So far in 2008, members of my crew and I have volunteered 225 hours to repair the car and trailer and perform any required maintenance. We have spent an additional 200 hours to attend events on our time without pay or compensation. In addition we have driven over 2615 miles so far this year to attend the various events. Here is what we have done each month with the program so far this year:

January  We had to display the racecar, truck and trailer at the Davie Police Department for an inspection as part of our departments re-accreditation. We also had to perform the same display for a Florida Department of Transportation inspection as the trailer was purchased with grant money from them. Although we did not talk with any kids or young adults it was a chance to show what important educational messages the program teaches concerning street racing and aggressive driving.

We also went to the monthly South Florida Beat the Heat race at Countyline dragway in Miami. Soon after unloading the racecar, it started raining which prevented us from actually racing the car. We did manage to talk with 300 kids and young adults before packing everything up and heading home.

February- We went to the monthly South Florida Beat the Heat race at Countyline Dragway in Miami. We made a few exhibition passes and lined up against several of the racers that were on hand to race against the cops. There were over 160 racers and at least 1,000 spectators. We managed to talk with 500 kids and young adults throughout the night.

March  We attended the monthly Beat the Heat race at Countyline Dragway in Miami. We made a few exhibition passes and lined up against several of the racers that were on hand to race against the cops. There were over 160 racers and at least 1,000 spectators. We managed to talk with 500 kids and young adults throughout the night.

I also displayed the racecar, truck and trailer for the re-accreditation inspection of the Davie Police Department. The program was one of the featured programs of the inspection and they thought the program was a great non-traditional approach by a law enforcement agency to combat illegal street racing.

I also displayed the racecar, truck and trailer for the Davie Police Departments Civilian Police Academy. This is an academy attended by citizens from the community at night to learn how the Police Department operates and to get a better idea of how the criminal justice system works overall. The program was well received by the citizens and they really liked it when I fired up the racecar with the lights on.

April  I attended the annual Coral Springs Police Department car show to benefit the Special Olympics. The car show was held in Coral Springs and I had other Beat the Heat teams from the Broward Sheriffs Office, Medley Police Department and the Sea Ranch Lakes Police on hand. We spoke with over 1000 kids and young adults during the day and helped raise money for an excellent cause.

On the 18th and 19th we loaded up and headed to Gainesville for the filming of the TV show Pinks ALL OUT! We had been requested by the producers of the show and Speed TV to come and display our racecar and make some exhibition passes.

On the 18th, we displayed the car and spoke with 1,000 kids. We also assisted the Alachua County Sheriffs Office by providing interviews with the local media about the Beat the Heat program.

On the 19th, we made exhibition runs in front of over 15,000 people. We also displayed the car in between those runs and spoke with over 4,000 kids, handing out every coloring book and junior police badge we had in the trailer. Other members from the Alachua County Sheriffs Office, Orange County Sheriffs Office, Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and the Medley Police Department were also in attendance.

While there, we were approached by the American Heart Association about assisting them with fundraising. We decided to sell raffle tickets to spectators only, with the winning ticket holders getting an opportunity to race against the Beat the Heat teams while being filmed for the TV show. The raffle was a big hit and nearly $10,000 was raised over the course of six hours.

Unfortunately for us, the engine lost oil pressure while making one of the charity passes. Although the car still ran a 9.35,we decided not to push our luck and damage the engine further.

The engine will be pulled from the car once I finish moving our entire operation into a warehouse in Davie. I expect us to be back up and running no later than August.

June- The engine was remove from the racecar and taken to Fig Performance Engines in Hollywood, Florida. A short time later it was disassembled and we learned the extent of the damage. Unfortunately, the bottom end of the engine suffered enough damage that we will build a completely new engine using aftermarket parts that will be more durable than the stock Chevrolet parts that failed. I expect the engine to be finished by the end of September.

September- After picking up our new 555 cubic inch big block Chevy engine from Fig Racing and our rebuilt transmission from ATF in Davie, my crew and I went to work putting the car back together after its three month down period.

October- Right after we got the car up and running again we went to Countyline dragway for a quick test session on 10/15/08 with several other Florida Beat the Heat teams. The car ran the fastest time ever with a 5.4@130mph in the 1/8 mile. We made three passes without any problems and we stayed for a few hours displaying the car and speaking with 50 or so kids and young adults.

We loaded the car back in the trailer and headed to Gainesville, Florida the very next day for the annual Beat the Heat World Finals race. This is an annual event where the teams from all over the country meet to exchange ideas, support the local programs and race against each other for the title of "Top Cop."

First we participated in a display in downtown Gainesville on 10/17/08 and spoke with over 250 kids. We handed out our racecar cards, badges, coloring books and other goodies for the kids. After that, we dropped the trailers off at the track and held our annual meeting.

On 10/18/08, we raced in the Beat the Heat World Finals held in conjunction with the local "Take it to the track" race to get street racers off the streets. Racers were able to race against the police and firefighters while we made test and exhibition passes down the dragstrip. Our new setup provided us with our fastest times to date with the fastest pass being an 8.52@160mph in the 1/4 mile. In the first round we beat the 1970 Camaro of the Broward Sheriff's Office as we ran 8.55 on our dial-in time of 8.55 and even managed a .017 reaction time despite not racing for the last several months. Unfortunately the electric solenoid in our transmission burnt up as I staged the car for the second round. This caused me to miss making that pass and being eliminated, but things like this happen in racing. We stayed at the track and continued to display for several more hours as they track was hosting a monster truck event after ours. We managed to speak with over 8,000 kids and young adults and emptied out trailer of all our goodies for the kids.

On 10/25/08, we loaded up to attend the monthly Beat the Heat event at Countyline Dragway. Once we arrived, it began to rain lightly. After waiting it out and talking with 100 or so kids and adults, the event was cancelled as the rain became worse.

November- Due to scheduling conflicts with work, I was unable to attend any events this month.

December  On 12/7/08 we attended the final monthly Beat the Heat event at Countyline Dragway in conjunction with a toy drive for the Shriners Miami Childrens Hospital. We collected about 60 toys at the Davie Police Department before heading to the event. While at the track we spoke with over 150 kids and young adults about the program and made a few passes down the track. We ended the night racing against a full blown dragster. We both dialed in times of 5.50 and staged. I managed to beat him off the light with a .552 reaction time to the dragster drivers .597. Our Beretta stayed slightly ahead of the dragster to run a 5.48@130mph compared to the dragsters 5.52@126mph to take the win. The event was a big hit and over 300 toys were collected for the child burn victims of the Shriners Miami Childrens Hospital.

On 12/22/08, I displayed the Beretta for my sons Cub Scout den as part of their community service requirements. I spoke with 30 Cub Scouts and handed out cards and badges.