-mph) & last year at Reno '08 (474.143-mph)- against much-stiffer competition & more extreme race speeds.

Top row photos (L-R):

1-2. Sun. 9/12/82- Ron Hevle & DAGO RED arrive at Reno's Stead Field for racing, following an amazing high-mod Mustang build-up under co-owners- Frank Taylor & Bill Destefani over the previous months. Fresh out of the paint shop, the rookie Unlimited racer's Stead arrival was just two weeks after its' first post-restoration test flight.

3. Thur. 9/16/82- Ron Hevle's 440+mph qualification run seen from the fast West Chute (a.k.a.- 'V-O-S') at the W. Guide Pylon.

4. Tue. 9/14/82- Engine man- Mike Nixon (top) was in charge of DAGO's first RR Merlin racing engine it's rookie year, and prepared several more DAGO motors over the years. Bruce Boland & Pete Law teamed-up once again to refine another winning racer's airframe & system modifications.

5. Sun. 9/18/82- Hevle & DAGO breeze-by the Reno Home Pylon for the checkered-flag finish @ a relatively-sedate & uncontested Reno '82 Unlimited Gold Race winning speed of 405.092-av/mph. Their only serious rival- John Crocker's P-51D #6 Sumthin' Else pulled-out of the race on Lap-4 w/a broken crankshaft. Skip Holm flying Wiley Sanders' Mustang #69 Jeannie, was out earlier in the week during qualifying days.

Bottom row (L-R):

1. Thur. 9/11/08- Last year, Dan Martin & Team Dago Red had high hopes for finally winning an Unlimited Gold Trophy, after years of Dan's hard attempts w/his Super Stocker P-51D- Ridge Runner III & then w/DAGO RED. Super Mustangs- Dago & Strega meant business at Reno '08, w/state-of-the-art RR Merlin racing motors under their hoods, prepared by Mike Barrow & Mike Nixon, respectively. Early in the week, Dan & DAGO had their portrait taken by ace photographer- Neal Nurmi.

2. Sun. 9/7/08- Martin hand-signals his crew from the cockpit just before his taxi-out for takeoff in Race #4 for a test flight to check his racer's systems & performance.

3. Mon. 9/8/08- Martin & DAGO made their mark right from the git-go, as Reno '08 Top Qualifier @ 474.143-mph against fierce competition, & are seen here- turning Outer 4 Pylon during their Q-run. Michael Brown qualified second in #232 September Fury @ 474.404-mph, followed-by- Tiger Destefani in #7 Strega (474.792-mph) & John Penney in #77 Rare Bear (468.893-mph).

4. Sun. 9/7/08- Following his successful test flight in DAGO, Dan Martin (2nd-from rt.) shares his exuberance w/rival race pilot pals (L-R)- Stewart Dawson, Matt Jackson & John Penney.

5. Sun. 9/14/08- UNLTD GOLD FINAL- Danny & DAGO roar-by Outer 4 to a 2nd-place finish @ 474.305-av/mph behind Tiger Destefani in #7 Strega (483.062-av/mph win) & ahead of Michael Brown in 3rd-place (473.816-av/mph). The Big Motor Mustangs prevailed & what a race!

DBD

[Strega Fan]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Great pictures Bucky! BTW Strega won with a Mike Nixon motor in 2008.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Great pictures Bucky! BTW Strega won with a Mike Nixon motor in 2008.

Thanks, Kathleen - text copy corrected accordingly. Appreciate your help to keep the record straight & kind kudos.

DBD

[Ron Lewark]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Thanks for the history on Dago's first outing, brings back a lot of memories
Ron

[Strega Fan]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Bucky, you are always so gracious. And I love the photo history you share with us all. Please stop by the Strega pits if you have time and say hello. I would very much like to meet you in person. I'm easy to find, my husband Bill is part of Tiger's crew and I'm the redhead that sells the t-shirts each day.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Gosh, Kathleen, it's easy to be gracious when dealing w/kind folks & I'll definately stop by to say Hi (& buy some Strega gear). We're leavin' Alaska in the morning for points South. See ya soon!

