NOPI in San Antonio and Chris Rado

[RUSHIIII]

Well I went to NOPI in San Antonio yesterday and it was awesome. First thing I did when I got there was go to see the Team World Celica since I heard they were running it for the first time at the event. I was Awwing at the car when I first saw it when I noticed one of the pit crew was none other than Jay aka Team_World_Racing on this board. I was able to get a chance and stop him and introduce myself along with Craig aka AustinBartender. l told him we were from NewCelica.Org and were here to see the Celica and for support since we have been waiting for a long time to see this car in action. He was glad to see us out there to cheer the team on and was cool as hell. We talked about various things like aftermarket support and problems they're had along the way with the car. We got a chance to get a close look at both the Celica and the awesome rig they have to haul this beast in, very cool. Jay also told me they have Bos' Celica also but havent decided if theyre going with the 3S motor or another 2ZZ but they're leaning towards the 3S swap, just havent had time because theyre on the road so much. Well I told him we would stop by later in the day seeing that Chris looked busy and all getting ready for the event. Came back later that day talked to Jay some more and as we were talking Chris Rado walks on up to us and Jay and Shakes mine and Craigs hand we introduce ourselves told him we were from the Site and he was glad as well so us out there. I have to say I was quite impressed with both Jay and Chris, nicest ppl even though Chris almost ran us over earlier that day with a golf cart. We also got to see some of Rados "toys" as well. A nice White Supra TT and his GS400. Now as for the Drag Celica this things sounds mean as hell they fired it up and my god this thing kicks a$$, the first round (qualify i think) it went up it took off the line perfect but it blew a hose almost half way down the track so it only got a 11.2. Well the next round was post poned a bit since the heat out here in Texas is insane and all. Went back to the trailer to check on "our" car and talked to jay he said it was nothing major they've had this problem before. So i was relieved to hear that. Saw Chris and was like hey, it happens, pretty cool and all. Later that day the TV crews were coming in and for grins Chris took his Supra up there for the burnout contest. Brand new set of Yoko AVS sports, pulled up to the burnout box and proceded to stage, this guy lit those tires up and poof the whole car disappears in a cloud smoke, you could see bits of the tire fly off. Man it was awesome. We stayed as long as we could but the heat and a really bad sunburn kept me from staying longer goong today to see the car run some more. I really want ed to stay because Chris wanted us come back by later that day to talk more and stuff but oh well there'll be other times. My friend Gabe went today and will let me know how the day went and I'll let you guys know. Any ways theres some of what happend at NOPI. Didint see any Celicas at the car show or run into anyother Celi ppl that day. Swimsuit contest was cool, didnt see enough boobies though, oh well..... I'll get the pictures up as soon as I can guys.....

Just an EDIT: My friend Gabe just called me, he told me that the Celica was having problem with the coil and was only running 3 cylinders. Get this though, it ran a 9.2 @165 just on 3 cylinders!!!!! Just imagine if it was running on all 4. Can you say mid to low 8's?

Laters
Chris

[ToyoGT]

that celica has a 4banger??? i thought it was an 8 cyclinder turbocharged????

[RUSHIIII]

ToyoGT you are thinking of the Turbonetics Celica. Its a Twin turbo 8 cyl, rear wheel drive car......

Laters
Chris

[xi KiNG ix]

thats freakin crazy

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

Originally posted by ToyoGT
that celica has a 4banger??? i thought it was an 8 cyclinder turbocharged????

4 Banger... 3SGTE... Yum! Top Secret put that in there Supra. I think they have an RB26DETT in one of there other cars.

[RUSHIIII]

Heres the Specs of the Team World Celica, I have a card that I got from the event but my scanner is acting up so heres all the info of the car-

Engine Type:
2002 Toyota/ TRD 3RZ
4 Cylinder Twin Cam
16 Valve
Displacement:
2700CC
Power:980HP @7700 RPM's
720 LB-FT @4500 RPM's
Induction: Turbonetics Turbocharger & Wastegate
Spearco Air to Liquid Intercooler
Bore: 96mm
Stroke: 96mm
CR: 9.0:1
Fuel: VP Methanol
Exhaust: TRD Custom Header and World Racing Exhaust
Weight: 1820lbs
Wheel Base: 105"
Body: Full Custom Carbon Fiber Body

Laters
Chris

pretty cool. i'm gonna try to get to NOPI when it comes to Tampa. hopefully i'll be as lucky to meet some of the peeps as you did. by the way your sig kicks @ss :)

[RUSHIIII]

Ok heres few pictures of the Celica, I'll have the rest up later today....Enjoy...

NOPI PICS (http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rushiiii/lst?.dir=/RUSH&.view=t)

Laters
Chris

[RUSHIIII]

TTT

[Bo]

Yeah, those guys are the shizzy. They are my family. That supra is very low profile and a serious Supra. It's got 750hp under the hood. :drool: Yeah, I think we're still going with the 3S swap, but it's all in the air. Jay usually text messages me with the times if they run something special, so I'll keep everyone updated if he doesn't post first.

PS Jay's the man.

[oldster]

For some reason I always thought that TRD was the primary sponser of the car. Judging by the size of their sign that doesn't appear to be the case? Am I wrong?

[Team_WORLD_Racing]

1st things first.... San Antonio is friggin HOT!! Literally, I think it was like 90deg at like 8am!! You guys do have some really good food though, this really nice restaurant, The Palace, had one of the best Filets I have ever had ;-)
Chris, Craig, Gabe and his girl are all cool people, thanks for the support, sorry we couldn't run any better for you guys, but this new car stuff is extremely frustrating!!! That 9.35@ 165 was ran on 3 cylinders for the first 2 gears then the underbucket shim sat itself in 3rd and 4th, this car is going to fly soon, and oh yeah, the tires were still wet on the line, it kept popping out of gear when Chris tried to do a burnout, so he gave up and just ran through the water up to the line. That 9.35 really was impressive considering these factors, when we get a clean pass in, everybody should look out, were coming for them. We are testing tommorrow at Maple Grove and have an NHRA race there this weekend, hopefully all is well, we will see.
As far as the Primary sponsor, it is DriverFX which is the retail arm of Keystone Automotive, a long time wholesaler located in Pa., check out driverfx.com. The TRD scheme that I believe you are referring to Oldster is from the SEMA show, that is where the car made its debut and it wasn't a definite deal with Keystone yet, and since we were going to be in the Toyota booth we gave TRD a ton of love. They are building and tuning the engines for us with a little bit of monetary help, but I would say they are a secondary sponsor.
It is funny that some people on this board have no clue who we are and we are still getting confused with the Turbonetics Celica, driven by "Butter Boy" Matt Scranton. Those guys are really cool as well and also another one of our major sponsors.

Later Guys,
Jay

P.S. Yo Bubba Sparks, keep that diet up, cause when you move out here to the Eeeaaassst Syyyyyde, Rado is going to fatten you up again, believe me son, forsheezy........ GTSnut aka Big Daddy Bo aka Big Pimp aka Bo Kristensen aka Bubba Sparks

[oldster]

Thanks for the explanation and update Jay. Keystone has been big in sponsoring since the good old Joe days in top fuel. :)

[Bo]

Just call me slim ;)

[Bo]

Oh yeah... click on my sig if you wanna see some really slow cars ;)

[RUSHIIII]

Yeah Jay Texas is hot, but you get use to it. Hell you saw how burned I got from hanging out there with you guys. I'll be up at the next Texas event to support you guys again, maybe next time I can stick around longer and actually talk with you and Chris. Good luck guys........

Laters
Chris