Dago Red History

Dago Red was first introduced to the air racing scene in 1982 - where the creation of Frank Taylor, Bill Destefani, Pete Law, Bruce Boland, Mike Nixon, and the other talented folks at Chino had turned the wreckage of N5410V into a racing thoroughbred. Taking from the best of other racing aircraft like "Jeannie" - the goal was to make this racer as light, as aerodynamically clean, and as fast as possible. Less than a year after the project started, Dago Red was soon destined to make an indelible mark in air racing history, and do so much earlier then anyone could have predicted. During her first appearance at Reno, pilot- Ron Hevle captured the #1 qualifying position in Dago Red and went on to win the first heat race as well as the Gold Championship Event. No other aircraft since the rebirth of air racing at Reno had ever accomplished such a feat. Since that time, Dago Red has gone on to establish herself as one of the fastest racing aircraft ever to take to the pylons, posting the fastest qualifying speed ever recorded by a P-51 Mustang at 490.826 MPH (less then .5 MPH from the existing record) as well as being the current 15Km speed record holder at 517.06 MPH and current 3-time consecutive National Unlimited Class Champion. From the beginning, Dago Red was a champion born of championship heritage - and continues to this day exhibiting "The Winning Spirit" she & Team Dago Red have come to signify.

Competition History:

  • Reno 2004 - After a test flight this year, we discovered our race engine was in the process of failing... We pulled the engine, rebuilt it in record time, and plugged it back into the airplane. Then Holm had to make a deadstick emergency landing after another test flight. We nearly didn't make Reno 2004! The two near disasters prior to Reno were overcome by extreme dedication and teamwork. We arrived at Stead, set up camp and got the final preparations out of the way on the airplane. Skip sauntered out and ripped off a 490.821 mph pole position qualifying lap. Each day during the heat racers, Holm would race Dago out in front. Friday's heat race saw Dago stay ahead of Rare Bear and September Fury with a winning elapsed speed of 466.547 mph. That's a stroll in the park for Dago and the Mouse Motor... Saturday's heat race was pretty exciting, and Skip had to wick it up just a bit to take first place at 477.417 mph. The temperatures had begun to cool quite a bit, and Sunday dawned downright cold and rather nasty. The wind whipped up cold over the Sierra's and blew rain, sleet and snow into the Stead area. They got the race started early and Skip whipped on Dago to stay in front for the entire race. Unfortunately, Holm cut pylon four on lap two and was penalized 16 seconds. This put us in second place for the race, with Rare Bear taking the win. Our efforts, however bitter, were rewarded with the Thompson Trophy for the year; we were out in front the entire week and still had the fastest lap speed of the event. On March 10th, owner Terry Bland announced that he was retiring Dago Red from competition. The racer, its support equipment and trailer are not for sale, and the future remains somewhat uncertain regarding the airplane.

  • Reno 2003 - Pilot Skip Holm took Dago Red out and qualified at a speed of 492.722, taking the second fastest qualifying position behind Rare Bear. Friday's heat race was a real barn-burner. John Penney and Rare Bear held the pole position and lead for the first few laps. The weather was warm and the conditions were calm... The fans and crews knew this was going to be a fast race! Boy were we all surprised! Dago Red took the lead and stayed there to post the first ever race speed above 500 mph - 507.105 mph to be exact. We also posted the fastest lap speed ever of 512 mph. Holm and Dago Red again took Saturday's heat race at 480.415 mph. Come Sunday, the Gold race was run in sunny and warm skies. Holm and the Dago Red crew had the pole position, and beat out Rare Bear, Furias, Czech Mate and Critical Mass to clinch their fifth consecutive unlimited championship. The average race speed was 487.938 mph.

  • Reno 2002 - The Dago Red team arrived early at Stead and prepared for the week's activities. Holm qualified at a blistering 497.787 mph. Mike Brown in September Fury, Tiger Destefani in Strega, and Matt Jackson in Voodoo would be the main competition. During Sunday's Gold race, winds were gusting up in the 40 mph neighborhood... Much of Reno's desert dirt was airborne for the race; but the race went off on time. In the most turbulent conditions many of the pilots had flown in, Holm once again took the unlimited championship race at 466.834 mph, beating out Mike Brown, Tiger and Jackson.

