For a short time as an infant, Chris would only eat various forms of potatoes. Mashed, fried, hashed, etc., were all greedily gulped. Other offerings from Mom were thoroughly chewed but promptly ejected. As a result, he was dubbed "Spud" by his Dad.

      Spud grew up attending Stock Car races at the local ¼ mile dirt track. He served as a pit crew helper for a couple of the racers and was enthralled with horsepower, competition, speed and excitement. With Summer farm jobs funding his efforts, he began to build his first engine at age 12. A Chevy man from day one, Spud began by building a 350 V-8 for a '57 Chevy given to him by his Dad. By age 15, the motor was running and terrorizing the back country roads of Monroe, Oregon. While experimenting with tunnel rams, big cams and multiple carbs, a friend introduced Spud to drag racing. Frequently through the early-eighties, the big white '57 could be found thundering down Woodburn Dragstrip. Although the '57 has since been sold, the engine lives on 22 years, 3 rebuilds, and many cams later in his nitrous-boosted '70 RS Camaro.

      While attending school on a miniscule income, hot rodding was put on hold. Chris began to spend his spare time learning to play guitar. Many hours spent banging out Boston, AC/DC and Scorpions tunes on a cheap electric guitar helped him to become a proficient player very quickly. By the time he was out of college, bands like Censor, U-Turn, and Sudden Impact had Chris playing in bars all over the Northwest.

            With a Manufacturing Technology degree, Chris enjoyed a 9 year career as a Mold/Model/Tool Maker and in 1993 became employed by Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis. He has since become an Information Technology Solutions Specialist and works specifically with 3D Computer Aided Design Software and other Computer Aided Engineering tools. As his career became more focused on computers, Chris' love for computing transformed into yet another hobby. Putting many computers together from old junk parts, he began to experiment with networking and the Linux operating system. He continues to host his websites from his own Linux server in the basement of his home.

      After learning to skydive, Chris decided that it would be more fun to fly the airplanes rather than jump out of them. He earned his pilots license and began exploring the Northwest from the air in OSU Flying Club aircraft.

      Although weekend rock bands like Kickstart kept him busy, Spud began to grow weary of the bar scene. He once again longed for the cackle of open exhaust and the rush of many 100's of horsepower at the whim of his right foot. He decided to scale back his other hobbies and pursue racing seriously. In early 2000, Spud purchased a slingshot front engine dragster, and completely refurbished it from top to bottom. Him and his friends campaigned One Hot Chili Pepper during the 2001 season and had a terrific time. Plans are in the works for improvements to the car and operation for the 2002 season.

      Chris likes electronics and enjoys experimenting with his guitar equipment almost as much as playing through it! He also likes to be a "homebody" and spend time with his wife Shelley, his dog Mattias, and cats Carly, Oscar and Mrs. Jones. Chris avoids television and, other than "The X-Files" or a televised Drag Racing event, would rather be working on his webpages, tinkering on the dragster, or just playing guitar.

      As middle-age approaches, Spud has realized that some form of exercise will be necessary if he wants to continue squeezing into his racing fire suit. Although the actual form of torture has not yet been decided, it is likely that a program of jogging, interpretive water dance or nude coed volleyball will soon follow. Stay tuned.