FEATURE- Lee Zane

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Wed, 6 Oct 2010, 09:42 PM

Back to Gettin' Chased

By Kelly Wade
Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Zane, near lane, finished in
the Super Stock final round of the
2010 Charlotte O'Reilly NHRA Nationals

Lee Zane happens to like looking over his shoulder. The two-time Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Stock Eliminator world champion isn't paranoid, though. He's just a guy who appreciates the challenge of finish-line driving, and lately Zane has had the opportunity to show off his top-end skills in a Stocker gone Super -- Super Stock, that is.

If the '98 Firebird that Zane drove to the final round at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Charlotte's zMax Dragway looked familiar, that's because it's the same car he wheeled to the Stock Eliminator championship title in 2008. With minimal changes, Zane is able to race the Firebird in SS/JA or SS/KA or easily switch back to Stock Eliminator. The Charlotte final -- in which Zane was runner-up to Lincoln Morehead -- came just one week after his first Super Stock outing in his Firebird at the Division 1 event held at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, where he made his way to a yet to be completed rain-delayed money round with the always tough Sal Biondo.

"I had no pressure and wasn't expected to do much with a Stocker in Super Stock," said Zane. "I knew I could be competitive, though, and I went out there and got back to my roots. I was able to focus a little bit more because it was something different, and I think I needed that change of pace. That built my confidence right back to where it needed to be."

In the K/SA '74 Apollo
at the 2003 Gatornationals at Orlando.
Zane hasn't exactly been off his game, he's just been otherwise occupied. In 2009, he joined Doug Foley's Drag Racing School as chief licensing instructor and handled on-track operations. He worked corporate events and at various racetracks, taking folks on ride-a-longs in the two-seater dragster as well as teaching students how to drive down the track on their own, and he also handled much of the maintenance on the cars. Zane amicably parted ways with the school at the end of July, and he graduated to a new venture with plenty of positive memories in his pocket.

"I loved the opportunity," he said. "I had been doing some teaching on my own, but I learned a little bit more about being a teacher there, how to run things and how to approach it. The time away from home was the biggest downside for me, but the look on someone's face when they would come back from making a run or after I took them on a ride in the two-seater, it was priceless. It was well worth it to have someone come back with such a big grin that you could see it through the full face helmet."

Zane's new career path included accepting a position at Christiana Muscle Car Restoration in Wilmington, Del., a shop owned by fellow sportsman racer Erich Bollman that specializes in the restoration of muscle cars of the 1960s and 1970s. The new endeavor created an ideal environment for Zane to renew a passion for racing that had taken hold of him even before he was an 8-year-old playing under the grandstands at Englishtown on Sundays waiting for his uncle, Jim Zane, to take to the track in Super Stock.

Zane beat Sid Bonnecarrere in
the 2009 final of GT/FA Super Stock
class eliminations in Indy.
Drag racing has always been a factor for Zane, who actually attended his first race as a barely-walking toddler. Back then, his Uncle Jim was racing a brand new '69 Camaro. Zane's brother, Isaac, also spent time competing in the early 1980s, and Zane dabbled with racing starting in 1990 and then got serious in 1995.

The first time he ventured down the track it was aboard a 12-second Ninja 600 street bike, and Zane realized fairly quickly that to be as competitive as he wanted to be, he would have to build a car. He set to work on a '68 Camaro that was as holey as swiss cheese when he obtained it.

"You could look through one side of the car and out the other, but I was working for General Motors at that time, and I learned to do all the body work and sheet metal," recalled Zane. "I put the car together myself. I put the roll cage in it and a good motor. It took about six to 10 months to take it from a rust bucket to something I was pretty proud of."

Zane's first win was at Atco Raceway
in the '60 El Camino. From left, friend Rob Ward,
uncle Jim Zane, dad Lew Zane,
Zane, and track official.
The reborn Chevy was a 10-second car, and Zane, who earned Rookie of the Year honors at Atco Raceway, next moved into a '60 El Camino that ran the quarter mile in a much slower 18 seconds but did a fine job of qualifying the young racer for the bracket finals. Zane's next ride was a '78 Camaro that he ran for a handful of years and continued to slice seconds off of, taking it from a 13-second car to 12, and then 11.

"I was always looking to go a little faster, but I was happy to never really be the fastest in the class. I was content to look over my shoulder and drive the finish line that way," Zane mused.

