Thu, 4 Oct 2007, 11:16 PM Beware Of The Tiger

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2007 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Shayne Lawson

All you have to do is take one look at Shayne Lawson and you'll know that he had to play sports in high school. And it won't take you too long after you first meet him to realize that football was his sport of choice. "I played in high school," he said while working on the alcohol funny car that he drives in Dallas. "I played offensive and defensive line." His team, Coweta High School in Oklahoma, made it to the state semi-finals and finished with a 10-3 record in his senior year. "I had some offers to play college ball but I decided that I would like to try this (drag racing) instead. I've always wanted to drive." Not only is he getting a chance to drive but he will also be part of a team that has a very bright future, especially after signing a three year deal with Tigerflow to sponsor the car. "Tigerflow is a company that develops water systems for high rise buildings. Monroe Guest is the vice-president and we hit it off pretty well with him and now we recently signed a long term agreement to represent the company." The signing was announced at a huge car chow and pep rally that Tigerflow held at their Dallas office right before the start of the O'Reilly Fallnationals at the Texas Motorplex. "It was so cool to have the employees come by and look at the car and ask questions about it. We are so excited about representing them on the track," Shayne said.

Guest, McWilliams and Kelly Lawson

Shayne Lawson is one of the many new drivers in the sportsman and pro ranks who began his career in the Jr. Dragster program. "I started it at the very beginning of the class and we did pretty well," he said. "When I got too old to stay in the junior ranks I stepped up to a Super Comp car and I thought that I would eventually drive a Top Alcohol Dragster." But, as the twenty-six year old would soon discover, even the best plans can take an unexpected, and pleasant detour. "I knew Brandon Lewis and he told me that Brad McWilliams was looking for some help with his car last year and so I called him and we got together." Shayne's first exposure to the world of alky funny cars came last year at the Brainerd race where he joined Brad's crew. At the time Marty Nothstein was driving and Shayne started working on the clutch, but by the end of the season he knew that bigger things were in store for him and Brad. "At the end of the year when Marty and Brad parted ways I told Brad that I would like to drive, and then in the off season my dad and I started pursuing sponsors and we were lucky enough to meet Monroe." Luck may have played a small part in the sponsorship but as everyone in the sport knows, opportunities like this don't just happen by accident. "When I told Brad that I wanted to drive I knew that my chances would improve if I could get some financial help. So I went out, got some leads, made some contacts and then my dad helped me with the proposals and we went out and pitched ourselves to the folks at Tigerflow." Monroe Guest was so impressed with the presentation that he signed the team to a three year deal. "This year was pretty much designed to be a learning curve but then we have a three year deal beginning with 2008." Over the period of that deal Shayne hopes to be able to compete at all of the divisional races in his home division as well as traveling to several national events. When I asked Shayne if he enjoyed tuning and working on the car as much as he did driving, he thought for a moment and then said," Yeah, I liked working on it, but I always knew I wanted to drive. I enjoy them both, but driving is a lot of fun."

When talking with Shayne one thing stood out, and that was the fact that he knew that the transition from crew member to driver would be a real, slow, careful process. "I had always driven dragsters, from the junior cars to the Super Comp class and I never envisioned myself driving a funny car. It really is completely different from anything I've driven before." And despite the fact that he is a big, tall, strapping young man, he admits to being a little startled the first time he got behind the wheel of the car. "I have to tell you that the first time I hit the throttle in the car I thought to myself, 'What have you gotten yourself into?' And then I settled down and realized that if I wanted to drive I would have to take it slowly." Shayne's learning process began at the end of last year and continued through the early part of 2007. The team went to Noble, Oklahoma, and then to Tulsa, Memphis and Dallas before he was able to complete the licensing process. "Little things kept happening and I have to admit that I made some mistakes. The end result was I didn't complete my two full passes until the divisional race in Dallas earlier this year."

While Shayne realizes that you need to take this learning curve slowly, he admits to being very fortunate to have a couple of pretty good mentors. "I've been picking Jackie Stidham's brain pretty regularly," he said. "And Roger Bateman has also been a big help." Being from Division 4, and remembering the fact that the car he is racing used to belong to the Division 4 champ, Stidham, it's easy to see the Jackie-Shayne connection, but the Roger Bateman deal is a little harder to figure out, especially when you consider the fact that Roger is from Calgary, Canada. "We pitted next to Roger in Brainerd last year and I was able to spend some time with him, and then his team was at Memphis when we were there for the divisional race and we talked again." Shayne says that he learns something every time he talks to one of these drivers. "If you have to learn you might as well learn from the best, and both Jackie and Roger have had great careers and I'm glad that they are willing to share some of their experiences with me."

Shayne appears to be off to a great start in his funny car career, even if he didn't set the world on fire in this, his rookie season as a driver, and when he's not racing he holds down a full time job as a heavy equipment operator. "I guess you could say that I drive two miles per hour during the week so I can drive two hundred miles per hour on the weekend. I know that I'm very fortunate to have the support of my dad, Kelly, and the opportunity to work with Brad McWilliams and his team. Brad has been very patient and he's been a great teacher. We went out and got all the good parts that we need to race with, and now I just have to continue to learn and do my job." In addition to the support of his dad and car owner, Shayne also has the support of the folks at Tigerflow. "He's just a great young man," said Monroe Guest. "Shayne, his dad and Brad have put together a good program and I'm glad that we can be part of it. We're looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship." Armed with a good car owner, lots of parts and a determination to be the best that he can, Shayne Lawson is looking forward to the next three years, and as he grows and matures, the rest of the teams in the alky funny car class better beware of the tiger. Or the Tigerflow car.

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