05-25-06: On Thursday prior to the Goodguys 2nd Northwest Nostalgia Drags, SilverThin C.O.O., Kent Ross invited over one hundred associates, guests and employees to a sit-down BBQ and an up close and personal look at the 3000 horsepower, 250 mph Top Fuel Dragster his company sponsors.

Working around the event scheduled at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington the High Speed Motorsports crew arranged for an all-day display in the parking lot of the Mechatronics Operating Groups facility in rural Preston, Washington. Among those in attendance for HSMS was C.E.O. Dale Singh, C.O.O. Tom Shelar, Walt Stevens and driver, Sean Bellemeur. In spite of overcast skies, a good time was had by all punctuated by a fire-up with Ross in the dragsters seat.

 

The 45' HSMS trailer on its way to Preston from Seattle.

 

Upon arriving at SilverThin the display was set up for all to enjoy.

 

The crew spent a lot of time answering questions about the car and what drag racing was all about.

 

A favorite attraction was the 45" flat screen TV that was showing DVD's of the cars in action.

 

 

 

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Driver, Sean Bellemeur was the focus of much attention and fielding questions all afternoon.

 

 

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SilverThin employees did a masterful job of keeping the large crowd in hamburgers and hot dogs.

 

 

 

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To accommodate everyone lunch was served in shifts.

 

 

 

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The highlight of the day was when Kent Ross was offered and accepted a seat in the dragster for a fire-up. Dale Singh and Walt Stevens start to explain the procedure to Kent while the car is made ready to start.

 

 

The crucial instructions came from Bellemeur.

 

 

When everything was ready Kent climbed in.

 

 

Final instructions.

 

 

 

Fitted with a gas mask to protect him from the potent nitromethane fumes, Kent is ready for the engine to be brought to life via the remote starter.

 

 

We have ignition.

As the engine built heat, the nitro got louder and ears started to be covered.

 
As the nitro fumes started to spread, so did the crowd.

After Tom Shelar "whacked" the throttle there was no one left close to the car.

Needless to say, everyone was all smiles once the engine went silent.

Kent, who flew Rotary wings in the Military, was really pumped by the experience of having 3000 HP 40 inches from his body.

Stevens helps him out - what a thrill it was.

"When do we do it again?"

Kent Ross and Dale Singh after inking a new multi-year sponsorship deal. A win win for sure.

Bellemeur did an extensive photo shoot for future SilverThin ads featuring the HSMS dragster.

Unfortunately the actual race was completely rained out but all involved agree that the 1200 mile trip was worth it for their day at SilverThin. Read about SilverThin below and if you can use their products please visit their website.

 

SilverThin Bearings is a division of MECHATRONICS CORPORATION, a privately held marketing, distribution, and manufacturing company that was founded in 1979 to market precision bearings to the aerospace industry. Today, the corporation is comprised of five operating groups that serve diverse markets.

The SilverThin Bearing Group manufactures large diameter thin section ball bearings for the aerospace, industrial, robotics, and distributor markets.

SilverThin bearings are manufactured in the United States in standard configurations, sealed and unsealed, up to 37 inches in diameter. Standard bearings are stocked or in production to meet customer short lead time requirements.

Special bearings are engineered and manufactured up to 37 inches in diameter, some from special materials, to serve the needs of our diverse customer base.

The National Precision Bearing Group distributes airframe control bearings, precision miniature ball bearings, and commercial industrial bearings to the computer peripheral , medical, dental, high technology, industrial, and aerospace markets.

Headquarters for the Mechatronics Operating Groups is located in a 50,000 sq.ft. office and warehouse facility in Preston, Washington. This facility contains a class 1000 clean room with bearing relubrication capability and supports value-added assembly operations with full lot traceability for all operations. The facility has ISO 9001:2000 certification.

The corporation sells through its sales office, sales representatives and distributors in the United States and in various countries around the world. The operating group's websites will give you more specific information about the corporation's products and services.