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From behind the camera to behind the wheel

12 Apr 2016
NHRA News
News

NHRA Multimedia Reporter Amanda Busick and NHRA Vice President, Executive Producer, and Chief Content Officer Ken Adelson got behind the wheel recently during the Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School visit to Tucson Dragway in Arizona. Both piloted the school’s Super Comp dragsters through Hawley’s famed licensing courses and shared their experiences with NHRA.com.

Amanda Busick

Since starting a career with the NHRA this past January, I’ve viewed the sport through several different perspectives: as a reporter at the races, as a spectator in the grandstands, and even as a fan watching the TV broadcasts (replay) from home. After attending Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School for Super Comp licensing this week, I can add one more perspective to that list: the view through the eyes of a driver.
 
Day 1 of Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School began at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Excited yet anxious that morning, the thought, “I’m going to do a burnout today!” kept running through my mind. Class began with student introductions. Our class of 13 included a retired female police officer, a 17-year-old young lady, a gentleman attending class on a birthday present from his wife, and even a scientist studying the potential effect of smog from a nuclear war. Despite the range of individuals, a common bond brought us all to drag racing school that day: the lust for and love of speed.
 
By midmorning, we were in the cars to make our first runs. And what a rush! You can’t really describe that feeling until you experience it … and once you do -- you’ve been warned -- it’s addicting. We had three total runs on Day 1. Each time, Frank brought us back into the classroom for a video review of our runs.
 
Day 2 started at 7:30 a.m. Thursday; it’s pretty easy waking up knowing you are driving a race car that day. We had three total passes on Day 2. After our last pass, Frank handed out all six e.t. slips from our runs. I was excited to see my development and progression as a driver through the numbers. And to humble brag, Frank said I was the “fastest student in class.” That felt good!
 
By profession, Frank Hawley is a drag racing teacher. Take out the words “drag racing” in the prior sentence, and you have “Frank Hawley is a teacher.” Teacher, life coach, mentor, motivator, Frank Hawley has gifted me with much more than just learning how to drive a Super Comp dragster. 
 
Thank you, Frank Hawley. Thank you to my classmates (Alan Reinhart included!) and my boss, Ken Adelson, for supporting me through this process. Can we go again?!


Ken Adelson

One of the things we stress during our broadcasts of the NHRA on FOX Sports 1, on NHRA.com, and our social media outlets is to try to get fans as close to the action as possible and show what’s going on behind the scenes, things people normally don’t have a chance to see.

So when Frank Hawley, former Funny Car champion, voted one of the top 50 drivers of all time, and owner of Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, invited Amanda Busick and me to attend one of his beginner classes, we jumped on the opportunity.

It gave us the chance to not only do a series of stories on learning to drive for our fans, but also a firsthand experience of what it takes to operate one of these mean machines. They might not have been 300-plus-mph Top Fuel dragsters, but even the cars we drove, Super Comp dragsters, packed a mean punch going more than 160 mph in the right hands -- which in the short (and long) run will translate into more insight we can pass on to our fans.

The two-day class was a mix of instruction and hands-on driving. No matter how much instruction I received, I struggled my first few times. This is no reflection on the instructor but on the student. I was lagging behind for much of the two days, but it’s not how you start but how you finish, and I was able to put it all together for the runs I needed to get my license. When it all came together, it was a blast.

Here’s my run. Not perfect but not bad. I’m ready for more whenever the chance presents itself. A big thank-you to Frank Hawley for hosting us and giving us this opportunity to truly experience the sport from the inside.