Kim
Kasye Jones
NHRA
Super Comp Racer
Kim Kasye Jones
was born into racing and has been around
racing all her life. From the time she was a
little girl, she was either in the garage, the
shop, the pits or at the track. "My dad raced
NASCAR Modifieds on the Northeast Circuit, so
I ate it, smelled it, drank it, and lived it
from the time I was a little girl. I am a true
believer that you are born a racer, that
racing is in your blood. You just don't decide
one day your going to race cars, it has to be
within you and you have to feel it."
Kim took a
break from the racing scene to go to college,
get married, and have a daughter. "I tried to
have a normal life, whatever your definition
of that is, and settle down. Guess what, that
didn't work for me", she recalls. "This goes
back to the racing is in the blood thing
again. Don't get me wrong--racing was not
forgotten about. While trying to seek out what
people will call a normal life, we still went
to races on occasion. It's not the same when
you're not involved with a car at the track.
You can get kind of bored if you're not
participating."
That's when her
husband decided to open their world to a
different kind of racing, drag racing. Kim was
hooked immediately. "It was so intense and the
speeds were incredible. I'll never forget that
day, it was at Maple Grove Raceway and I just
couldn't get enough. I don't know till this
day if he thinks that was a good thing or a
bad thing by taking me to the drag races, I
personally think it was a good thing. The
racing blood was flowing very fast from that
time on, and I knew I wanted to drag race
right then or in the near future."
Within
the next two years, Kim's interest in drag
racing led her to start a weekly
magazine-format television show about racing.
Reaction Times Motorsports went on the air
about 3 years ago, produced by Turner
Productions, Inc. in Lake Park, Fl. "I went to
them with my show idea and they let me run
with it. They believed in me and believed I
could be very successful. There have been a
lot of hard roads to travel down, but I have
overcome them." While  producing the show, Kim
met AMA Superbike Racer Joe Capicotti. They
hit it off right from the beginning, and
Capicotti now co-hosts with Kim. "The
show is very unique; the hosts are both
current licensed racers that will go to
extremes to make for good show content. We
interview racers and show highlights of the
racing. Joe and I have a great rapport
together, we add a lot of humor to the show
and you'll never know what we will do next."
It was in May
1998 while filming "Reaction Times." that Kim
met NHRA Pro Stock Driver Kevin Sparks and his
wife Debbie, who was obtaining her Super Comp
License in their dragster. "We talked for a
while and I said I would love to drive that
dragster and get my license. Kevin turned to
me and said 'That can be arranged.' That did
it, I about had a heart attack, I was so
excited. Kevin and Debbie went through the
whole car with me from controls to all safety
features, how to drive the car, what to do if
something goes wrong. It was a very thorough,
one on one training experience and I learned a
lot. Since then we have become like family
with Kevin and Debbie and they have been there
for us every step of the way. Needless to say
we went on to build our own dragster and the
rest is history, with more history to be
made."
Currently Kim
is racing in the NHRA Super Comp class and
also ET Bracket racing. Her car is a 1999 235
inch wheelbase dragster, with a 427 cubic in,
600 HP big block Chevy, Ford 9 in rear with
4.57 gears, which weighs with driver 1700 lbs.
It runs ET's of 8.70 in 1/4 mile at 155 mph.
"The dragster has many safety features, which
are mandatory by the NHRA. We use all the
safety precautions that we can and the ones
mandated by NHRA. SAFETY FIRST!! We need to
have a parachute, full fire suit, including
driving boots and gloves, 5 point harness
(seatbelts), arm restraints, which get
attached to your belts so that your arms can't
come out of the cockpit, Snell 95 full face
helmet, neck collar, full roll cage and
chassis inspected and approved by an NHRA tech
inspector, fuel shut off switch, in case of an
incident you can turn off the fuel, and also
at the back of the car there is a battery
disconnect switch that will automatically shut
down the car in case of an incident.
There are other
safety features that are not mandated by the
NHRA to have, but we use some of them. We have
what we call a diaper, which is made by Stroud
Safety. It is placed around the bottom of the
motor and mounted in place, if the engine were
to blow up all the oil and parts will be
contained in this diaper, instead of all over
the track, causing for an accident and shut
down time for the race. Racing is a dangerous
sport, but by taking the proper safety
precautions and remembering safety always
comes first, it becomes a lot of fun! "
Kim's schedule
is always packed, and may become more so in
the future. Plans are to continue "Reaction
Times Motorsports" working with Turner
Productions, which is a full-fledged
production house with all digital equipment.
"We do everything from TV shows to commercials
to infomercials, we do it all. They have been
like a family to me, a great bunch of people
to work for. I look forward to many more years
producing and hosting Reaction Times. It's a
lot of hard work and time, but worth every
minute of it!"
As if that
weren't enough, Kim is considering competing
in the Southern Fastruck Series this year. The
Series will air on the Sunshine Network
throughout the state of Florida and throughout
the country on FOX Sports Net satellite. She's
got her priorities firmly established though.
"I will only compete at selected events that
won't interfere with my drag racing schedule.
Drag racing is where my heart is, but I'm
having a lot of fun gaining experience in
other areas of motor sports. More is never
enough!"
Recently, Kim
attended Skip Barber Racing School where she
completed the course and obtained her SCCA
Road Racing license in an Open Wheel Formula
Dodge, and there has been talk that they would
like Kim to join them and compete in the SCCA
Southern Series. "That kind of racing keeps me
on top of my game and makes me a much better
driver on and off the track. I think it's the
busiest cockpit in all motor sports, and I
love it!!!" She has also completed the Skip
Barber Stock Car School.
Her future drag
racing plans include running a NHRA Top Fuel
Dragster and she is in talks with some people
to start on getting her licensing done. "We
have the car, the transporter, the team; we
have everything but sponsorship money," she
reports. "We are definitely making progress in
that area, so I'm hoping it's only a matter of
time. I am so excited about this venture, it's
a great team and I feel once we are out there
we will be very successful and make some
noise! Literally! "
The bottom
line? "I can't wait to get in the seat of that
car, with 6000 HP right behind you and run
over 300 mph in a quarter mile; it's going to
be incredible!!!"
Kim Kasye Jones is the September 2001 Driver of the Month in
Distant Thunder,
the online newsletter of Thunder Valley Racing. Thunder Valley creates opportunities for women race car drivers
and their fans. This article is re-printed with permission.
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courtesy of 