DBD

[BuckyD]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

"THE FAMOUS 500+MPH RECORD RACE"...!!!

Dago Red's- 'Dream Team' under former owner- Terry Bland's 7-year Dago Dynasty, really-peaked at Reno '03 NCAR. Not only did Team Dago notch their third-consecutive sweep of all Unlimited Class Gold Heats & Sunday Championship finals that year w/Skip Holm as pilot, but they also broke the Unlimited Class' formidable 500-mph Race Speed Record barrier mark, in Friday's 6-lap UNL HT-2A, by posting a winning speed of 507.105-av/mph! (And yes- too bad it didn't happed during Sunday's Gold instead )

While most race competitors & fans alike were stunned & amazed by Team Dago's remarkable feat, -their remarkable record accomplishment drew much controversy & debate over the fact that same year RARA changed the race timing method formula, which enhanced the potential f/breaking the fabled ultra high-speed race record. This 'timely move' also made comparison of contemporary & historic qualifying & race record speeds a moot point.

Nonetheless- Holm flew Race #4 into the history books via his expert airmanship & having a Mystery Aire Mouse Merlin race motor under the hood, w/all systems working flawlessly. It was a maximum team effort on every level, that really made running a 500+mph race possible & all Dago Red crew members are justifiably-proud to own this record. "BRAVO" to each & every one of them!!!

Here's a tribute photo gallery to pay homage to their outstanding feat & taking air racing to a higher-level of competition...

Photos (L-R/Top to bottom):

1-2. Sun. 9/7/03- Skip Holm taxis-in #4 DAGO RED after some test & practice flying out on the racecourse. 'Dago Red Tower' is manned & ready atop their team's shop trailer/viewing stand to monitor Race #4's performance via telemetry & close observation. Viewing front-to-back, we see 'Radiator Dave' Griswold, Chris Wood, Steve Bartholf, Jim Foss & Dan Stout.

3-4. Exactly 1-year later (9/12/04), after much persuasion, TEAM DAGO's- Steve Bartholf displays his fabled proprietary- '500-mph Half-Lap Clock', -an essential device f/computing speeds using the '03-revised Reno racecourse timing formula f/Unlimiteds.

5. Fri. 9/12/03-UNL HT-2A- "What 500+MPH Looks Like": Skip Holm in Race #4 turns Outer 4 Pylon during Lap-4 w/DAGO RED's true airspeed & lap speeds notching well in excess of 500-mph. Note: John Penney & #77 Rare Bear finished a strong 2nd-Place @ 492.936-av/mph (2nd-fastest race average ever f/6-laps).

6-7-8. Fri. 9/12/03 (Post-race)- Veteran DAGO RED crew chief- Bill Kerchenfaut & veteran crewman- Mike Wilton, inspect Race #4's special Champion racing spark plugs following HT-2A to assess the health of their racer's RR Merlin Mouse Motor. Right next door at DAGO's team pit vendor's booth, signs are already up proclaiming their new race speed record accomplishment to the fans.

9-10. Sun. 9/14/03- RARA Awards Banquet finale- Terry Bland's TEAM DAGO RED is all on-stage after receiving their Reno '03 Unlimited Gold Championship trophy awards & winnings purse check, as team pilot- Skip Holm (wearing his Gold Champion's Jacket), addresses the crowd of banquet attendees from the podium & thanks his fellow crew mates & race fans.

Plus, as an added special bonus, -RARA presents a real Thompson Trophy to a very-surprised Skip & his victorious team (w/Skip Holm also getting a special miniature TT in a special wood presentation case). (Thus, Skip Holm won 'A'- Thompson Trophy, not- 'THE' Thompson Trophy for breaking the 'Mighty 500-mph' & winning the UNL Gold Championship at Reno '03 NCAR. Confusing? Hey! What the heck?!- A Fantastically-Fun Special Time was had by all!!!

