Thu, 17 Nov 2011, 10:54 AM Go West Young Man

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Tigges vs Tony Bartone at Las Vegas national event.

History was one of my favorite subjects when I was in school. I enjoyed learning about things that made this country great, the people who contributed to the legacy of America and the inventions that American's created that changed the world. That and the fact that if I took American history I could get out of math class. Trigonometry, calculus and things like that just weren't my cup of tea. As you often hear me say, there are three kinds of people in the world, those who can do math and those who can't. With that as a background one of the great quotes that I learned in history class was "Go West young man." And while most people think that was uttered by Horace Greely, it really wasn't. Horace published a newspaper and he was simply quoting something that he heard, and after all these years, he still gets the credit. John Soule, and Indiana newspaper man, was the person who actually made that famous statement. See, I was paying attention in school. Now I have one question, and that is who was it in the Fred Tigges camp who said "Go West young man?" After all, Fred is from Massachusetts and he has spent the last few weekends racing in Nevada and California.

Fred Tigges

The answer to that question may not be as simple as you would expect. "The Coleman family, who live in Glendora, actually invited us to come out for a few years now," Fred said. "But business and other commitments prevented that. Well, this year we were able to work it out." The connection between the Tigges family and the Coleman's is very simple. "Jonathan Pickett, whose dad runs a Top Alcohol Dragster in Division 1, is on our crew and his girlfriend is Melissa Coleman. That's how we met the family." And it has worked out very well for everyone. "They're a great family and they've been a big help while we're on this tour. We stayed at their place in Las Vegas and now we're staying at their home here in Glendora." And the fact that Fred was able to get some time off from his job made the decision a little easier. "We run a structural steel welding company," Fred said. "Last year was a very good year and this year has been a little slow so we were able to make the time to go on tour. We figured that we may never have this chance again so you have to take the opportunity when it presents itself." That tour has taken Fred and his team and family to the Las Vegas national and divisional races and now to Pomona. "It's been a lot of fun. We've met a lot of great folks and really enjoyed meeting the racers from out here. Look, this is one big family in the alcohol classes and we're glad to be a part of it."

Tigges at the 2001 IHRA race at Epping. Photo copyright 2011 BME Photography

Fred has been part of the alky class for quite some time but he has never had a year like he had this season. "We had some success on the IHRA trail and went to a lot of final rounds over there, but when we made the decision to come run at the NHRA races we had to make wholesale changes to the car and it has taken us a little while to get adjusted to that." By the results they have had this year it looks like that adjustment period is over. Fred has already recorded career best numbers in both elapsed time and speed and is confident that they are on the right track, literally and figuratively. "I bought my first car years ago and we tried to race that car but we didn't have a lot of success." That was in 1996 and Fred knew that he wanted to race and he also knew that he wanted to do things his way. "My son and I thought that we needed to do something so we built our own car. We took pictures of several other cars and then got the machines and started our own car." While that requires a big investment and a lot of time it has paid big dividends for the New England team. "This year we ran in the 5.50's and close to 260 miles per hour and we're very happy with the way the car is running. We had some troubles early in the year but we found our problems and have been running very well since that." He ran well at Indy where he made it to the final round only to lose to Frank Manzo, but even so Fred considered it a good outing. "Indy, tell me, when did I wake up? Everything went well and the car responded to all the changes we made." And what about trying to race on the Division 1 tracks when you know that you'll have to face the 15-time World Champion, Frank Manzo? "Racing Frank always brings out the best in everyone and we love the challenge. The way we look at it what one man can do every man can do. We ran him at a points race and he beat us by two-hundredths of a second but we kept him honest."

Tigges vs. Frank Manzo at Indy final.

Like Frank, Fred says that one of the keys to success is having some continuity in the crew. "That's a big thing. Driving one of these things isn't that hard when everything is going well, but you need to have the right people doing the right job every time and we've been able to do that this year." In addition to Jonathan Pickett, Fred's crew includes his son, Mark, Doug Palmer, Dave Burch, Ed Fisher and the team's mascot, their puppy Chelsea, and according to Fred there's another person who is a big help. "That would be my wife, Clare," Fred said. "She really supports our entire operation." Besides a good crew there is another constant on Fred's team and that's his engine. "It's a Bob Newberry combination. That's all I've ever run and that's all I will ever run. I know this engine like I know a good pair of shoes."

As Fred prepares for his first run down the famous Pomona track he said that he is really looking forward to the challenge. "We were running well until we hit Vegas," he said. "We ran into conditions there that we hadn't seen before, especially at any of the tracks back East. Now we're just looking to make a good showing and have fun. Of course we'd like to win it but we just want to enjoy ourselves at the same time." Fred said that the way his car is running right now is a dream come true. "I've always wanted to have a car that is competitive and I always wanted to have my own car that we can take a lot of pride in. Now, with the help of my friends and family I'm able to do that. It's a real fun thing to do."

Mark and Fred Tigges

When asked about any pressure that he may feel coming from the East to a new track, a famous track that will include some of the best alky racers in the country, Fred said that the only pressure is what he puts on himself. "You're always under pressure not to make any mistakes but that's about it. We're old school, and by that I mean we just want to enjoy it and represent ourselves well." He certainly has done that this year, and if he continues to do so there may be more Division 1 cars who decide to "Go West." And if that happens the racers in Division 7 will have Fred Tigges to thank.