Last updated:  March 23, 2006

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This is where the 499 comes from in my Yahoo! user name.  It is National Hot Rod Association No. TF499 --the famed "Nuclear Banana" raced by Eddie Hill of Wichita Falls, TX.  Eddie has been playing with explosive chemicals since the 1950's.  He was the first drag racer to cover the quarter-mile in less than 5 seconds (4.99 -- get it?) in 1988, and was the 1993 Top Fuel world champion.  He returned to this "safe" sport from drag boat racing in 1987, and was at one time the quickest man on Earth on both land and water.  An interesting bit of trivia is that prior to earning the No. 1 plate, his competition number was the same as his Top Fuel Hydro: 689.  Eddie says he chose that number because it also read correctly when the boat was upside-down --which, as with most boat racers, is probably about half the time.  When Eddie failed to earn a  top 10 competition number for 1995, he requested 499, the number he was by then famously associated with.

To see why you're not allowed to run these things on straight nitromethane any more, click here.

For a look at what's bouncing around in Speedy's head lately, turn the page.

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