  • Reno 2001 - Racing in all classes was cancelled on account of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

  • 2000 Reno - Qualified in 1st place at 489.681 mph. Pilot- Skip Holm. Finished 1st in the Gold Final at a speed of 462.007 mph.

  • 1999 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 479.237 mph. Pilot- Bruce Lockwood. Finished 1st in the Gold Final at a speed of 472.332 mph.

  • 1998 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 443.932 mph. Pilot- Bruce Lockwood. Finished 1st in the Gold Final at a speed of 450.599 mph.

  • 1996 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 490.826 mph. Pilot- David Price. Finished 2nd in the Gold Final at an adjusted speed of 460.557 mph (one pylon cut - non-adjust speed was nearly 474 mph).

  • 1995 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 458.182 mph. Pilot- David Price. Finished 3rd in the Gold Final at a speed of 449.137 mph (one pylon cut).

  • 1994 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 458.565 mph. Pilot- David Price. Finished 2nd in the Gold Final at a speed of 413.116 mph.

  • 1994 Phoenix - Qualified in 2nd place at 450.474 mph. Pilot- David Price. Finished 3rd in the Gold Final with pilot Alan Preston at an adjusted speed of 419.876 mph (two pylon cuts).

  • 1993 Reno - Qualified in 5th place at 427.430 mph. Pilot- Alan Preston. Dago Red suffered a cracked engine block during Saturday's Heat Race 3-A and posted a DNF.

  • 1989 Reno - Qualified in 6th place at 421.655 mph. Pilot- David Price. Finished 6th in the Gold Final (completing 7 of the 8 laps) at a speed of 384.317 mph.

  • 1988 Reno - Qualified in 10th place at 422.670 mph. Pilot- Alan Preston. During lap 3 of the Gold Final, Dago Red was forced out of competition with a mechanical problem - posting a DNF.

  • 1987 Reno - Qualified in 11th place at 393.402 mph. Pilot- Ray Cote. Ray piloted the aircraft in Heat #2 and Alan Preston piloted it in the remaining heat races and the Gold Final event, finishing 3rd at a speed of 439.455 mph.

  • 1986 Reno - Qualified in 12th place at 396.125 mph. Pilot- Alan Preston. Finished 4th in the Gold Final at a speed of 413.852 mph.

  • 1985 Reno - Qualified in 3rd place at 442.008 mph. Pilot- Rick Brickert. Finished 3rd in the Gold Final at a speed of 426.848 mph.

  • 1984 Reno - Qualified in 5th place at 430.641 mph. Pilot- Rick Brickert. Set competition speed record of 439.832 during Heat #9. During the Unlimited Gold Race Final, one of the connecting rods on Dago Red's Merlin engine broke and the engine caught fire. Rick jettisoned the canopy for visibility and was able to land the aircraft safely without injury or further incident. It was later discovered that the rod had nearly cut the engine in half.

  • 1984 Moosejaw, Saskatchewan - Canada. Pilot- Rick Brickert. Top qualifier at 420.904 mph. At race end, finished 1st at 384.450 mph - but after penalties for pylon cuts (3) were accessed - the final finishing order was changed placing Dago Red in the 4th position at 336.253 mph. 

  • 1983 Reno - Qualified in 2nd place at 439.219 mph. Pilot- Rick Brickert. While enjoying a commanding lead during lap 6 of the Gold final - a crack developed in the propeller backing plate and the resulting vibration forced Dago Red out of competition.

  • 1983 Mojave - After winning at Reno '82, owner- Frank Taylor flew Dago Red to claim the FAI Class C, Group 1 15Km World Speed Record at 517.06 mph (shattering the previous record by 51+ mph) - a record that still stands today.

  • 1982 Reno - Top qualifier at 440.565 mph. Pilot- Ron Hevle. Finished 1st in the Gold championship race at a speed of 405.092 mph. Became the first Unlimited Class airplane to win the Gold her first time in competition. 

Race Record Stats courtesy of air race historian- Garry Williams

   

 

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