In the spring of 1991, Horizon's R&D staff became obsessed with racing 1/8-scale gas cars. Virtually every weekend that summer, you could find our R&D guys at a gas race somewhere in the country; the Texas Biggie, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Florida's Winter Nationals, Austin Texas, Georgia, Detroit, St. Louis, Omaha, Chicago, Toledo, and Kansas City. That was one busy but fun racing season!

1/8-scale passion was responsible for the conception of what became "Blue Thunder".

It soon became obvious that fuel was significant to the performance and life of an engine, but the best fuels of that time were hard to get and sometimes inconsistent from gallon to gallon. Being the resourceful guys they are, our R&D staff began working with Morgan Fuels (one of the largest manufacturers of model airplane fuels) to develop a fuel for racing. All that summer and most of the next, the Horizon R&D staff would hand mix differing formulas of fuel, trying every possible type and combination of oils that were available.

Nearly every week Morgan Fuels would send a new oil sample or a differing viscosity of oil to try. Our R&D staff also worked with experts in the industry, like Ron Paris and Fred Jamison, to get the latest technological scoop on fuel formulations. Finally, after nearly 18 months of racing and testing, Horizon's R&D department came up with a formula that they believed offered several key advantages.

"Originally there was no intention to market and sell car fuel," said Horizon Engineering Manager, John Adams. "We just wanted a fuel to race with - a fuel that was better than what was on the market, that was consistent from gallon to gallon and a fuel that we could easily get. What we ended up with was a fuel that had several unique properties that actually made tuning engines easier. When industry leaders like Ron Paris and several factory gas car teams tried the fuel, they were the ones who actually convinced us to market and sell the fuel."