Staff Writer
HOULTON — The last thing parents expect to see at their children’s school is drag racing, however, last week, students and staff joined together to take part in a “drag racing” lesson.
Photograph courtesy of Wayne Brown
HOBBY – Wayne Tidd, a bus driver for SAD 29 and custodian at Southside School, talks with a group of students at the school about his hobby of drag racing. Houlton Southside bus driver and custodian, Wayne Tidd, has been involved in the sport of drag racing on and off for more than 30 years. On Wednesday, Oct. 10, he brought his racer to the school for his own “show and tell.”
“They were very, very excited,” he explained. “The kids asked some really good questions and they were very excited.”
Drag racing isn’t something that is common in these parts. Dragsters are raced on an organized 8-mile track, two cars at a time and the closest track is two-and-a-half hours away in Winterport. Tidd said years ago he used to race for trophies and he said, that’s still the norm today.
“You can win a trophy and they do pay a little cash to make it interesting,” he joked. “I haven’t been back at it long enough to find out how much they pay though.”
During his visit to the school, Tidd showed the students the car, its motor and just how loud it could get. He had been scheduled to come to the school a week earlier, but wet weather put a damper on those plans. Dragsters cannot be raced if there is any moisture present at all due to the risk of fire.
“This car is new to me,” he said. “I just recently got it so I could race it. The quickest I’ve had it going is 111 mph when I was in the 9-mile. I hope to make it quicker next year.”
Photographs courtesy of Wayne Brown
LOUD – At left, students at Southside School gather around Wayne Tidd and his dragster, while above, students react to the dragster’s roar.
