Local news paper article

http://www.somdnews.com/rec/morefeatures/

Brandywine VFD

Open House @ Brandywine VFD

Had a good time with these young people as part of the open house.  I gave them all a copy of my fire safety handout, and hopefully they will never have to use the information inside.  But it is very nice to know what to do in an emergency situation.  Anyway, thank you to Mike Lantz for the invitation, and to all of the members of the Brandywine Volunteer Fire Department for their service to the community. 

SOMD news article

On Wed. 10/13 I got together with Chris Basham and Reid Silvermman to do a news paper article on myself.  I thought it was going to be about my safety programs for kids, but not sure now.  Anyway, it should appear on news stands wed the 20th.  We did alot of on the road in-traffic shots, Reid Silverman is very good behind the camera.  I took both for a ride to get them in the zone, hopefully it will add to the flavor of the article. 

East Coast drag Times Hall of Fame @ Henderson, NC

 It was standing room only for about a mile in the streets of Henderson.  Thousands of spectators flooded the town to the point that you could not see the hundreds of cars on display.  There were two stages with live bands (complete with the horn sections) and one large DJ trailer and all were playing that Carolina beach shag music.  The show focused on historic drag cars, drivers, and personalities.  Added to that were hundreds of show cars from all over the region.  Mrs. Nancy Wilson is the producer/director for the annual event.  Officials seal off the main drag thru town (Garnett St.) for the festivities.  Covering the event was the crew from SPEED-HD TV's "My Classic Car" with host Dennis Gage.  Later on in the evening, after the crowds died down, something was brewing.  Dennis and Nancy were preparing to do a lead-in interview for the story, and they wanted a car for the back drop.  Guess who's car they picked..... They got in the car and mic'd up for sound, even switched seats half way thru.....So we will have a cameo in an upcomming episode that is to air around Feb 2011 according to the crew. Wow!  

Solomans Island is about to get serious

Derek, Hope and I were out and about cruisin on a Friday evening, and came upon this......WOW!  The big off shore racers are in town on 10/2-10/3.  The engineering and fabrication was unreal, and these things are LARGE  

Cold-Shot units back to back at Indy

 

Mahaffey Cold-Shot units used by three class winners at the U.S. Nationals in INDY!

The Mahaffey/Hall Cold-Shot chiller units were used by seven cars at the 2010 U.S. Nationals.  They were insturmental in the Class Wins of GT/AA, SS/CA, and A/SA.  Thanks and congrats to drivers and team members of Gary Richard and Brian Oakes.  Here are some photos of the Cold-Shot units in service at Indy    

Super/Stock 60 Corvette update (old school)

 The Corvette project is comming along nicely.  The frame is almost ready for the body.  I just finished the radiator installation.  This portion of the build is crucial to the success of the project.  It will allow me to harness all of the cooling potential needed to operate on the street and/or race track.  The radiator is a PRC unit that has been modified by me for fit and function.  The radiator core support from Corvette Central was slightly out of square, thus was cut apart, re-squared and welded back correctly.  The core support is also responsible for the positioning of the front end of the Corvette's body, and must be right!   

Mahaffey honored ODS 50 years

Old Diminion Speedway, The oldest Drag Strip in the Eastern United States.  They had the "fifty years of cars and stars" vol. III last weekend.  I was presented with this award and couldn't believe the company I was in.  These folks were Drag Racing history, and I did not belong.  Some of these folks were racing when I was in a little kid.  Many thanks to the Gore family and the selection commitee.  I have'nt felt that special in a long time!

Mahaffey Cold-Shot Race Chiller

Mahaffey Cold-Shot Race Chillers are built for Norm Hall.  Norm completes the plumbing on the units and delivers them to the end users.   Mahaffey designed the unit with an inner and outer cabinet with insulation in between.  Constant testing and evaluation provides the maximum chilling potential for race engines.  These Cold-Shot Chillers are being used by some of the quickest and fastest racers in todays NHRA and IHRA sportsman drag racing!   

Teaching Safety to the kids

 
The Roadster and I were out doing what we do best "Teaching Safety" with kids.  This time working with the folks from the University Of Maryland Extension in St. Marys County.  The event was "farm safety day" and was held at the county fair ground in Leonardtown Maryland.  The kids love the Roadster just like they love the fire trucks.  And if they like your rig....they listen to ya!  (60-70 kids)

Mahaffey is now on facebook

I finally went on facebook, and have already reconnected to some old fire Department buddies.  You can go on there and see some of my old FD photos and coworkers from the best job in the world.  

