How did you guys get where you are in racing?

Hey everybody , I like asking this question because it gives me an idea of who I share a forum with . So how did you guys get to where you are in drag racing?

Did some of your parents race? Were some of you lucky enough to start as kiddies and be able to afford to go junior dragster racing? Did some of you work your butt off from 9-5 everyday and put something together and dragged your stuff to the race and hope to do well? Are some of you just financially doing pretty good? How did you get where you are in racing?

PS: this is just genuine curiosity on my part this question is not at all meant to be prejudised towards anyone because of how they got where they are.

 

Unsolved bank robberies in my area.

 

race car costs

Russ
Are you insinuating that you funnycar guys support your racing operations by committing felonies, too ?

 

Mine started with a parachute jump out of a 727 over Southwest Washington state while carrying 200K of small umarked bills. Dave Germain

 

Good question...

Not that too many of the folks on here want to here from a SC/ET racer ( or in one in limbo for that matter )

My parents raced prior to me being born in New Jersey in the late 60s. By the time I came around in 71, they had sold everything. Fast foward to 1984 and my parents started racing a Super Street car at newly opened Firebird Intl here in Phoenix. That was my first exposure to live drag racing. Think the first race I ever went to was some Funny Car match race. What a way to get broken in.

I didnt get actively involved working on their cars until they made the swtich to SC in 86. Not that their is alot work to be done on a SC dragster but prior to that I just hung out in the stands and watched. While in high school I started working for Johnny Loper at one of his speed shops and that kinda got the ball rolling when it came to me racing on my own.

I bought a used 23T altered from a guy here in town with some financial help from some friends ( and eventualy paid them all back ). I got my SC/ET license in 1994 and raced the altered and later a rear engine dragster up until May of 04 when some prick(s) stole everything. 5 years later I am still not racing and not sure when I will be again.

In between 94 and 04 I met alot of people through or because of Lopers that had an impact on me getting introduced to alcohol racing. I met and got to know the Weaver family in that time and they gave me my first opportunity to work on an alcohol car. I helped out with a clutch a bit. ( I was with them when they won the D7 championship in 2000 ) . From there a chance conversation with Kevin Knowles got me chance to actualy do the clutch on John Patton's Foolish Money TAFC in 03 and 06.

My goal still remains the same, sombeday I want to return to racing and eventualy maybe upgrade to TAFC or TAD. But I just work for the local telephone company I dont own it so my pockets arent real deep. Obviously with the economy the way it is, companies arent handing out high 5 or low 6 figure checks to aspiring alcohol racers either.

I will say that I met alot of great people in my 3 years of working on the two TAFCs that I did. Im glad I had the opportunity to meet the folks that I did.

So while this might not have been the answer William was looking for its how I got to were I am at currently. WHich reminds me, were exactly is that?!

PS Love Dave Germain's answer or is it DB?

 

William - I own a TAFC. I got into the sport because I - for one - believe that there is no sense in being stupid if you can't prove it.

 

i have know from the time i was 8 years old that some day i wanted to drive a funny car and i have drove alot of fast cars i almost quit i in 92 after a run in a blown altered my goal was to go over 200mph after my first 1/4 mile was over 200mph that was as far the the goal went i didnt think i would ever be able to afford a funny car after thinking a lot knowing if i quit i will never know what it was like to drive a funny car like my uncles before me but after rolling the dice starting a successful body shop bussiness for my self and crashing the blown fiat at us 41 i stopped at murf mckinneys and there it was the bet looking chassis i had ever seen and i had a lot of cars built big shops after talking to murf i decided on a complete car from him what car and he i go funny car racing went to my first race with the udra and had the slowest funny car there i knew i had to get a hemi and and so on got a lot of seat time doing match races and out law quick eights learning a little bit then jumped in ihra after a few races going home with my tail between my legs i started qualifing i have never won a national event but i have won some quick eights and to me match racing was like a national events to me some heavy hitters would show up so i would set my sights on them one of those guy would become a world champion thats who i wanted beat if the track were 300 ft i could win but i had to learn from them guys i would go home work my ass off night and day so i would have the money to get more parts and more seat time and test every chance i got to be ready for them at the next quick 8 to see if i had chance i knew if could run with them there i knew i would be ready for the national events agian the dream is still alive as it was back then and this past friday i turned 53 and still tring to make enough money to get back there

 

new drivers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The College of Drag Racing
(Author unknown, circa 1973). This was given to me at the time I started racing Pro Comp dragster, if I remember right. Thought you might enjoy.Thanks Archie( yes I still carry it in the trailer)


Education...
and all along you thought it was simple to run one of these cars, right? All you thought it took was the brass to jump on the throttle and let it happen, right? Sure, maybe it would help if you knew a little about tuning the engine, but what more could you possibly need to know? Remember this above all else: guys like Prudhomme, McCulloch, and Beadle didn't get where they are today without first going through a long and often painfully expensive learning process. The whole deal would obviously be a hell of a lot easier if somewhere there was a college of Drag Racing, and you could just sign up and major in Funny Car Racing. Well, there is such a school and it's at every drag strip in the country. The problem is that it takes a pile of money to enroll and there just aren't any teachers but yourself.Good luck and be safe
__________________
When I got started you could buy a used roller for under $5000.I ignored common sense,took all my cents, a supporting wife and family the help of a boatload of friends who pass on slightly used parts to keep me going, and the realization that a normal life would be traded for a chance to race a AFC.I rarely qualify, never win, run roughly 3 years behind the leaders, but after 20 years, over 60 different tracks and most of the eastern half of the USA, I wouldn't change a thing.
If you want it badly enough, you can find a way to do it..just be sure you know what "it" is! Good luck!

