Elyria native turned JVS degree into a globe-trotting career

(Chronicle Telegram) August 4th 2009 - Elyria native Wayne Waite will never have to experience an earthquake to feel the ground rumble under his feet. He feels it every time No. 1-rated Top Fuel driver Antron Brown fires up the Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster.

The dragster can do a quarter mile in less than five seconds. The massive 8,000-horsepower engine is eight times as big as the 1,000-horsepower engines that power NASCAR racers, Waite said.

"When he hits the throttle we've measured the ground and it's like 2.5 on the Richter scale," Waite said. "It shakes the ground really bad." "It's a real bad gasoline smell - it will choke you if you get a big whiff," Waite said, who has become adept at holding his breath. But any hazards related to working on a nitromethane-powered dragster are nothing to fret about for Waite, a 2001 graduate of Lorain County Joint Vocational School.

Waite, the son of Steven and Mary Waite of Elyria, said he's grateful for his good start at the JVS. He said he knew right away that the Auto Tech Program offered him everything he needed to be successful, but "I never thought it would lead to something this awesome."

While at the JVS, Waite said he ranked fifth in his class of about 20 and is grateful to instructor Darin Lewis for keeping him focused. He said the JVS also showed him how to work in a team - an important component of working on the hot rod circuit. -- Read the Full Article

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