The approach worked well, and he qualified for the bracket finals in every effort, from 1995 to 2000. More than once, persistence, enthusiasm, and skill (along with a regular schedule of racing up to four and sometimes five nights a week) culminated in qualifying for the bracket finals at both Atco Raceway and Englishtown; the two tracks were equal distance from Zane's then-N.J. residence. Zane, always a top 10 player, accumulated upwards of 120 wins at bracket races over the course of six years.

In the U.S. Nationals Stock
winner's circle in 2004.
Of course, the success led to Stock Eliminator, which, at the time, seemed an easier fit for Zane than the Super Stock racing that his uncle and brother had participated in. In 2001, Zane drove an I/SA Buick to victory -- his first in NHRA competition -- at the divisional event in Houston. That season he claimed two more Stock Eliminator victories, including his first at a national event: the AC Delco NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, where he beat Gary Emmons for the title. Ultimately, Zane finished fourth in the nation in his first season as an NHRA sportsman competitor, a fine accomplishment that he bettered in 2004 when he scored his first world championship.

"I'm most proud of those two world championships," said Zane. "Those are the greatest accomplishments, but winning Indy back-to-back in 2003 and 2004, that's right up there."

The nine-time national event winner has been to the final round at a national event on 16 separate occasions, including one victory in three Competition Eliminator finals driving a car owned by Dave Ring and powered by an engine owned by Al Ackerman.

Zane and crew chief/Comp Eliminator
final round opponent Al Ackerman
in Memphis 2006.
The 2008 season was exceptional in more ways than one; in addition to the Stock Eliminator title, Zane had the opportunity to license in the Pro Stock car owned by John Gaydosh and drove it at the Englishtown national event in front of a crowd of family and friends. It was a dream come true for Zane, and one that he hopes to someday expand on.

"There is always something around that next corner, and you have to fight to keep succeeding and prove to yourself that you can do it and take that next step," said Zane. "Pro Stock is a goal for me now. I had a taste of it, and I want more. I know I can do it if given the chance, and I think I've proven it to some people, but I've also proven it to myself. I'm looking forward to the next opportunity."

Zane's success and motivation as a racer could, in part, be contributed to the fact that throughout the years, he has kept excellent company to contribute to his aptitude.

"I grew up with my uncle and my brother racing, and my uncle always did his own engines and I was around for a lot of it," he said. "I learned to put the cars together, learned the engine side of it, then I met some friends at the track and learned the racing side of it. I've taken bits and pieces from numerous people like Bud McNasby at Atco, he was very influential with me getting started from 1995.

"I also hung out with Peter and Sal Biondo, and I learned a lot from them. I basically stood back and watched, listened, and took mental notes. When I was able to go out and race Stock Eliminator, I put my own twist on it, but I took what I learned from those three and applied it in order to be competitive. They really helped me turn my program around."

With wife Lisa at the
2008 NHRA award ceremony.
These days, Zane is always quick to genuinely thank his wife, Lisa, who he said is "always behind me in everything I do." His brother-in-law, Brian Van Poppel, also received kudos for being a great sounding board and lending a hand in crew chief duties and making calls. Zane sent out another thank-you to Super Stock racer Brian Oakes, who made a big contribution to his program this year when he bought the car that Zane won the 2008 championship with and asked Zane to continue driving it. Former owner Sonny Stull was looking to sell, and Oakes made the wise investment. "We weren't sure what we were going to do, but Brian Oakes stepped up, and I have to thank him for that," said Zane.

Next on the agenda is the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, where Zane will compete in his Firebird in Stock and drive Dave Layer's Cobalt in Super Stock, a car that he won class with at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals last season. The week after the Reading national event, weather permitting, will be the conclusion of the delayed Englishtown divisional Super Stock final. Beyond that, the future is a bit up in the air.

"Those final rounds definitely got me going again," said Zane. "For a while, going to the track felt like a continuation of work, but I'm enjoying myself again and having fun with it, and I want to turn on some win lights and make some money.

"We're going to see where the end of this year puts us, but I would like to continue a bit more in Super Stock. It's still the same game, but it brings me back to the bracket racing days when I was never the faster car and always looking over my shoulder. I'm doing that a lot more now, and it feels right to me. It feels like it's where I need to be. It's more of a challenge, and I have to pay more attention because I'm putting myself at a little bit more of a disadvantage. But I like rising to the occasion."