Hi, everyone. This is Jon “O”, crew chief on the Mac Tools Top Fueler driven by Doug Kalitta. This is the fourth time that I am writing this blog because my resident computer geek, Dave Grubnic, tells me that there is something wrong with my computer. Hopefully this one will go through. Todd, our team’s public relations expert, asked me to write a blog about all of the changes being made on the Mac Tools dragster for the 2008 season. One of the big changes will be in the fuel tank: we get 90 percent nitro back! It will help with the parts life in the motor because we won’t have to run the motor as hard as we did with 85 percent. Another big change will be to the car. We will be using .095-thick tubing in the chassis this year. That will be the biggest change since we have never run a car like that before. I’m sure that we’ll have to make some fine-tuning adjustments on how we run the clutch system.

We also had a few changes in the team personnel. Shawn Dill and Phil Gutierrez left the team to pursue other interests. I want to take this time to thank them for a job well done. I would also like to welcome Randy Shatzer and Frank Dischbein to our Mac Tools team.

I would also like to talk about two important people, Doug Kalitta Sr. and Eric Medlen. It was really good for our team when we won in Richmond last fall. I, of course, got to get the traditional slug in the gut by my brother, Jim “O”, which my wife tells me I shouldn’t let happen because I am old now and I might get hurt. Well, if a trip to the hospital is because of a win, then so be it. Losing sucks. The best part of that win was wearing our Doug Sr. tribute shirts in the winner’s circle. Doug Sr. was an important part of our whole team. He was in charge of team morale, and he was good at it. He could make anyone laugh no matter how bad your day was. He could also run a BBQ grill like no one else. I feel privileged to have known him. He will always be missed.

Eric was a friend of mine. When I called him to let him know that Scott Kalitta was going to switch to Funny Car, he sounded so excited. He would call me late at night all of the time to tell me how the car should look. I think he forgot that he was on the West Coast and I was on the East Coast. That’s just one of the many memories I have of Eric that makes me smile. This photo that I have hanging on the wall in my office is of us and my daughters Julia and Jessica. It is one of my favorites. He was a great person and never will be forgotten.

One last thing, I want to thank Alan Johnson for having me and my brother at the Blaine Johnson Golf Tournament after last season. Yet again, I was part of the team that won the Duffer Award. That’s two years in a row! I have both of the trophies right next to one of my championship trophies on a shelf in my office. Maybe we will go for number three this year.

See ya at the races,

Jon “O”