On His Own Dime: The Phil Schmidt Story

Thursday, November 8th: Cal Bike Week Pre Race “Nitro” Party: Earlier in the week, I had enjoyed an informative and cordial phone conversation with Pattie Hurt, the Marketing Director for Laidlaw Harley-Davidson on Puente Ave. near the intersection of the 10 and the 605 freeways in Baldwin Park, LA County CA. Consequently, it came as no surprise that she had the Cal Bike Week Pre-Race Nitro Party running in high gear right through the proverbial run out. Whether she was rocking the mike in her capacity as Mistress-of-Ceremonies or rounding up the principal personalities at the event for photo ops, her charm and enthusiastic demeanor had everyone in attendance in a festive mood.

Pattie introduced me to the owners, Brent, Bob and Jerry Laidlaw, who could quite possibly be the tallest dealership owners in the galaxy. Bob and Jerry both top out at around 6”6” and Brent is closer to 6’9.” The thing is, the hospitality at Laidlaw’s is as gracious as the owners are towering.

A bit later I got to meet Top Fuel competitor Phil Schmidt. He had obligingly agreed to set up and display his bike, at the event, so that attendees could get a close look at a prime example of a Top Fuel Dragster. When he fired it up in order to demonstrate the awesome sound generated by the 186” mechanically fuel injected V-Twin engine, the sonic shock wave must have rattled windows for several blocks in all directions.

Yeah Phil!

Friday, November 9th: The following day I cruised on over to he Fairgrounds in Pomona and caught up with Phil and his crew. Their mission was simple; post a respectable time during one of their three qualifying runs so they could focus on the elimination rounds on Saturday. I got a chance to meet Phil’s wife, Jeanie, who sings the National Anthem at many of the events, his lovely daughter Brooke Lynn who was “Miss AHDRA, Las Vegas, 2006” and his son Brian, who attends Cal State U Northridge, and also serves as a member of the pit crew. This story just keeps getting better and better.

When I asked him, “What in the name of all that’s normally aspirated possessed you to put a successful medical sales business on a back burner to go racing; on your own dime?” Phil admitted that he’d had some success at ET Motorcycle Racing, a handicap format, as a youth and that he’d always dreamt of owning and riding a real drag bike. At the tender age of 49 he determined that his financially situation was secure enough to support the pursuit of his passion. Rather than starting out in a somewhat less demanding sportsman class, he jumped right in, both feet first, with a Pro Dragster, one of three nitro burning classes in the AHDRA. That was in ’04. In ‘05 he won the National Championship, dominating the Pro Dragster class by winning 6 of 10 races.

Hmm, could it be that our boy is something of an over-achiever?

Saturday, November 10th, 11:40 A.M: Great news! In eliminating his opponent in the first round Phil ran 6.41 seconds at 225 mph setting a new National speed record for Top Fuel Harley-Davidsons. Elation! …Then disaster! Back in the pits the crew discovered a leak in the engine. The symptom was diagnosed as a scorched cylinder. When a Nitro motor is pushed to it’s limit the cylinder wall and piston can scorch, causing the engine to lose compression. Phil and the crew immediately began the process of tearing the motor down, when Race officials informed them that they had thirty minutes until they would be expected to stage for the next round.

The feeling of despair was almost palpable as the news worked its devastation on the spirits of the little group. They knew there was no way they’d be able to change out the rod/piston/cylinder assembly in such a short time. After the briefest of discussions there was really no argument. The men nodded to each other in unanimous accord. The engine would get bolted back together and if it started up they would wheel the record setting two-wheeled projectile up to the staging area. They had qualified, damn it! They had already vanquished one foe that day. They were gonna’ run and to hell with the consequences.

No sooner had crew chief, Ken Wilson, pulled the torque wrench off the last head bolt and lowered the lift than crewmember, Dan Rusk, engaged the starter motor. Low and behold the engine turned over and maintained an idle. Phil and the crew stepped back in disbelief. How could this be? Was it possible that the compression loss had been the result of a rare phenomenon? Apparently, the gaps in the piston rings had, randomly, lined up so accurately that the condition exactly duplicated the symptoms manifested by a scorched cylinder. The engine was Okay. In fact it was running great! High fives, hugs and s#$% -eatin’ grins all around. It was like getting a death row reprieve from the governor. As I hearken back to the scene, I can feel the chill blands creep over every square centimeter of my epidermis even as I put digits to keyboard.

Unbridled joy quickly turned into apprehension, however, when it was discovered that, in the next round, Phil would be going up against the current leader in the points chase, Doug Vancil, who enjoys the generous sponsorship of Vance & Hines as well as Parts Unlimited. What can you say? That’s the luck of the draw. Or more appropriate, in this case, “That’s racing.” As long as I’m parroting clichés let me throw in, “If you want to be the best…..” Anyway, while Vancil presented a formidable challenge he was no stranger to the Schmidt Racing Team, and as well as his bike was running Phil had every reason to be optimistic.

Both riders executed effective burnouts and staged without incident. The Christmas tree lit down and they roared off in apparent unison. Phil logged a quicker reaction time, of 0.055 seconds beating out Doug by 0.005 seconds. Phil went on to run, a very respectable 6.46 seconds, at 218 mph. Of course the Hollywood ending to this story would have him defeating the points leader and continuing on to win Top Fuel Eliminator. Yeah, that would have been the icing on the cake. However, Pomona, though it may be less than two score miles away from Sunset Boulevard, would possess no Hollywood magic on this day. No, it took a dominating 6.38 second performance by the king of the hill to do it, but when the smoke cleared, literally, Phil had been eliminated in the second round by 0.08 seconds. Eight one hundreds of a second, an inconceivably miniscule amount of time turned out to be the difference between advancing and calling it a day.

Back in the pits there was no weeping or gnashing of teeth. Experienced racers, their crew and their families are accustomed to the agony of defeat. Besides, Phil and the gang had set a new world speed record earlier that day. Then, they had gone on to back up the performance by giving the eventual winning Top Fuel Eliminator all he could handle. Such lofty accomplishments, punctuated by the emotional rollercoaster ride, that had accompanied them, would provide more than sufficient justification for a celebration. Then, once they’d managed to, mentally, put the events of the day in their rear-views, the Schmidt crew would sleep well that night.

Tomorrow they packed up and headed on out to Las Vegas, for the season finale, before finally wending their way back to the homestead in Sacramento. It’s been a long season and though the team may be a bit battered they’re not broken, not by a long shot. The experience they’ve gained during this year’s campaign will only serve to make them more competitive next year.

Mean while Phil Schmidt, his crew and their families are racing, “living the dream.”

One more thing; if you want to give odds against the inevitability that Phil will crack the top five in Top Fuel and one day, go on to be champion, you’re talkin’ to the right guy. I’ll take some of that action in a heartbeat!

Update: Sunday November 18th AHDRA Finals in Las Vegas NV: I thought you’d like to know that although he was ultimately eliminated in a later round, Phil blasted through the quarter mile in 6.323 seconds in the third round, a new personal best. That made him the #1 qualifier for the first time. No mean feat considering that the 25 contestants at this event made it the strongest field of the year in the highly competitive Top Fuel division.

Yeah Phil!