TFH Dale Ishimaru Retires
	Photo By RAP :: Race Action Photography

Dale Ishimaru, Multi World Champion, held higher hopes and goals then the average 2007 season drag boat racer. Outperforming his own records is a feat Dale has accomplished in the past and the summer of 2007 showed indications his hopes of repeating such, were not far fetched.

Nitro Nationals, held at Red Bluff, is on colder water, and according to Dale, typically the props usually like to hook up better there. The team, knowing this, started off by using smaller props and although there were some cavitations off the starting line the boat did hook up. The performance result was Dale, together with the boat, did achieve a record run of 263 mph, the fastest that a TFH has gone to date. The new speeds are uncharted territory.
The mechanical result was after just one pass; the props were bent and rendered un-useable.

The crew decided to put the larger props, back on #1 (formerly #712), to run the next few rounds.

Sunday (race day) arrived. The team cut the larger props down to a smaller size. Dale was on the ropes and the only R word on his mind was Record, not Retirement, little did he know this would be his final competitive pass in a TFH.
The course was green, he was in the far lane, competing against Joe Cassidy’s’ TFH #420, Toxic Rocket, piloted by Glen Wilson, in the near lane.

At the start, the #1 (formerly #712) boat started lifting; Dale resorted to peddling it, letting it re-set, and then hammering the throttle again. According to Dale this was the first time that all 8 cylinders were firing all the way down the track.

To quote Dale, ‘he put the hammer down again, one of the props broke which caused the boat to make a sudden hard 90 degree left turn, causing the capsule to break free and slam full speed straight into the water at 210 mph. The violence of this was like crashing into a block wall head on, there wasn't any energy transfer, such as skimming on top of the water or flying through the air to dissipate some of the speed and energy before stopping’.

Dale was at the mercy of a quick turn and full impact. Dale was going about 40 MPH less than the speed of the Boeing 727 (weight exceeding 100 tons), that crashed into the Pentagon, at 250 MPH, back in 2001.
Water is basically an incompressible liquid. At high speed, it's just about the hardest surface one could hit. Fortunately, it is movable, so it is possible to lessen the impact by "breaking" the surface. In this particular crash, that did not happen.

The quick turn whipped Dale’s leg into the side of the capsule breaking his foot, and as his body was being twisted, the fully energized capsule slammed into the “unbroken” water and exploded his vertebrae.

Sources other than Dale, said he had to endure extreme pain for over 2 hours while they ran tests and a cat scan before they could give him pain medication at the hospital.

During this interview conducted by Scott, June 21, Dale was in good spirits and great hands, under the care of relatives, while at home, in Torrance, working his way through the healing process.
At this time his mom and brother are looking after him during the week days when his immediate family members have to attend to the daily grind of work and school. He is using medication daily to help manage the pain and discomfort that he is enduring. The medication helps with the pain but leaves him a little groggy.

The prognosis Dale has been given is that he should recover and be functional in around 5 month’s time.
At this time he cannot put any weight on his leg for the first 3 months during the healing process, until after which, he will start physical therapy.
He broke the talus bone located below his ankle where he now has titanium plates and screws holding everything together.
He also suffered a shattered L2 Vertebrae; the doctors had to go in and remove all the pieces and install a web like structure with a titanium piece that attaches to the L1 & L3 to keep everything in place. The Doctors also had to take a bone graph from this hip, to graph onto the webbed material. All medical treatment took place up in Redding, Ca. where according to Dale; they have excellent Doctors and emergency staff.
When his medical records were sent down to Torrance, Ca. for examination, the Torrance Physicians told Dale that they (Redding) had done an excellent job.
Dale still suffers some numbness in his back, which is expected to dissipate in time. Dale is scheduled to start a rehab program in about 2 months from now.

Dale is a true blooded racer, and nitro runs through his veins. He loves to race, lives to win, and the people involved in boat racing are like family to him. Dale stated that he is now retired, after a full decade of TFH racing.
Dale first raced in the TFH class in 1997. He piloted Whiskey River, TFH, until a crash occurred, on Puddingstone Lake, in San Dimas, Ca.
In 2000-2001 he was the TFH Liquid Thunder pilot, and during 2001 he went on to win 4 out of 10 races.

Ishimaru earned his nickname, Iceman, when suited up. After suiting, Dales warm friendly eyes turned frozen with competitive determination. He is the 2006 TFH World Champion, and has done it all, including put his family through trauma, and the latter is the one thing he is determined not to do again.

Dale said, ‘retiring was not an easy thing to do’, he loves racing. He confided in Scott, “The other day my brother and I watched the NHRA on TV, and when the winners walked up to get their trophy, I told my brother, it is going to be hard to give that up”. He loves winning and realizes seeing an awards podium from a distance will be the thorn in his side.

Dale said the older Problem Child boat, and all the parts to put it together, are in Eddie Knox's possession and that Eddie will be putting the boat and a team together in the near future and return to racing, Eddie, like his former team mate Dale, loves and lives for drag boat racing.

Scott asked Dale for a tip, intended for the ears and eyes of any new TFH drivers or hopefuls, Dale laughed, “You’re asking a guy who’s just quit racing!”

After the humor subsided, Dale became serious, “Take the time necessary to learn the boat, learn the class.
With twin props and 7000HP, it's a whole new platform. Boats are getting faster, reaching higher speeds, exceeding 250MPH, and the parts and drivelines can break. There's still a lot of uncertainty, in regards to what could happen and unforeseeable parts failure, when the boats, are just now, starting to reach these new speeds. There's no need to try and go too quick, too soon. Hopefully the boat owners and crew understand this, and won't try to push too hard too soon”.

Dale wanted to thank everyone for their support, kind words, prayers and calls. He also was especially grateful to rescue. “A special thanks to the Rescue Team, they saved my life and did an awesome job, and Paul Hosler, thank you for visiting me daily, while I was hospitalized.”

The IHBA, RESCUE, RAP and the entire IHBA DRAG RACING FAMILY, thank you Dale Ishimaru for being a true Champion of a person, we are all proud to know you, and are thankful you will be with us, watching the podiums, even if from a distance. We wish you the speediest of recoveries.