 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
"He had been doing really bad for the last couple of weeks, so we knew it was coming," said Cultrera. "We got the call on the way to Norwalk, and at that point I knew I was going to take his car to the winner's circle. After every burnout, I'd look up into the sky and say, well, here we go, here's another one. Then I'd get my timeslip, point up to him, and thank him. After the race was over, I knew him and our good friend Jim Harrington [who passed away late last year] were up there celebrating." It was no easy feat for Cultrera to sock away those round wins on his way to top honors in Norwalk. Right off the bat he was challenged to push himself to the limits when he drew John DiBartolomeo in the second round, an early mentor to Cultrera who was his instructor at Doug Foley's Drag Racing School in 2006. DiBartolomeo picked up a round win over Cultrera earlier this season at the Atco points meet and then went on to win the race, and when Cultrera cut a quick .002-second light to his former advisor's .007 and then survived the double-breakout by just a thousandth, it became evident that luck was on the side of the student this time.
"I set up really tight against her, and I'm getting to a point where I've made so many runs that I can see the stage lights go out, so I knew I had her on the tree," said Cultrera. "I just parlayed that into killing what I had to kill. When I won that round, I knew I was going into the final, which is uncharted territory for me, so I was extremely happy. I felt like I was on a roll, the car was working good, I was working good, and I was ready to keep it going." But then the skies opened up and dumped volumes of rain water on Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, putting a major pause on racing in the midst of the Lucas Oil Series final rounds. "That made me nervous," he recalled. "It stopped my momentum, and I started thinking about it. In the final, I didn't kill it on the tree, but I got away with it."
"I'm so blessed to be able to pull this off for him," said Cultrera. "A couple of weeks ago, I won a local race at Epping in the same car, and I brought him the trophy in the hospital. He said, 'Well, this is awesome, now all you have to do is win the national event for me.' "This win means a lot to me for a few reasons. I won the divisional event in Gainesville in 2008, and it was a big accomplishment, but I had a lot of red-lights against me and a couple bye runs, then I went out the next race in Richmond and wrecked the car. There was a lot of hype going around after that saying that the kid got lucky and he's not a good driver, and in Norwalk, I only had one red-light against me and all the rest of the races I earned it. It means so much to me to show people that I'm a decent enough driver to get a win. I don't think I'm the best in the world, I do lack experience at the finish line, but if you're good on the tree and have a consistent racecar that you can dial honest every time, you know you can actually get stuff done."
The Division 1 competitor started his racing career early, getting his kicks in go-karts beginning at the age of 8. In his first race, he finished 4th and the desire to drive was ignited. After winning approximately 20 races, Cultrera and his parents sold the go-kart operation and he set his sights on a future career in Pro Stock. His father, a former Comp racer, was working on Pro Stock cars and Cultrera picked up the trade. He joined the IHRA Pro Stock team of Dan Sweeney for four years and expanded upon his knowledge of racecars. Alongside crew chief Pat Lessard, Cultrera learned the ins and outs of how motors work and made the calls on the clutch. By the time he was ready to drive his own car, he was chock full of knowledge that only enhanced what he had learned at Foley's school.
"We found this car up in Maine, and Dave and my dad went up to look at it and fell in love," said Cultrera. "Dave always loved dragsters. They bought it and put it together, and last year, around this time, I took it down the track for the first time." The 2009 season was an exciting time for Cultrera. In addition to settling into the new rail, he also had the opportunity to retrace a few of his father's footsteps and drive a 5-speed F/Altered Comp car for Chester Housh and Don Smith at the Richmond points meet and Charlotte national event. The '87 Oldsmobile Firenza was the car that David Nickens drove to a championship title in the early 1990s and Tommy Porter wheeled to a Division 1 championship.
"It's always been our goal to start out in Super Comp, work up to a stick shift Comp car, and then eventually to Pro Stock. Now we've been working on finding another stick shift Comp car to drive - they changed the classes around and the car I drove doesn't fit in F/Altered anymore so they aren't running it. We have a lot of leads, but nothing firm yet." Cultrera's fervor for racing is greatly enhanced by his father, who, Cultrera says, provides everything he needs for success, including time, money, and emotional support. "He puts so much into it, and so does the rest of my family; they all put their heart and soul into the car, and it feels so good to win it for them," he said.
"Dave had the inspiration to go down the track in this car, but his doctors just wouldn't let him," said Cultrera. "I'm glad he got to see the car make a lot of runs, though, and I'm really glad I got this win for him. It meant so much to me. You can just imagine how happy we were."
|
|
Ready to take your order at 1-800-230-3030 | Customer Service 1-800-517-1035