A Senator is Coming – a Dragster is Running and More
FOUR (!) NEW NEWS STORIES: The latest on the dragster; Senator Bob Huff is coming to Banks; upcoming Mickey Thompson event; Bosch technology expo
By John Espino
The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy around the Banks campus. There’s always something going on here be it project, product or event related. Starting this weekend there’s a bumper crop of Banks activity to report on. Check it out:
Sidewinder Top Diesel Dragster: Our latest Sidewinder monster is going to be baring its fangs at the Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, California this Saturday and Sunday (May 8th and 9th) trying out some new tricks and practicing for the following week’s NHRDA racing event in Sacramento. The SCEDA (Southern California Drag Racing Association) is having an event that provides us with an excellent proving ground for the racer and an optimal place to prep. What better way to test? Then we’ll be competing in NHRDA’s division 2 race at the Sacramento Raceway next weekend, May 15th. If you’re in the neighborhood of either event we welcome you to stop by and see this true representation of modern diesel technology create tons of smoke… tire smoke that is. While you’re there come by the pits, see the rail up close and ask questions.
Find out more by visiting these links:
Read more on the event
SCEDA website
NHRDA website
Sidewinder rail page
Senator Bob Huff to tour Banks: Next week, Thursday May 13, California Senator Bob Huff and his staff will be touring The Gale Banks Engineering campus and meeting with Gale Banks himself. The Senator is interested in Banks are many and include seeing our capabilities and our environmentally conscious approach to making power and economy products. Other topics on the docket are: discussing education and the implementation of mechanical skills back into our school systems, the economical environment of California and how it’s affecting jobs, issues regarding the California Air Resources Board, and what it is to be an iconic California business.
Read more about the Senator’s plans at Banks
Visit Senator Bob Huff’s site
Mickey Thompson Panel Discussion: A panel discussion will be held on Saturday, May 15th at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mickey Thompson’s historic run at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This will be a very personal look into the life of one of history’s greatest motorsports innovators. The panel will consist of family members and the folks who worked with him… including Gale Banks. Admission to the event includes the entrance to the museum which houses the newly opened exhibit “Mickey Thompson: First American to 400 MPH”, which in itself is a memorable look into the history of the man and has some of his most famous vehicles on display, including the Challenger I Salt Flats car.
Read more about the event here.
Visit the NHRA Museum website!
Links to previous Mickey Thompson stories:
Mickey Thompson exhibit at NHRA Museum
Mickey Get His Due
Mickey Thompson Remembered
AF&V National Conference and Expo: Back in ’08 we teamed up with the Robert Bosch Corporation’s Diesel Marketing Campaign at the AF&V (Alternative Fuel and Vehicle) Conference held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada. We’re doing it again this year, and with some help from our friends at Volkswagen of America.
The conference itself will feature a variety vehicles and technologies that are here, as well as those that are up and coming. Bosch will be displaying at the expo with their diesel learning center, and will host a diesel vehicle ride-and-drive. This part of the event is designed to give attendees the opportunity to get behind the wheel of today’s clean diesel vehicles and experience them for themselves. One of the vehicles on hand, the Sidewinder Jetta, is a true demonstration of the marriage between diesel and performance. Volkswagen is supplying V6 turbo diesel Touareg and a Jetta TDI Cup Car. All of the vehicles in this demo fleet are ones that anyone can purchase, enjoy and benefit from today.
Visit the AF&V 2010 site
Visit the BOSCH site
Visit the Volkswagen site
Links to Sidewinder Jetta news:
Plenty of things going on
The Bosch-Banks Sidewinder Jetta TDi
Sidewinder Jetta is fresh from the plastic surgeon
Links to past blogs on the event:
Diesel round-up: Bosch armada
Gambling on alternative fuels: a mighty wind
So you see… there’s always something going on here at Banks. I’ll keep you updated on all of these next week, as well as continuing the story of our marine diesel. With that one, I’ll be going over the different methods of forced induction that we contemplated, and explain why we went the route we did. Till then have a powerful week.