Triple
Digit Racing - Driver History
John Hipwell, the man
behind the engine at the 1999
IHBA Highpoint, NC race.
John Hipwell’s passion for racing first began in 1975, and he spent 5
years bracket racing cars at the local tracks. Bracket racing seemed to be your typical
interest for someone with a career of engine building and automotive mechanics, but John
always wanted more. With the front door of his home facing Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey,
it’s no wonder his wife Jo-Ann came up with the idea to buy their first jet boat in
1985. Little did she know, fourteen years later drag boats would be such a large part of
John’s life.
The need for speed quickly became a driving force in John’s life
after buying his first jet boat. In 1986 he was on the lake racing a few other local boats
when the speed grate on his jet drive let loose. The boat lifted up on the left side so
high John’s elbow was in the water. The craft made a hard left turn but amazingly the
guy running beside him manage to miss John’s high flying boat. John escaped with no
injuries, but the incident lifted the deck off of the back of the hull.
In 1987 John had Mike Edward’s from Belton, TX build him another jet
boat – Triple Digit I. John began running with the NJ Flat Bottom Association and the
Delaware Valley Drag Boat club. He picked up several amateur high point championships and
by the time the early 90’s rolled around, Triple Digit I was a blown alcohol jet boat
that ran the quarter in 7.60 seconds at 132 mph. For awhile, it seemed as if John’s
jet boat was unstoppable. At least until that fateful 1991 DVBRC test and tune event in
Trenton, NJ when the top end of the boat decided to become air born on his 2nd
pass. John was helivacked out of the race and spent 8 days in the hospital with 4 crushed
vertebrae, a collapsed lung, and a broken rib. He spent 3 months in a back brace only to
return to the drag boat scene in September of that same year with his first Kurtis 500
Hydro, Triple Digit II.
John had taken his racing effort to the professional level in 1990 when he
ran the Top Alcohol Jet class and finished 2nd in points for his first USDBA
season. But after the crash in Trenton at the beginning of '91, he knew he wanted to go
faster – only this time much safer! So with what became the first of 3 Kurtis hulls
he has raced; he took the jet boat engine, spun the fuel injection hat around, and slapped
on a new oil pan to make the switch from jet boat to hydroplane. He then put a safety
capsule on the boat and ran a 6.91 at 178 mph on his first pass! Considering he lost
several months that year being in the back brace after Trenton, this was quite the
remarkable come back.
John Hipwell with the
local Hooters girls
after he won at 1995 Dayton, OH race.
By 1994 the need for speed put John in the Blown Alcohol Hydro (BAH) class on the
professional circuit and Triple Digit II was ready for retirement. John was still running
Chevy engines at this time, and premiered the Triple Digit III Kurtis 501 Hydro in Dayton
Ohio. John went on take the ADBA high point championship in 1995 for BAH, and put together
his first Chrysler hemi engine for the 1996 BAH season. This was followed by his jump to
the Top Fuel Hydro class in 1997, the fastest drag boat racing class on any professional
circuit. This time, Triple Digit finished 1st in points for the team's 1st
Top Fuel season.
With 200+ mph speeds giving John the ability to run the liquid quarter
mile in well under 6 seconds, it was of little surprise the Triple Digit IV Kurtis Hydro
came on the scene at the end of 1998. Unfortunately, the Triple Digit III hull met an
unfortunate end with another air born pass at an exhibition run on Greenwood Lake in NY.
This crash cost the Triple Digit operation the hull, but the engine and other mechanical
systems were left 100 % intact. John also escaped injury when the risks of drag racing
caught up with the team in Greenwood, but it didn’t stop him. You can find pictures
of the new Triple Digit IV boat on our Main and Advertising Pages listed on the left, plus
pictures of the other boats and more details on our racing stats can be found on the Track
Record Page.
John has been running hemi style engines in the Triple Digit Operation since 1995, and
has over 10 years experience racing blower motors in general. The new Triple Digit IV is
another 501 Kurtis hull that runs a blown and injected 500 cubic inch Chrysler hemi. This
engine has a JP-1 block and Venny dual plug heads with titanium valves, plus sports a
Keith Black gear drive. John built this engine with 7-1 compression and 4.187 bore. Some
of the other goodies you’ll find under the Enderle Buzzard Catcher fuel injection is
a 1471 blower (with safety bag), a 4 ¾ stroke billet crank, aluminum connecting rods, and
a Mallory dual magneto ignition. Additionally, we run a Feria 12-qt. Oil system with dual
filters and a Hilborne fuel pump with overdrive that can flow 32 gallons of fuel per
minute. All these parts under John’s professional care can push approximately 4,000
horsepower down the liquid quarter mile at 220 mph.
The Triple Digit Top Fuel Hydro runs a mixture of nitromethane and
alcohol. When she launches, the Lenco clutch forces the engine’s horsepower through
the Casale V-drive until the boat hooks up to the water. Once she’s hooked, all that
screaming horsepower jumps the engine’s RPM up around 82-8500, and she carries over
20,000 RPM prop speed behind her as she amazes the crowd! All this awesome muscle uses 8
gallons of fuel, 16 spark plugs, and 12 quarts of oil for every quarter mile pass she
makes. By the end of a typical pro race, we burn about 50 gallons of fuel at $20 per
gallon. We also go through 1-2 pistons per race due to normal Top Fuel wear-and-tear;
which is real good compared to burning 3-5 pistons per run when we first turned Top
Fuel. Despite the high cost and maintenance on this awesome racing machine, John Hipwell
with his Triple Digit Team continue to put on one hell of a competitive and thrilling show
for drag boat fans nationwide.
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