"I MET A BUNCH OF HEROES TODAY"

I took the roadster to a car show today.  it was at the Veterans home in Charlotte Hall Maryland.  I got there a little late, but I arrived to find the veterans roaming around looking at the cars.  I got out and shook as many hands as I could.  I told them it was my pleasure to meet them (most in wheel chairs).  I did'nt get to spend much time with my car show friends, for I was focused on the reason I enjoy myself today USA VETERANS.  I got a trophy just like everyone else.  When I think of a trophy, I think of a champion.  After everyone got their trophies and had left, I marched my trophy in the building and found a "REAL CHAMPION"...."A REAL HERO".  I found Mr. Gilbert Wurzbacker a Korean War Veteran who served on the USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.  The second of the three Midway Class Aircraft Carriers.  Then from 1958 to the early eighties was a Baltimore City Maryland Career Firefighter. Mr. Wurzbacker is a Champion and I awarded him my trophy. "I MET A BUNCH OF HEROES TODAY"  
pictured is Gilbert, myself, and Gilbert's daughter Shirley. 

Auto Racing's first lady "Miss Hurst Shifter" Linda Vaughn

Linda Vaughn "Miss Hurst Shifter" spent a few minutes with me at the York Reunion this past weekend.  She remembered the Roadster from it's life as a NHRA Super/Gas racer.  The last run down the quarter mile was round four at the 98 NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus Ohio.  I had just taken out two former NHRA World Champions in the two previous rounds.  I had just cleared the tower tunnel and was the next set of cars to go in the water box.  Standing there was Linda, she walked over to the car leaned in to the cage in front of me and said "I love this car" and I was no good after that....went .395 red.  Here are a few photos of that run, now that was big time racing.  Also a few photos of Linda with the car as it is today.  To the right of Linda leaning in the car, is the actual 55 Chevy car from "Two lane blacktop" 

The Roadster at York U.S. 30 Reunion Show

The Roadster was in the company, of some of the greatest drag racing history of all time.  Famous Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars, Gassers, Super/Stockers and Stockers of yesterday.  Many of them sporting lettering on the side that read NHRA RECORD HOLDER (and then the date) WOW... that is some really cool stuff in my book! 

    

60 Corvette update (front suspension)

The front suspension was dismantled, blasted, painted, then reassembled.  It has new Strange racing brakes set-up to match the rear.  The Calvert racing 90/10 shock will provide the travel control needed.  

    

THE DANGERS OF A FUNNY CAR CAGE

 Another funny car driver was killed today in Englishtown at the Supernationals.  The cause of death was listed as "head injury".  When is NHRA and IHRA going to stop allowing/mandating that roll cages be built right beside your head.  When your head whipps and thrashes around in a crash, it can contact a roll cage member.  Now if this happens, it's like being struck by a pipe or a baseball bat.  There should be no way that your head (from any angle) should be able to contact any roll cage member or support bar.  Next time you watch a NASCAR race, try to find a steel roll bar support anywhere close to the driver's head (you won't find one).  They need to make the cages wider and deeper to eliminate the chance of driver contact.  John Force has already changed his cages/chassis, but not enough for me. 

Wade Mahaffey    

Memorial Day....REAL HEROES....that's what it means to me....

Memorial Day is a day to reflect on the "Real Heroes" of our Country's history.  Men that fought and some that died that made it possible for us to have a decent life.  Those of us that were never there will never know the horror that they went through.

                                            Thinking of you on this Memorial Day
                                                   Respecfully, Wade Mahaffey
     

Memorial Day Five County Southern Maryland Cruise

A great time was had by all in attendance.  The cruise that consisted of about a three hour tour (not like Gilligan's island) thru five Counties in Southern Maryland.  There were no incidents or issues during the ride and the weather was perfect.  This was a plan that I had since last year, but never did happen.  I thought a ride like this would/could be weekly or at least monthly, but did not recieve much response.  Lawrence Morris and I were riding on Sunday and decided to take a ride on Monday (Memorial day), then it clicked.....the five County!  It's so much more fun riding than sitting around.  I look at it like this...can you imagine having a shiny new bike as a kid....and not riding it....come on now!  Anyway, It was short notice and I apologize to anyone who felt left out.  We made alot of phone calls, and these folks showed up ready to go!  (from left to right)

Walt Spangler (40 ford), Raymond Good (68 Camaro), Lawrence Morris (55 chevy), Norman and Mrs. Burch (66 Plymouth), Steve Garner (67 GTA Mustang), Harry Adams (65 GT350 Mustang), Derek and Hope Johann (32 Ford), Wade Mahaffey (27 Roadster), Duayne and Rose Milstead (Dodge Challenger not pictured) was there for half of the ride but had other commitments.  Thanks to all who participated and had a good time...I KNOW I DID!

