Speed Channel overtakes Beale

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Luke Johnson
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Two exotic sports cars with more than 500 horsepower, an open flightline and near-perfect driving condition provided an excellent challenge of speed and endurance during a taping of Speed Channel's "Battle of the Supercars" show.

"This is a unique runway to drive down because it has the lead-in and with an extra half-mile, it's very cool that you get to do a turn at 160, 170 miles per hour, and driving on other runways I've never gotten to do that," said Tanner Faust, professional driver and TV personality.

Speed Channel crews visited Beale March 13 and 14 to film the show, which tests the quickness and stamina of a Ferrari F430 driven by open-wheel racer Paul Tracy and Porsche 997 GT3RS driven by Tanner Faust. Not only did the cars do battle on the flightline, the Porsche 997 followed behind a chase car while a U-2 Dragon Lady was practicing touch and go maneuvers, driven by the 9th Operations Group commander, Col. Jeffrey Stout.

"I don't think I've done something this fun with these cars before," said Alex Ross, owner of the Porsche. "I am using my car to help land a U-2; that's not what I was planning when I bought that car."

As impressive as the exotic cars were to Beale Airmen, the crew and cast of the show were equally impressed with specifications of the U-2 and RQ-4 Global Hawk.

"It was really interesting to hear the story that the U-2 has 50-year-old exterior technology, which is counterintuitive in this day and age with our technology. Then you realize the interior is the most modern of the modern," said Lee Reherman, host of "Battle of the Supercars."

Even though, Mr. Ross has a passion for Porsches and high-end automobiles, he was in awe with watching the U-2 take flight and learning about its mission.

"As much as I love cars, I've been mouth-wide-open with the planes," Mr. Ross said. "I've probably spent more time here looking at the planes than the cars."

Being around aircraft, Mr. Reherman knew the Airmen here would be into learning as much as they could about the high-performance cars.

"I knew that you guys are real car aficionados," Mr. Reherman said. "Because you guys are around planes and there is such a similarity between these machines, how they operate, how they move and how they're built and designed. I did not realize the true enthusiasm you guys have for these automobiles, and that's what has made it so much fun."

Not only did Beale Airmen get a rare glance into the world of exotic sports cars, but the Speed Channel crew and vehicle owners were able to see firsthand the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission.

"I spent as much time learning about aspects of the Air Force that most regular citizens just don't know about, as I did shooting the Supercars TV show," Mr. Faust said.

Mr. Reherman said his fondest memory of Beale was the pride of service Airmen displayed to the crew and drivers of the Speed Channel.

"Every time that I am exposed to you guys, it never ceases to amaze me how just how wonderful it is what you guys do for us," Mr. Reherman said "The order, the precision and the sheer professionalism, I never leave an event in the military where I don't just walk away with absolute respect for what you do."