MOTZ BRINGS ‘ORIGINAL JET TRUCK’ OUT OF MOTHBALLS
200 Mile Per Hour Kenworth To Make Three Appearances at US 131 Motorsports Park
MARTIN, Mich. – Officially, Bob Motz has retired as driver of one of drag racing’s
most awe-inspiring vehicles. Unofficially, though, the legendary jet car driver will make
three post-retirement appearances this season at one of his favorite racetracks, US 131
Motorsports Park.
Motz will pull the tarp off “The Original Jet Truck” for appearances on May 20
during the Night of Thunder, Aug. 12 during the Northern Nationals and Sept. 9 during
the 13 th annual Funny Car Nationals.
Motz, 71, has spent 38 years visualizing, creating and driving jet-powered
vehicles down dragstrips across the country. He learned his craft while driving for jet
car pioneers Walt and Art Arfons. He then built and drove a jet-powered Funny Car
followed by a jet-powered dragster called “Wildfire.”
However, it wasn’t until he and son Scott decided to put a General Electric J79
jet engine in a 1998 Kenworth conventional that he found his true calling. That engine,
the same kind used in the F4 Phantom fighter jet, routinely pushes the big rig from zero-
to-200 miles per hour in just 1,320 feet.
“It takes a lot of hours and a lot of time away from family, but I enjoy doing this
and nobody understands that better than a race car driver,” Motz said. “That’s why I
didn’t want retirement to be ‘set in stone,’ because I truly love what I do.”
“Bob Motz is a wonderful showman but at heart he’s just a racer,” said US 131
General Manager Jason Peterson. “As a former racer myself, I know how hard it is to
step away. I’m just glad we’re going to have at least one more year with Bob and ‘The
Original Jet Truck.’
