When you've made a career servicing Fords, what else would you do during retirement than work on them?
Gary Fore will bring his retirement hobby, the Cobra Jet Mustang, to Bristol Dragway during the Aug. 1-3 O'Reilly Fun Ford Weekend to give it a workout. However, his Mustang may look slightly different than the others on property.
The 62-year-old, a former Ford service manager, will bring his ride to Thunder Valley to make a few passes down the legendary track this weekend. Opposed to other Cobra Jets, though, Fore's car is powered by a real jet engine.
"There are no other Ford jets that we know of," explained Fore, "This car is very easy to drive and the maintenance is easy. We have 319 runs on the car and I've never had to move the steering wheel. It doesn't get any better than that.
"These things are awfully simple to work on. Once you make a run, you go back and pack the chutes and refuel the car. I do everything myself in the car. There is no warm-up or cool down which many people don't realize.
More than the actual passes, Fore enjoys putting on a giant fire show for everyone in the stands. He says as exciting as racing is for him, entertaining fans is first and foremost on his agenda.
"We get a kick out of the fire show," he explained. "My favorite part is the burner pops, the smoke, and the fire we do for the people. We have a special system that can send flames 100 feet. It is pretty entertaining. We'll probably do about 50 burner pops. I'd rather run out of fuel on the run than not put on a good fire show for the fans."
Fore began racing at the age of 14, while using a phony license. Once he received a real license, he moved into bigger cars.
"My wife and I always went and watched A/Gas supercharged cars," he said. "Then we built one and ran it for 20 years. We actually had two cars at one point, but we got tired of that and decided to build a jet. I had a buddy that builds them and he basically talked me into building one. That was five years ago, and we've been having a ball ever since.
"We've raced everywhere. We actually got to race in Aruba, and they paid for everything. Shipping the car, our hotel, food, everything. It was great. The only states we've never visited are Pennsylvania, Maryland and Hawaii."
Although the car has a very unique body style, the reason for choosing it was simple.
"I was a Ford service manager for 20 years and was partial to Fords," Fore said. "I went to a guy in Georgia that made these Mustang bodies for nostalgia cars. We bought it, then immediately sawed it in half to get it to fit around the chassis. We shrunk the wheel wells in the back and put a retro paint scheme on it and people seem to love it."
Fore and his team travel to Thunder Valley during part of his 34-race schedule. For Fore, racing in Bristol and meeting the fans here has been on his to-do list for some time.
"Bristol is probably the most famous track we've ever been at," he said. "We are looking forward to this more than any other event so far this year."
"We can't wait to talk with the fans. I bet we set 30 or 40 kids in the car during the event. The only time we leave the pits is to get a hamburger or make a run, but one of us always tries to stay. We figure if we can get some kids hooked on drag racing, they won't get hooked on drugs. Nothing is cooler than seeing a 7-year-old with a grin on their face because they are in that car. We try to send everyone home saying that is the best jet show they have ever seen."
At his age, many people ask when he will finally stop racing. Fore keeps his answer simple and explains that his love of racing won't let him slow down.
"The first time I go out and physically can't get in the car," he says, "then I'm done."
The Super Cobra Mustang clashes with the Twisted Air Chevy Monte Carlo in a match race for the ages. The jets are scheduled to run on Friday night at 6:45 and 8:45 and Saturday night at 4:45 and 7:45.
Gates open at 10:00 a.m. on Friday with a test and tune session scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Showdown qualifying begins at 6:00 p.m. Gates open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday with time trials beginning at 11:00 a.m. Car show awards will be presented at 3:30 p.m. The True Street Cruise rolls off at 4:30 p.m., while bracket racing begins at 5:00 p.m. On Sunday, gates open at 8:00 a.m. with a chapel service scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Time trials begin at 9:00 a.m. Showdown eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m. Car show awards presentation begins at 3:30.
Admission is $10 on Friday and $25 on Saturday and Sunday. For those that want to be part of the action all weekend, a special Saturday/Sunday pass is available for $35. Children 10 and under are free.
For more information about Fun Ford Weekend, please call (225) 664-0996 or visit www.funfordevents.com.
For more information about Bristol Dragway events, please call (423) 764-DRAG or visit www.bristoldragway.com.