<img src="http://gallery.nitromater.com/files/6/5/j_arend.jpg" alt="j_arend" align="right"borders="0"/>
READING, Penn. (September 12, 2006) -- Ten years ago, Jeff Arend was a licensed Nitro Funny Car driver without a ride, making him a man on mission with no means to complete it. From his home in Toronto, Canada, Arend kept tabs on the sport he loved, but without a Funny Car to drive he was really little more than an ardent fan with an expensive piece of paper in his hands. Then, just days before the 1996 Keystone Nationals, good friend Randy Lungal convinced Arend to make the trip to Reading for no better reason than to get a sniff of nitro, and Arend packed his bag. When he did so, he followed driver's rule No. 1, which states, "Whenever attending a race, bring your fire suit."
Once at Maple Grove Raceway, Arend made the rounds to say hello to his friends, and made a point of visiting Paul Smith, to let Smith know he was in attendance and would be willing to help out by working on Smith's car if the assistance was needed. Instead, Smith mentioned the trouble he was having with his ankle and stunned Arend with a different request.
"He asked me if I wanted to drive his car, because his ankle was hurting him," Arend said. "I knew there was a reason to bring my fire suit with me, but I really hadn't imagined that I'd need it. Paul put me in the car and the guys I'd come down there with laughed and said, 'Cool. Maybe you can win the race.' I had raced enough to know how far out that statement was, but I was thrilled to be offered the seat and I knew Paul would give me a good car to drive."
With little reason to believe he'd have more than a slight chance to win a round or two, Arend managed to get the car safely in the field in the No. 10 spot, then took out Dean Skuza in the first round. After that, he beat wily veteran Al Hofmann in the second round, before edging good friend Del Worsham in a near dead-heat in the semi-final. In the money round, Arend was "money in the bank" as he left first on Tony Pedregon and stayed in front, picking up his first national event win in the most improbable way.
The trophy earned on that magical weekend remains the only such "Wally" on Arend's mantle, but he and Smith have put together a plan to mark the 10-year anniversary of their historic Maple Grove victory in the best possible manner. Just days before the 2006 Reading event, Arend has learned he will return to the driver's seat of Paul Smith's machine this weekend, taking on the best Funny Car drivers in the world at the Toyo Tires Nationals. Can the popular Canadian repeat his performance of a decade ago?
"Anyone with any sense would tell you that we're going to Reading to try to qualify, and then we'll take it from there," Arend said. "Of course, anyone with any sense would have told you the same thing 10 years ago, except they would've added the line about me being an unproven rookie, making us even more of a long shot. I guess we didn't have much sense then, because we won the race. I'll bring the same attitude with me this weekend, and we'll just concentrate on going as fast as we can.
"Just like 1996, this whole thing is sort of a last minute deal. I had no plans to go to Reading as of Monday, but then Paul called and he had a plan. It seems Vinny Ferrone, from VF Trucking in New Jersey, thought it was important for us to be there on the anniversary of our win, so he called Marc Burling from Erie Educational Services, and they both called Paul. It's not quite as abrupt as walking up to say hi and being asked to drive, but this is the same sort of 'can do' attitude we had back then, and that makes it exciting."
To complete the nostalgic feel, Randy Lungal (the friend who convinced Arend to attend the '96 event,) will also be part of the group. This time, instead of making mid-week drive down from Toronto, Arend will be hitching a ride eastbound with Top Fuel team owner Dexter Tuttle, in Tuttle's private plane. Times have changed, perhaps, but Arend has not.
"This really feels a lot like 1996, to tell you the truth," he said. "It's kind of an informal, old school, last minute decision, and we're all excited about it. The only difference is that Paul has 10 more years of experience as one of the best tuners in the business, and I've got a lot more seat time on my resume'. We're a long shot, to be sure, but we're a much better group than we were in '96. Who knows? It's going to fun, and we're going to give it our best shot."
Stranger things have happened. Bigger long shots have prevailed. Don't bet against Jeff Arend.
