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| Contributed photo/Tom Hale Jason Theriault of Caribou does some final preparation to his 1995 Nissan D21 Hardbody pickup as he loads it for the short trip to Loring Timing Association’s Summer Speed Trials this weekend. At right is the huge Garrett turbocharger which the County man hopes will help propel him into the 200 mph club. |
By Tom Hale
Special to the Aroostook Republican and News
CARIBOU — Two hundred … it is just a number after all. Or is it, when you speak about land speed racing? Two hundred miles per hour is the benchmark speed that is the often elusive goal of many land speed racers either on a motorcycle or in a race car. It is also a number that has eluded Caribou native Jason Theriault.
Membership in this exclusive club has eluded the 35-year-old since he made his initial trial run four years ago. Since his first run of 123.66 mph in 2010, the Caribou man has improved his speed, but a series of maladies have prevented him from reaching 200 mph.
Theriault has suffered faulty oil pressure senders, failed oil pumps, twisted and broken drive shafts, multiple clutch breakage and four transmission failures. He hopes this year’s version of his 1995 Nissan D21 Hardbody pickup has all the bugs worked out and thus propels him to speeds well above the elusive 200 mph target. He plans to become the first 200 mph racer from The County at this weekend’s Loring Timing Association Land Speed Trials at Loring.
The class Theriault is entering is D/BFSS. The D is the engine size, B means blown or in his case turbocharged. F stands for fuel, allowing him to run on any fuel, which in his case is high-octane race gasoline valued near $20 per gallon. The SS stands for Super Street, meaning his pickup is capable of running on the street although he would never attempt a street run.
Since last fall’s harvest event at Loring, Theriault has removed his nitrous oxide injection system and added a 10-gallon water-to-air intercooler which will require 250-300 pounds of ice. He has closed the hole in his front bumper where last year’s air-to-air intercooler was located, thus reducing drag and lift. Bigger camshafts were added along with head porting for optimum flow at higher RPMs. He also added the newest Garrett GTX Billet turbocharger, which doubles the airflow of last year’s turbocharger.
“I would like to see multiple clean passes without breaking anything at 200 plus miles per hour until I top it out. My ultimate goal is to get 200 mph … I will be totally happy,” Theriault said. “On paper, the truck should do really close to 250 mph
“I will get between 10 to 15 runs at the Loring event. That shows that [Loring Timing Association race director] Tim Kelly and crew are getting well organized. They have figured it out how to get things running smoothly”.
Theriault is the owner or JRT Customs in Caribou, one of the few businesses dedicated to motorsports and custom cars in northern Maine.
“I do everything from custom show cars and trucks, collision work, painting, custom fabrication and welding,” he said. “I recently got my ASE Certification in diesels, making a total of nine such ASE categories.”
According to Kelly, a daily pass will be $10 or a weekend pass $15. New this year on Saturday for $20, spectators can get a special wristband for admission to the speed trials, the “Race at the Base” Car Show to benefit The Hemophilia Association of Maine and Spud Speedway in the evening where the Wicked Good Vintage Racers of Maine will be one of the featured events.
What economic effect does this type of event carry? That is hard to judge in its totality. Russell Levesque the owner of Dodo’s Market, which is located just up the street from the Loring venue says, “We do notice an effect. We like them coming from all over the place. We have talked to people from Texas, California … from everywhere. They do help our business. They buy a lot of ice and cold beverages. It is nice to see them come to the area. They have a great time and they say it is the best track they have ever been on in the country.”
The only other local land speed racer, Jesse Michaud of Caribou, plans to bring his Yamaha YZ250 to continue his quest for the world’s fastest dirt bike. The record is 132.44 set at Bonneville. He plans to better his top speed last year of 118.83 by improving the voltage output for his ignition with a self-designed charging system.
He hopes that internal improvements to his engine as well as improved nitrous oxide management will lead to a new national record.
