Many of you know that I'm a crew member on a few race teams. What you probably don't know is how I got into working on 3,000 horsepower race cars. I think it's a pretty cool story, so I'm writing this blog about it. Who knows, maybe you'll find yourself wanting to crew after reading.
Over the winter of 2009/2010, I found myself wanting to get more involved in the sport, more than just a fan in the stands. I really wanted to write for a magazine, but you don't get that kinda gig overnight. My friend had just bought a Junior Dragster and "hired" me to be a part of his crew. Because of this connection, I began doing the Jr. Dragster reporting for Summit Motorsports Park, a job I'd have for the 2010 season. This experience will pop up later in this story......
After talking with several Pro drivers like Mike Edwards and Bob Bode, I learned that the best way to get involved with the sport is to help a local race team, or a Top Alcohol team in my case. I began talks with a now-defunct local TAFC team about helping them at the Norwalk divisional. Everything was set, until three days before the event, when the driver/owner informed me that they wouldn't be competing. This left me in a difficult position. I quickly fired off an email to the Division 3, asking for an entry list for the event so I would know who else might need help. I found one of the TAD drivers, Brandon Booher, on Facebook and asked if he needed an extra hand. Luckily for me, he did.
My dad and I worked with Brandon and his all-volunteer crew for the weekend, where we both learned a lot! My dad was really there just to make sure I was safe with the team, as we had never met and I was still a bit young. He ended up doing a lot more than he expected. We really enjoyed ourselves, so we made plans to help them at the Norwalk national event as well.
If you think you have fun at a national event as fans/spectators, try attending one as a crew member! It's a great experience, one that I'll never forget. As far as racing, the team did OK, but nothing really extraordinary. We qualified somewhere between 9-13, won first round over Jared Dreher, then lost to my future PR client, Darren Nicholson. But during that weekend, I got started in something that I never thought of, something that surely changed my life. Brandon asked if I'd be interested in doing his Public Relations work for him. He had seen my writing on the SMP site and was impressed. So in a way, Brandon is responsible for the madness that is NVW Motorsports Promotion.
Fast forward to the 2010 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. My dad and I were there as crew members with Booher Racing again and I was doing PR for the 1999 winner of the event in TAD, Darren Nicholson. This was my first out of state race, so also my first time at the prestigious race. The "Big Go" is truly big. The best of the best in drag racing are racing there, and they bring their A-game. The Top Alcohol categories had over 25 entries and TAD had one of it's closest fields in the history of the class. Thus, we failed to qualify. The event wasn't a total loss, as we had fun, learned a lot, and Darren ended up going to the semi-finals.
As a crew member, I've had to chance to meet some very cool people. Just recently, I got to watch the Funny Car qualifying at Norwalk between team owners and legends, Don Schumacher and Jim Dunn. In the Booher pit area, I got to sit in on a 15 minute BS'ing session with several Top Alcohol drivers, including Frank Manzo and Mike Kosky, two of the best storytellers in drag racing. I got to stand on the line when John and Ashley Force raced each other at the 2010 Night Under Fire, right between the cars. (John and Ashley Force at 2010 NUFHere's a link to my video of the run). These are experiences that the everyday fan just doesn't get.
I'm now in my second season as a part time crew member with the AB Construction Top Alcohol Dragster team. I've also helped Cathy Belcher's Pro Ectreme team at the Norwalk ADRL event. And for a change of pace, I'm in my second season as assistant crew chief on Jacob Parker's JDP Motorsports/K&N Filters Junior Dragster. On a side note-Junior Drag Racing is the most fun you can have with a single cylinder engine. If you have son or daughter within Jr Dragster age that is into racing and you have the financial resources, I highly recommend getting into the sport, it is so choice (as Ferris Bueller would say). Working with a race team is easily the best way to involve yourself in the sport, without actually owning or driving a car. Todd Okuhara, crew chief for the Spencer Massey-driven Fram Top Fuel car, started out as a low ranking crew member, doing the dirty jobs that no one else would do. Now he's calling the shots on an 8,000+ HP engine. It's my dream to move up the ranks like he did.
I hope this blog post has inspired you to get more involved with our amazing sport. You'll never regret in and I guarantee you'll have a ton of fun. I really appreciate all of my readers and their comments, so let me know how you like the blog. If you really enjoy it, pass it along to your friends.
Thanks for reading!
Nitro Nate
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