AREND LOOKING FOR "LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE" 10 YEARS LATER
READING, Penn. (September 12, 2006) -- Ten years ago, Jeff Arend was a licensed Nitro Funny Car driver without a ride, making him a man on mission with no means to complete it. From his home in Toronto, Canada, Arend kept tabs on the sport he loved, but without a Funny Car to drive he was really little more than an ardent fan with an expensive piece of paper in his hands. Then, just days before the 1996 Keystone Nationals, good friend Randy Lungal convinced Arend to make the trip to Reading for no better reason than to get a sniff of nitro, and Arend packed his bag. When he did so, he followed driver's rule No. 1, which states, "Whenever attending a race, bring your fire suit."
Once at Maple Grove Raceway, Arend made the rounds to say hello to his friends, and made a point of visiting Paul Smith, to let Smith know he was in attendance and would be willing to help out by working on Smith's car if the assistance was needed. Instead, Smith mentioned the trouble he was having with his ankle and stunned Arend with a different request.
"He asked me if I wanted to drive his car, because his ankle was hurting him," Arend said. "I knew there was a reason to bring my fire suit with me, but I really hadn't imagined that I'd need it. Paul put me in the car and the guys I'd come down there with laughed and said, 'Cool. Maybe you can win the race.' I had raced enough to know how far out that statement was, but I was thrilled to be offered the seat and I knew Paul would give me a good car to drive."
With little reason to believe he'd have more than a slight chance to win a round or two, Arend managed to get the car safely in the field in the No. 10 spot, then took out Dean Skuza in the first round. After that, he beat wily veteran Al Hofmann in the second round, before edging good friend Del Worsham in a near dead-heat in the semi-final. In the money round, Arend was "money in the bank" as he left first on Tony Pedregon and stayed in front, picking up his first national event win in the most improbable way.
The trophy earned on that magical weekend remains the only such "Wally" on Arend's mantle, but he and Smith have put together a plan to mark the 10-year anniversary of their historic Maple Grove victory in the best possible manner. Just days before the 2006 Reading event, Arend has learned he will return to the driver's seat of Paul Smith's machine this weekend, taking on the best Funny Car drivers in the world at the Toyo Tires Nationals. Can the popular Canadian repeat his performance of a decade ago?
"Anyone with any sense would tell you that we're going to Reading to try to qualify, and then we'll take it from there," Arend said. "Of course, anyone with any sense would have told you the same thing 10 years ago, except they would've added the line about me being an unproven rookie, making us even more of a long shot. I guess we didn't have much sense then, because we won the race. I'll bring the same attitude with me this weekend, and we'll just concentrate on going as fast as we can.
"Just like 1996, this whole thing is sort of a last minute deal. I had no plans to go to Reading as of Monday, but then Paul called and he had a plan. It seems Vinny Ferrone, from VF Trucking in New Jersey, thought it was important for us to be there on the anniversary of our win, so he called Marc Burling from Erie Educational Services, and they both called Paul. It's not quite as abrupt as walking up to say hi and being asked to drive, but this is the same sort of 'can do' attitude we had back then, and that makes it exciting."
To complete the nostalgic feel, Randy Lungal (the friend who convinced Arend to attend the '96 event,) will also be part of the group. This time, instead of making mid-week drive down from Toronto, Arend will be hitching a ride eastbound with Top Fuel team owner Dexter Tuttle, in Tuttle's private plane. Times have changed, perhaps, but Arend has not.
"This really feels a lot like 1996, to tell you the truth," he said. "It's kind of an informal, old school, last minute decision, and we're all excited about it. The only difference is that Paul has 10 more years of experience as one of the best tuners in the business, and I've got a lot more seat time on my resume'. We're a long shot, to be sure, but we're a much better group than we were in '96. Who knows? It's going to fun, and we're going to give it our best shot."
Stranger things have happened. Bigger long shots have prevailed. Don't bet against Jeff Arend.
