Wed, 19 Oct 2011, 08:26 PM Just Go With It

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2011 Diane Kubicke

Mike Ficacci in the lanes at the U.S. Nationals. Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Division 1 Stock Eliminator competitor Mike Ficacci didn't actually mean to become involved in this whole drag racing business - at least not as a driver - but guess what. When your dad races, your brothers race, and your uncles and cousins all race, yeah, at some point you're probably going to see the inside of a racecar from the driver's seat. And once you get a peek at things from that perspective, well then you're really in trouble.

"I was dead against it," laughed Ficacci. "Just because whenever anybody loses, they look so miserable, and it takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Even my parents will tell you that when I was a kid, I didn't want to get into this. I guess I just got sucked in, and now I'm here and can't get out."

Ficacci, of East Hanover, N.J., is the youngest of four Stock and Super Stock racing brothers: Bobby Twynam, Steve Ficacci Jr. and two-time NHRA national event winner Dave Ficacci. Dad Steve, a former finalist in NHRA competition, is still hitting the track, and the Scardelli side of the family is also part of the team, including Uncle Ray, Uncle Danny, and cousin Mickey.

At the SuperNationals in Englishtown. Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

He didn't race go karts like his brothers and didn't have a serious draw to quarter-mile competition, but at the age of 17, Ficacci did what a Ficacci does and started bracket racing his Buick Grand National at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown.

He raced here and there for a bit before taking a job t as Technical Editor at Super Chevy Magazine, where he worked until the operation moved from their Northeast location to Florida. While on staff with the magazine, he had the opportunity to test street cars and tooled around with a Pontiac G8, and about a year and a half ago, Ficacci really threw in the towel and got behind the wheel of a '72 Corvette that he bracket raced and brought out to run in C/SA at NHRA divisional and national events.

The Corvette was built to be a racecar by Donnie Carroll more than a decade ago, but since Ficacci has taken ownership, he has put the personal touch on just about everything, including the goods in the engine compartment that have been finessed right there in the Steve Ficacci Racing Engines shop.

Ficacci vs Frank Ferrucci semi-finals matchup at the Division One race at Englishtown.

Giving in to that dominant racing gene put Ficacci on the path to the winner's circle, where he recently celebrated a career-first victory at the Division 1 Lucas Oil Series event held at the same track where he first dipped in a toe: Englishtown's Raceway Park. Ficacci beat AA/SA driver Ken Miele in the final round.

"The week before, I had driven really well [at the national event] at Indy," said Ficacci. "I got down to eight cars, so I just felt good when I got to Englishtown. Then I got really excited because I knew in the third round I would have to run my father. He was driving really well, too, and that was more of a fun time than it was really trying to beat him. I just had a good feeling the whole weekend, and when we started going, it was really enjoyable."

The event in Englishtown launched with a much smoother start than the weekend prior, when Ficacci stayed up until the wee hours one night at the U.S. Nationals to help tear apart and reassemble the class-winning AA/SA Cobra Jet Mustang owned by friend Anthony Bongiovanni and driven by Evan Smith.

Mike Ficacci won Stock at the Division One race at Englishtown.

"We didn't finish putting that car back together until about 4:00 am on Friday," recalled Ficacci. "I had three rounds coming up right after that at 8:00 am, and it was almost like there was too much going on to really focus on the race - but I think that is potentially why I did better than I expected. We had so much going on, but looking back, it was a great experience."

Ficacci had two heads-up rounds during eliminations at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis and ultimately lost to Sam Pourciau in the second no-breakout contest by approximately three feet.

"I enjoy the heads-up racing, and that is really what I'm there for. My car is pretty fast, but apparently not fast enough," he said. "It was tough to take losing [in the quarterfinals] by just a few feet, but it is what it is. You go to the next race and try to do it all over again."

Ficacci defeated Ken Miele in the final at Division One race at Englishtown.

The upswing for Ficacci actually began at Atco Raceway in June, when he went rounds on both days of their Footbrake Weekend event and reached the final on day two. Although the Corvette hurt a bearing the weekend he won in Englishtown, Ficacci says it'll be up and running in time for next season, "and hopefully going faster." In the meantime, buddy Joe Fasano has helped him get his fix by loaning him his '69 Camaro.

Ficacci admits that he is pumped up for next season when he will run the full Division 1 series and make the national events in Englishtown, Maple Grove, and possibly the U.S. Nationals, but he is still perhaps in a tiny bit of denial regarding the blood flowing in his veins.

"I'd love to win a national event and retire. I know I'm only 26, but I want to win one national event and never drive a car again," he said with a laugh. "I was so pumped to win Indy because if I would have, I'd be selling the car, and you'd never see me racing again. I would walk away happy and done."

As it stands, Ficacci has his work cut out for him as he continues to race in a land populated by some extremely serious competitors.

From left, Ray Scardelli, Dave Ficacci, Anthony Bongiovanni, Steve Ficacci, and Mike Ficacci with girlfriend Kristina.

"It's tough, because I don't want to say I expect to do just as well as I did [in Englishtown], but you know that you can do it now, you know you can go some rounds. People start gunning for you, and you start putting a lot of pressure on yourself," he said. "On the other side of that, you've done it once so you really feel like you can do it again. It's a double edged sword. But at the end of the day, you have to get in the car, relax and just race."

Ficacci thanked his whole family, including dad Steve and mom Debbie, brothers, cousins, uncles, girlfriend Kristina, all of his racing pals, and friends Jim Boudreau and Anthony Bongiovanni, who were instrumental in his success at Indy.