DBD

[taglialavore]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

I must say it, Thank you Very Much again DBD for posting this wonderful threads that illustrates air racing so well.
For sure, they are a good reading reference for distant fans like me.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

"Team DAGO RED"- The Bland Dynasty

A pair of Stead Field sunrise ramp portraits of one of Unlimited Class air racing's most-talented & successful teams, under owner-Terry Bland & crew chief-Bill Kerchenfaut (L-R):

1. Fri. 9/18/98- Bland's original Dago Red cadre during their innaugural year of competition, w/race pilot- Bruce Lockwood (& including master Merlin wizard- the late Dwight Thorn,-kneeling at far right).

2. Sun. 9/17/00-Taken the year that Skip Holm replaced Bruce Lockwood as team pilot, w/some personnel changes.

DBD

[Frank C.]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Thanks for the photos and info. Hope Dago makes it back someday.


Frank C.

[Leo]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

I've been lucky to watch this planes history for all of it's life, from that first "gee whiz" year, Brickerts amazing landing on fire, the wins, the losses, all the way to Dan Martins spectacular landing after an oily engine failure.
Greatest Dago experience was during that Friday race in 03. Out at the VOS Skip was fairly wide, close to the fence when he went by. The sound, the air pressure change, the mist of the spray bar...It was truly a WOW! moment!
And awesome historic photos as usual Bucky!

[Bob]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

This thread makes me quite sad, to think of this plane sitting in some hanger in pieces just kills me. Any word on her?

Bucky,
Thank you for posting this thread and for the pics, for some reason there is a bazillion pics of Strega, Bear and all the others, but not alot of photos of DagoRed. Makes me wonder if at some point the owners pissed off someone and she has been blackballed? lol.

[BuckyD]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

"Dago Dawn"-

Sat. 9/13/08-Reno NCAR: Veteran UNL race pilot-Dan Martin & P-51D #4-Dago Red (N5410V) on-roll f/takeoff,-making a 'dawn patrol' test flight in prep f/Saturday afternoon's UNL Heat-3A competition.

I personally prefer photos of airplanes resplendant in their prime- all polished & preened or flying under maximum performance, over shots showing them in compromised states (-which always seem to generate lots of attention & discussion). But history requires us to include both the good & not-so-good episodes to tell the whole story w/veracity. Air racing is indeed a story full of trial & tribulation.

Dago Red was/is one of those special Unlimiteds that got people's happy cells going watching it do its' thing over the course of its' history-obviously stunning w/its' sleek & super-colorful appearance, fast & competitive (most of the time), and bearing a cool name (-always liked those fun-spirited names & planes named after chicks).

Leo, your sentiments were right-on. What a great racer history to be on-hand to witness & appreciate over the years, with so many talented & wonderful individuals involved in Dago Red's long & hard competive air racing campaigns since Reno '82. One of the all-time great classic UNL Gold Champions (6-Reno Gold Trophies, +those infamous pylon cuts ). No wonder she's loved & missed by so many.

Hey Bob, I was hoping these old archive photos would serve to bring back some fond memories of good times fm the past instead. Know how you feel, but I'm gonna think positive about good racing times coming back in the near future & wish for Dago Red's return as well. Those 'pieces' are destined to be put back together

DBD

[Bob]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

I remember that dawn patrol very well, I have never heard a merlin sound like Dago did that morning. They must have been doing tests on the super charger or perhaps the cool morning air did it. I sure wish I had a recording of that dawn patrol flight. I bought a spark plug from Dago during that week, It sits on my desk, sure would like to get some more in the future. Come on Dago, we need you back!!! Plus with no Dago Red racin, who will show the pilot of RareBear the way around the course?

[grampi]

Re: 'DAGO DAYS'

Dago Red being absent from the race circuit is like Tiger Woods being absent from the golf tournaments back when he was the best...makes absolutely no sense...