Sat, 28 Aug 2010, 11:40 AM Rock 'n Roush.... and More

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Celebrating the Super Gas Allstars win in 2006.

White Lake, Mich., racer Rock Haas has been a very familiar face in North Central division Super Comp and Super Gas competition for the better part of a decade. He won three consecutive division titles -- Super Comp in 2004 and 2005 and Super Gas in 2006 -- and on four separate occasions had the honor of competing in the prestigious Allstars event. Last season, Haas ventured into Super Stock territory in a Roush Performance-built Cobra Jet Mustang and didn't seem to have much trouble finding his comfort zone in the new arena, either.

Haas, owner of Engineering Design Services, Inc. in Auburn Hills, Mich., and partner Kyle Carrothers, a Roush Performance Engineer, initially approached Jack Roush in 2007 about putting together a Mustang to run in Stock. Roush liked the idea but suggested a Super Stock entry instead, and collaboration on the Ford ensued throughout 2008; the Roush team handled the engine build and the paint among other tasks, and Haas and Carrothers had the chassis built and put the car together.

In the record-setting SS/DA Roush Mustang.

One year and many, many dollars later, the project was ready for launch, and the car debuted at the Lucas Oil Series event at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis with Haas behind the wheel. Six months later, he drove the SS/DA '08 Mustang to a 9.16 at 147 mph at the same track, resetting the NHRA national records for the class. Rounding out last season in such fine fashion set Haas up for a strong 2010, and, as of this writing, he was occupying a spot in the top 10 in the category in Division 3.

"It's such a huge transition from the Super classes to Super Stock," said Haas. "I'm really trying hard in that car, and I'm not totally competitive yet, but I'm getting there. It takes a long time to get used to racing on the full tree. I've never done that before. I've always raced with electronics, so this has been a struggle."

Haas is also competing in Super Gas this season -- he was second in the division standings and ninth nationally following the Columbus divisional at the end of July -- but his Super Comp days are behind him for now after selling his Undercover rail to finance the Super Stock operation.

Haas in his Super Gas Corvette.

"I've been a dragster guy from the beginning, but it was the easiest car to sell and somebody wanted it, so I let it go," said Haas, who sold the dragster to fellow Division 3 racer Pat Martin. "I do miss it, and it was a beautiful car. But it was the right thing to do, and I'm still enjoying Super Gas. I'm halfway decent at it."

It is, indeed, true that Haas exhibits skill in the 9.90 category. His lone national event victory was claimed in Super Gas at the 2006 Columbus national event, and Haas has runner-upped in the category twice: at the Norwalk event in 2008 to Alan Kenny and last season in Chicago to Mike Sawyer, who was en route to the Northeast Division championship.

Haas in Joliet 2001, where he won the SC Allstars title.

The multi-category standout also owns two Super Comp runner-ups at the national level (Chicago 2003 and Phoenix 2007), and in Lucas Oil Series events, he is 6-4 with two wins in four final rounds in Super Gas and four wins in six final rounds in Super Comp.

His '05 Don Davis Corvette roadster is powered by a 572 Reher Morrison engine and is one of the faster cars in the class, but common sense says that speed alone won't win races in the index-driven categories. Haas is also well-equipped with plenty of know-how, a gift that he attributes to a friend who took an interest in his development around the time that he won the Allstars for the first time.

Haas, far lane, beat David Barrett in the 2006 Columbus Super Gas final.

"Two things occurred that unlocked a door for me," said Haas. "Winning the Allstars and finally realizing I could drive properly. In order to win these things, you have to have the last five percent. Guys who are really good, someone has given them that last five percent, taken them under their wing and told them how to win. I was a good racer, but I needed the final bit of that recipe for success, and Jim Hughes took me under his wing around 2001 and started giving me some tips on finish line driving. That was the point that things started to happen for me."

In the early days, Haas cut his teeth in a modified '71 SS Chevelle until he traveled to the U.S. Nationals in Indy for the first time, just as a spectator, in 1986, and upon returning home, he enthusiastically embarked upon a rather large project: building a Super Gas-worthy '27 Ford T-bucket roadster. He worked on the old blue oval for a few years and completed the project but never raced it, and Haas sold the roadster in 1990. He then spent some time racing a Sun Coast dragster in Super Comp in the mid-1990s, and in 1998 he bought the Undercover dragster that he would take to the Super Comp Allstars winner's circle.

With his first national event Wally, Columbus 2006.

Multi-category racer Haas traded up from his former Super Gas entry -- a '63 Corvette roadster -- to his current '05 Corvette at the urging of Hughes. "I told Jim that if I didn't win a race with my '63 Corvette, I was going to get rid of it, and he said that I needed to get a car just like his, and he was killing everybody. I ended up with a car that is a copy of his, and things came together real fast. That year, 2006, I had a really good year," said Haas.

In addition to the national event win and the Allstars victory, Haas also won the division for the first time in the 9.90 category in 2006. The end-of-season heartbreaker, though, was losing the national title to Iggie Boicesco by just one round.

"I had plenty of opportunities to do it, it just didn't happen," recalled Haas. "Stupid things happened. I lost a final in Atlanta to Steve Cohen that would have turned my points total around 22 points, and that was probably the answer. And I won the Allstars but I broke an engine in the final and couldn't show for third round of the actual race. It just wasn't meant to be."

Three-time Division 3 Lucas Oil Series champion Rock Haas.

The missed opportunity presents something of a challenge for Haas, who also has a U.S. Nationals victory and a Super Stock national event win on his to-do list. With the support of his wife, Debi, and daughters, Shellie (27) and Alana (16), the possibility for success is greatly enhanced.

"You have to pay attention to your kids, and I kind of lost my edge there for a couple of years," said Haas. "They're older now, and I'm really trying hard this year to get it back. I have a great wife who understands what it takes to do this, and I have a great crew that has been with me for a long time. My brother-in-law, Ed Goodgine, is basically our pit crew and prepares the cars, and Dave Gardner is the guy who tunes them. His first race was the Allstars in 2001, and I don't believe he's missed one since. And my partner, Kyle, he is the brains of the operation."

Haas also acknowledged the support of Roush, Hughes Performance, Comp Cams, Strange Engineering, Hoosier Tires, Trick Titanium, and T&D Rockers.

The '08 Cobra Jet is helping Haas make a name in Super Stock.

The energetic racer has been enjoying quarter-mile action in one form or another for a long time, and he isn't looking to back down from the game in the foreseeable future.

"We're building a Super Stock E/A Challenger for a third partner, Mike Wagner, to drive," said Haas. "We've been thrashing on that four or five nights a week, trying to get it done in time for the Bowling Green divisional and Indy. I love the competition with the other drivers and having a great group of friends all over the country, but I also find that working on the cars is very relaxing.

"I still really enjoy driving, and hopefully, we'll have a pretty good weekend coming up here at the end of the month. I don't usually go out West unless I have a chance to win it all, and I don't know if that will happen, but we'll just have to see."

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