Fri, 25 Jan 2002, 10:04 AM We're Movin' On Up!

By Bob Frey

Gary Scelzi's TAFC

A strange thing seems to occur every year about this time, and it’s almost as predictable as those swallows that fly back to Capistrano. As a new drag racing season begins, talk surfaces about where all of the new drivers will come from in the professional classes. At the end of the previous season, some drivers announced their retirement, others couldn’t find enough money to continue, and some just decide that they’d had enough. That means that the fields in the pro classes would be light, that is, not enough to provide a full, sixteen car compliment at the first race. And yet, almost every year for the past 42, they always seem to send some cars home because there were more than enough to fill the field, and many didn’t qualify for the Winternationals. Which brings up the obvious question, where do all of these new drivers come from every year?

Just like there are many reasons why drivers don’t return, there are a variety of places that the new ones come from. Some hit the lottery and decided to spend their winnings on a race car. That’s a very small group, indeed. Others are fortunate enough to have a good family that will provide a car for them to drive, and they start out at the top. Again, a small group, but bigger than those lottery winners. But the main place that the new pro racers emerge from is the ranks of the sportsman classes. If it’s a Pro Stock driver, he probably came up from Super Stock or Competition Eliminator. If it’s a fuel class,

Scelzi won the '93 Autolite Nationals.

there’s a better than average chance that the driver raced in one of the two, alcohol classes the year before. By my rough estimation, there have been about twenty five winners in either Top Fuel or Funny Car who had previously won a national event in an alcohol car. Among some of the more notables are Gary Scelzi, Cruz Pedregon, Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan and, of course, the great Blaine Johnson. Cristen Powell, Shelly Anderson and Tommy Johnson, Jr., also fall into that group. Larger still, is the number of racers who participated in the sportsman classes but never won a race there, and then went on to distinguish themselves in the professional ranks. Ron Capps, Larry Dixon, Tony Pedregon and Tony Schumacher are just a few of that rather impressive group. Some of those, like Scelzi, Cruz and T.J., actually won national events in both the alky dragster and funny car class before stepping up to the "show." Pat Austin and his family, of course, took "moving up" to an art form. If you scan the roster of Pro Stock national event winners over the years, I’ll bet it’s safe to say that you find over a dozen who formerly were very competitive at the sportsman level. Larry Morgan, Tom Martino, Mark Pawuk and Mike Edwards come right to mind. Even Bob Glidden raced a Super Stocker being turning pro. And those Coughlin kids didn’t exactly struggle in the sportsman ranks, did they?

I bring this up at this time for a couple of reasons. First, it’s Winternationals time again, time to see who will be among the new crop of fuel drivers. Second, because there has been so much talk about the scarcity of Top Fuel racers as we head

Mike Strasburg

into 2002. And, third, because there are a couple of very impressive additions to the list of drivers and teams who have decided to step up to the big time this season. Just the other day, the Strasburg family announced that they will compete in about a dozen Top Fuel races this year. The great racing family from Utah has been a fixture on the Division 7 alcohol dragster scene for a couple of years, finishing second in 2001. The family eats, sleeps and breathes racing, whether it’s drag racing or running on the salt flats, and, in my humble opinion, they have what it takes to make this kind of move. They have the desire, the talent, the passion, and, if everything falls into place, the sponsorship, to undertake this project. We should get a glimpse of them at the Pro Warm-up in Tucson this weekend.

Another driver who will join the pro ranks this year is Ken Zeal. Ken has taken a decidedly different route than the Strasburgs did. A former boat racer and NHRA national event winner in T/AD, Ken has hooked up with Bill Miller and will be the driver for the B.M.E. car this season. Ken replaces Tim Gibson who will, apparently, devote most of his time to fine tuning the John Force Ford Mustangs. In winning his

Ken Zeal

one, national event (Houston 1997), Zeal ran the table, that is, he was the number one qualifier, set low elapsed time and top speed en route to the win. Ironically, that was about the last time we heard of him until now. Still, with Mr. Miller’s tuning ability and expertise, and Ken’s driving, this team could become an immediate force in the Top Fuel ranks. Ken tested in Phoenix and, I assume, we’ll see him this week in Tucson, or next week in Vegas.

While several drivers, every year, do throw their helmets into the professional ring, there are a few out there who we keep waiting to make the move, but, for their own personal reasons, they don’t. The most prominent names in that group would be Rick Santos, Frank Manzo and Jay Payne. All three are highly successful at what they do, all three are great drivers and all three have done just about everything you could do in the alky classes. In fact, Rick and Frank have done everything, and all Jay needs is an alcohol Funny Car national championship to complete his impressive list of accomplishments. So when, if ever, will they make the move? As a fan, I would certainly miss them competing in the sportsman classes, but, as a fan, I would certainly welcome them to the pro ranks. Maybe they’re just waiting for that perfect year, the year when everyone will look around and ask, "Where are all the new professional drivers going to come from?" Oh, that would be every year, wouldn’ t it?