The photo was taken after a Roy Rogers lunch at Solomons Island Maryland.

Crusin Ocean City Memories

A few photos by Stephen Jones of Dave Bishop's East Coast Drag News, at the OC Convention Center.  Thank you Stephen 

The Ocean City Maryland "Drive-In" Movies

 Thank you Mr. Bill Goodwin for two great nights of "Drive-In" fun.  Bill has an awsome set-up for watching Movies outdoors.  Oh, did I mention Bill has quite a collection of nostalgia drag racing videos.  (If you look close, you'll notice the name "Bill Goodwin" in some of the credits at the end of these great movies).

Crusin Ocean City Maryland Winner !

 The "Kid Stuff" Roadster picked up a trophy while in Ocean City during the record setting event.  What a great time we had win or not, it was a really nice five days bathing in hot rods, and watching American Graffiti drive-in style on the trailer!  Thank you to the complete staff of Special Events Productions Inc.

Cooling the Corvette

 A major factor in any automotive enjoyment, is the cooling system.  "IF IT RUNS HOT, YOUR NOT GOING TO BE A HAPPY DRIVER." The Mahaffey Corvette must accomplish this while maintaining alignment with the NHRA and IHRA rule book.  I am using a PRC radiator that fits the unaltered factory Corvette core support nicely.  And an electric fan is OK in Super/Stock per NHRA and IHRA rules.  The custom shroud serves as a mount for the fan as well as a component to maximize cooling potential.  The Corvette shroud was more difficult to build as the radiater sits on an angle in the car.  More time and effort is needed during fabrication to fit the radiator angle while the fan finished vertical (straight up and down).  Also pictured is the Mahaffey operations and monitoring manifold in the upper hose.  This feature is nice, in that it has an inline temp guage, bungs welded in place for a thermostatic control switch with over ride capability and High temp visual and audible driver alarm.    5/27/10   

The latest news from Mahaffey Cooling Components

Lawrence Morris of Bushwood Maryland, was kind enough to let me shoot a few pictures of the job I did on his fine 55.  He was really having serious problems with his existing cooling set-up.  I took the time to explain my cooling packages to Lawrence, and he decided to go with the "F-5 Tornado" dual fan set-up.  Long story short, we lowered his temp a good 50 degrees.  Now Lawrence is a happy man! 

I also used a Mahaffey custom "operations and monitoring" manifold inserted into the upper radiator hose.  This allows the use of thermostatic control switches, warning/alert components (in situations where a driver may forget to activate a system by toggle switch), interior guages and/or an inline guage (pictured).  These are custom tailor made to your needs, and eliminates all of the additional lines into the intake manifold.  In lawrence's situation we used an inline temp guage and two thermostatic control switches.  Fan (A) comes on at 185 and goes off at 170 and fan (B) comes on at 195 and goes off at 185.      

Super/Stock 60 Corvette update

The Corvette is coming along nicely.  The shifter is mounted directly to the transmission.  This will allow trans and/or converter changes without linkage issues.  The trans cooler is mounted on the frame near the trans.  Quick disconnect fluid lines will simplify removal and installation.  Mounting detail for both was fabricated using 1/2 inch chrome-moly tubing. 

Fire Deptartment Retirement

 http://www.theprideofthehighway.com/fullstory.php?27510

Two great radio shows available on the web

There are two neat shows available on the web.  Monday night at 7 pm EST. The site is http://www.dragracersreunion.ning.com/  The show is about the history of Drag Racing and has the biggest names in the sport as guests each week.  Click on the live radio spot.   Tuesday night it's Speedsceneracing.com with the latest news on many forms of racing.  The host and hostess are both drag racers.  Click on the live radio tab. 

Your Medical Information "just in case"

When you participate in a race, do you always have someone with you?  Someone that knows you as good as or better than you know yourself.  Chances are the answer is "no".  So how will anyone get critical information on you if you are involved in an on track incident, or have a medical emergency and are unable to communicate!  Information like your: Medications, Blood type, Allergies, pertinent medical history, emergency contact names and numbers.  The fire department has available to them a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) book located in any property housing Hazardous Materials. This information is paramount to the success of firefighters handling the emergency. The same could be done for medical and contact information for a racer. There could be a common place (i.e. on the wall just inside the trailer door) and in the event of an incident, an official could be dispatched there for the info. The only problem with having the info on your person is that it could be compromised/damaged as part of the incident (fire, trauma, discarded, etc.) and the EDI (Emergency Driver Information) (I just thought that one up, LOL) would contain much more detailed information for Medical personnel.  This could alleviate any pause (for possible reaction testing) in the rapid treatment/actions of the Emergency and/or Trauma staff.  Time is critical and seconds count in these situations!

