From Scott Daloisio
Concord, CA — (August 14, 2013) Over the past decade, Concord, California sprint car racing superstar Damion Gardner has become well known as one of the most electrifying drivers in the sport. After only three days on the famed Bonneville Salt Flats, high speed straight line fans are quickly comprehending that he is adding his celebrated flare and excitement to their game.
Gardner is on a mission in Utah. He is the driver of the “World’s Fastest Sprint Car”. The question is, just how far can he take it? Over his first two days on the legendary briny surface, the slender driver confidently powered the dazzling Go Rhino! Products “Green Demon” through his targeted stages with relatively no problem. His talent and professionalism is being noted by fans and officials alike.
To briefly recap, Gardner closed Tuesday by pushing the “Green Demon” just past a targeted speed of 185 MPH. That was more than good enough to earn his Class “B” license, the privilege of moving onto one of the longer courses and speeds up to 250 MPH. The table was set!
Wednesday, with fans looking on including David Epp, a Gardner fan who came all the way from Ontario, Canada to see his assault on speed, Gardner drove the sleek silver sprint car to his fastest speed yet when he blistered the salt on the long course at 190 MPH.
The photo above shows Damon Gardner talking with officials after taking the Go Rhino! Products “Green Demon” to 190 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats on Wednesday afternoon. Media, please feel free to publish the photo and please give photo credit to “Surfnsprint.”
After the run, Gardner thought the big “dream liners” had slushed up the center line of the long course so the Go Rhino! Products team decided to head back to one of the shorter courses for its next pass.
By the time Gardner got to the head of the line for his second pass of the day, the temperature had vaulted to 100 degrees again. In the afternoon, that extreme heat draws water up from the aquifer and makes the salt slippery. The “Green Demon” took off and onlookers were thinking this one could be the magical 200 MPH.
The run was definitely fast. Make that REAL FAST and at approximately 200 MPH, the car went into a flat spin! Reminder, this is on a slippery salt surface at 200 MPH! It is not like spinning a sprint car at a regular Saturday night dirt track. Then again, Damion Gardner is nothing like the average driver who spins a sprint car on a local dirt track on a Saturday night. In his normal, dramatic style, he somehow gathered it in, kept the wheels on the ground and was driving off the course when the safety vehicles caught up to and stopped him! It astounded many that he saved it as he was making only his sixth ever pass and was going faster than he ever had.
The safety crew checked Gardner out and made the “Green Demon” go through an inspection and each passed with flying colors setting the table for another run at 200 MPH on Thursday morning.
Mike Grosswendt, one of the partners in the project, talked about the spin and the “World’s Fastest Sprint Car Driver.”
“Damion is super fired up, but seems to acknowledge this is not going to be a cake walk,” Grosswendt said. “He has noted extreme characteristics (including extreme lateral movement in the rear end) occurring at these speeds which are intriguing him. He is facing the most complex problem of his career and appears to be deep in thought. I really think the outcome is unpredictable. The only thing certain is that “Green Demon” will be on the course at dawn’s early light!”
As Gardner is intrigued by the characteristics, new sponsor Go Rhino! is very intrigued with Gardner and the “Green Demon.”
“We are pleased to be involved with a racer the caliber of Damion Gardner,” Go Rhino! Marketing Director Mike DeFord, said on Wednesday. “His flare in the race car is just the type of person we want to promote the Go Rhino! line of quality automotive products. We are also impressed with the looks of the car. It is absolutely beautiful and it looks fast just sitting there.”
For more details on the company and the quality products Go Rhino! produces, please visit the company website at: http://www.gorhino.com/
After earning his class “B” license on Tuesday, Gardner took some time out to talk about the challenges of driving the “World’s Fastest Sprint Car” with Shawn Wood on the Dirt Track Channel. To hear that interview in its entirety, please click on the following link: http://thedirttrackchannel.
Tomorrow is going to be another scorcher at the Salt Flats with sunny skies and the mercury headed past 100 again. Light breezes and virtually no humidity will prevail throughout the day.
Watch this space tomorrow for a report on Damion Gardner and the “Green Demon’s” exploits on the Utah salt. You can also check out what it going on in Utah on Instagram and Facebook. On Instagram (http://instagram.com/) simply type in name “surfnsprint” to view photos of the epic endeavor. On Facebook, you can check out the Damion Gardner Fan Page, Steve Watt or Loudpedal Productions for their take on what is happening with the ground breaking effort.
Fans can listen live to the high speed action on the Salt Flats at the following link: http://www.scta-bni.org/
Don’t forget the great new website, http://worldsfastestsprintcar.
Gardner’s endeavor will be documented in a made for TV documentary titled “The World’s Fastest Sprint Car.”