 

I was a prostatute:..Dave

 

I grew up helping my dad when he had a top fuel car in the 70's. That was when parts weren't really that expensive, and there was a possibility of breaking even if you were careful. My dad has never been rich by any stretch, but he was/is an innovator and was able to make and fix most of his own parts.

My dad trusted me enough to build the heads for his fuel car when I was 12 years old, and I got very familiar with how the motor works. When I was 16, and the costs were getting to be too much to run a fuel car, I decided I would like to drive, and my dad supported me by taking the blower off and putting gas in the tank instead of nitro. We raced together for 3 or 4 years, then I got my own driving gig with a friend of mine, Brad Ennis, and we were very successful.

That gave me the confidennce to run my own deal in the late 80's, and I have partnered up with a number of different people since then. I am now racing with my sons, Troy and Nathan, and have great satisfaction doing so. Our parts inventory gets a little bigger and better every year, so we are at the point now of being pretty respectable. I miss the 80's though, because you didn't need buckets of money to run as fast as the next guy; we were very successful back then and had a lot of fun.

 

I grew up in a shop my grampa had for his fuel/oil business, when I would come in the house and my mom would ask what we were doing out there, I would say there fixin that god damn thing and that son of a bitch. My grampa navigated some of the first exploratory drilling on the north slope with Ted Stephens ( you may have heard of him, he was the senate leader for like 30 years ). They sent me down a well pipe to change a bolt that sheard in the bit when I was barely old enough to walk...They hit oil on the second shot. Drag racing is one of my way's of figuring out how stuff works. Its also a good way of getting aggression out without beating someones face! Even if they deserve it!

 

In 1956, on a Sunday morning..............
I woke up.
I went to a dragstrip.
I was screwed since.

 

Cunfused?

BOB
IS SCREWING A BAD THING OR GOOD

 

My family has been involved with Sprint Cars, and Indys my whole life, and before. I used to hang out at PIR for the High School Drags when I was in Middle School with my older cousins (they were supposed to be "watching out" for me)...and then I went into High School...My high school Auto Shop teacher let us build a car and race it at Woodburn, and PIR in the early-mid '90's. I was hooked from then on...and Im lucky enough to have a good friend who likes to let me work on his motor...THANKS DOUG!!

KymBerly
TAD 6715 Crew

 

Depends on the interpetitation, in this case I've been very occupied, so I guess it's good.........in other cases, just so-so, spent to much time with racecars.

 

how I...

Well, my dad raced AA/GS back in the 60's and 70's, then turned to BB/FC's. He has raced since the 50's in one way or another. So, since I was born in 1970, I've been going to the races. It started from helping fuel the car up and helping mom pack the chutes(she still does pack my parachutes), to eventually helping with other stuff on the car. Now, at age 38, I drive my family's blown alterd, do the clutch, bottom end and other between round maintenance. I also get to help on Victor Terenzio's Frank Schuster driven alky F/C. So, besides my daughter, drag racing is my only love...oh and I was a bank robbing prostitute also!

 

How I got involved

Hi William, I haven't got the new car finished yet but here's how I got the disease.

My dad was a hot rodder but I never caught the bug until I was 15. Then I went to the good guy's run at Indy w/ my dad. There we saw Lou Debarto trying to push his Blown alky Fiat into his trailer. It was raining and the crew was out checking out the show so my dad and I helped him out. We got to talking and met him at his next race in Michigan to help out. When I was 16 and making only $5.50 per hour and in school, I withdrew the $3,000 I had for college out of my bank account and bought a blown alky 482 BBC. Later that year I bought an new alky funny car chassis. The years after I bought a Fiat body, Blower, ect.. I went to war in Iraq when I was 21 and tried to figure out what class to run, I decided I didn't want to run the bracket scene and looked at the cost of updating the car to IHRA TAFC standards. During my second deployment to Iraq when I was 25 Will Hanna tipped me off on a great car at an awesome price from a great team. After doing the math I purchased the former Tequila Patron funny car from Jack O' Bannon. I then gave the old Chassis still new, the 482 Chevy and the majority of the rest of the old car to my dad to help him get back into racing. Since then with the help and advice of so many great friends like Tim Stephens, Tony Deperno, Bob Ginther, Noel Manton, Will Hanna, and Mike Strasburg just to list a few I have managed to put together a nearly complete kick ass NHRA TAFC. No thanks to the IHRA.

By the way I'm not loaded, just so stupidly dedicated that I have broke or in debt since I was 15 (11 years)

Had it not been for the greatest guy I ever met none of it may have been possible. In loving memory of my hero Lou DeBarto, RIP.

Trevor Sherwood