Wade Mahaffey  2/15/10

Fire Extingushers in the trailer

It is a bad feeling when you find your battery is junk in the lanes, and the charger is at the trailer. It's a horrific feeling when there's a fire, and nothing to fight it with.

We as racers should try to standardize the location of our extinguishers. In the fire department, we told folks to mount them by the door. That way you could get to them as you retreat toward safety. I like my extinguishers (2) 2-1/2 gal. water and (1) 20 lb Dry Chemical mounted on the side door where most folks have there folding counter/oil rack. If you place your mount so that it will slide in resting in the footwell as you close the door it will take the weight off of the door hinge. The best reason for the door mount is "accessibility right now"! Also if there is ever an incident while towing (or parked), as you open the door you are shielded from any fire conditions and as you fold the door back, there they are at the ready! Also I do not lock the trailer doors while in transit. (It's tough to steel anything the way I roll anyway LOL) If you need to get in fast, or get the car out in a hurry there's no time to be fumbling with keys. NOTE: Those pressurized water cans are sweet when removing mud from your baby. (DON'T FORGET TO RECHARGE THAT CAN!)

Fire extinguishers are in four basic categories Class (A) is usually straight water under pressure in a can and used for wood, paper, fabric, grass, etc. Class (B) is a powder and used for flammable liquid fires. Class (C) is Co2 and used for charged electrical fires. Note: you can kill the power and use Class (A). Class (D) is dry powder and used for flammable metals i.e. Magnesium. Some race tracks and Fire Departments will take a water can and fill it with AFFF foam or Purple "K" agent for flammable liquid fires. There are also multi use extinguishers ABC using a powder for your car or home. Halon extinguishers are normally used where there are computers or restaurant setting and leaves very little residue.

Wade Mahaffey 

Racing safety after hours part 2

In the interest of safety while at any event where trailers, motorhomes etc. are parked together over night, I would like to offer a few points for consideration .  These are a few simple actions that could provide a more favorable outcome in the event of a emergency.  Event pre-planing for specific situations ie. fires (fuel, structure, brush/trash, motorhomes, trailers, auto etc.),  medical emergencys (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, etc.), trauma (open and closed injuries, fractures, blood showing, etc) and then training the event staff on procedures and/or tactics to mitigate the emergency.  At the very least begin operations and request additional resources as needed and provide onscene information to incoming units.  A chain of command for track or event operations is probably already in place.  The chain of command should be different for emergency situations, with a span of control of 5-7 persons per group leader/officer/supervisor.  An event liason person should be in place to interface with local Fire/Police/EMS officals.  They would coordinate planning (site layout/grounds, location of water sources, EMS and Firefighting equitment and supplies etc.), assignments (who does what) and training (this is how you do it).

The problem with all of this, is that the people I just talked about are not available "Right Now" if your situation happens at night!  Now I'm sure anyone around would come running to help.  But, it would be nice if one of those running actually knew what to do (first aid, CPR, use of the extinguisher etc.) or the correct action to take (go in and get them out, alert and evacuate etc.).  Chances are that some of the events participants have such training, and could and should be used to take immediate life saving actions when needed.  You may not get a second chance!

Event applications should have an area that would identify an individuals abilities in Fire,Police,EMS incidents.  These folks should be parked in strategic areas on the grounds ie. (end of the row).  And identified with a small marking on the trailer for rapid intervention when needed.  Track personnel and/or event participants could gather these folks in the event of an emergency (during off hours at night, MCI mass casualty incidents,etc.).  Medical emergencies happen regularly, but my biggest fear is a fire in a rig (motorhome and/or trailer at night)!  The rigs are parked so close together and they are so big.  They need to be parked at a 45 degree angle instead of straight in.  It would be so much easier to move other rigs in danger out of their spot and away if a fire were to breakout.  This would contain the fire to the area of origin (one rig).  Parking them straight in and that close together will cause them to become a part of the fire by way of the "radiant heat transfer".   Well, I think that's it for now folks.  There will be a part three, stand by!   

Wade Mahaffey

Custom made shadow boxes for special people!

When shopping for that special gift for that special person, personalize it and share the memories forever.  These shadow boxes are custom built to contain items of special meaning for an individual.  They are great for retirement, special achievement, promotions, graduations, etc.  Lighting is availible in the cabinet, as well as other visual enhancements for a one of a kind tailor made gift!  

Wade Mahaffey

enough snow already

What is all this snow about?  Where is the global warming?   Wade