T.J. Smith, of Frisco, Texas, became the 23rd NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member of the 2009 NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series today at the NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex, joining
Rickey Stinchcomb of Denton, Texas, who was Saturday's NAPA Honorary Crew Member.
Smith, 34, an automotive technician at Dallas Precision Imports in Frisco, made his first visit to
the Texas Motorplex today to watch Ron Capps race in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car and help
the team with his non-wrenching crew duties.
In the same day he was advised that Dallas Precision Imports had just become a NAPA AutoCare
Center. "That's pretty cool," he said.
Smith said he didn't have much racing background, but he has "tinkered with some buddies' race cars
along the way, including Saturday-night racers. I'm just a weekend warrior, shade-tree mechanic on
the weekends on hot rods. That's about it," he said.
"This is just awesome," he added after getting his first opportunity to help the NAPA AUTO PARTS
Funny Car crew. "I don't know how to explain it. I'm glad and excited to be here. It's pretty
overwhelming right now. I don't know if I have the words."
John Biernacki, wholesale manager of the NAPA Distribution Center Dallas, along with Jeff Smith,
district manager for NAPA Dallas for the company-owned stores, presented the award to Smith.
"T.J. Is a longtime NHRA fan, so it was double the luck," said Biernacki. "A lot of times you have
these contests and somebody wins and they really don't know anything about NHRA drag racing. And
T.J. is another one who is very fortunate to have it in his blood. Once you get the NHRA fever,
it's with you. He was very excited about being chosen.
"He's a good customer of NAPA's and has been a good customer of NAPA's for a lot of years."
"I was here to congratulate the winners both days," said Jeff Smith. "T.J. is a hard-working guy.
We appreciate him for all his business and we appreciate both of this weekend's honorees for coming
out and living the dream."
The side window of the NAPA Dodge sported Smith's name as the NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member
on Sunday.
His non-wrenching crew-member duties included escorting the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car to the
staging lanes for the first round of Funny Car eliminations today. He then helped retrieve the car
at the end of the track after the run.
He also met and chatted with the entire NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car crew, was a special guest
in the NAPA hospitality area throughout the weekend, received a NAPA team jersey, experienced an
up-close-and-personal view of the NAPA crew as the team worked on the car, and enjoyed a private
tour of the team transporter and pit area.
NAPA AUTO PARTS distribution centers at each NHRA event during the season have different criteria
for choosing the persons who are potential NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Members.
