CONCORD, N.C. – The weather may not have been perfect for race fans at zMAX Dragway Friday for Day 1 of the 4th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, but it made super heroes out of several drivers. Chicago native TJ Zizzo and his PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team were able to take advantage of 75-degree track temps for their fastest-ever pass, a 316.23 mph pass in 3.860 seconds. The lap puts them solidly in the top 12 in ninth entering the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday.
“There were a lot of hotdog runs out there tonight that’s for sure,” Zizzo said after the run. “It was a hero session as (NHRA announcer) Bob Frey called it and we were right there with them. It’s fantastic. All the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner guys did a good job. The car was put together well. (Crew chief) Mike (Kern) and TS (clutch specialist Tony Smith) put a great clutch setup in the car. It was a nice 3.86. It was fun, no oil, a clean run.”
Kern, a second-generation racer and the longtime tuner for the Midwest-based team, said Saturday’s runs are all about improving their position, weather permitting. “For the rest of the weekend, we’ll just try to work with what we’ve got and see what the weather gives us and maybe try to improve,” he said. “We’re going to have to keep putting tires on this thing. We’re eating the tires up, that’s what happens when you have a tight track. It was a good day. The car went down the track twice, two passes in a row, so we’re happy.”
The longest-tenured member of the team with more than 20 years under his belt, Smith felt the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team did exactly what they were supposed to do when it’s time to race. “We’re going to do what we always do when we come to the track and that’s try to make small improvements every run,” he said. “We made a couple changes after we got bumped out of the top 12. It feels good. We want to be in the top 12. That’s one of the goals we set every race weekend is to be in the top 12 so we can try some things on Saturday.”
Larry Dixon earned provisional top qualifier honors Friday night with a 3.784 second pass, the only ET in the .70 second range. Over in the Funny Car class, Matt Hagan made history when he became the first driver in NHRA Full Throttle Series history to run a three-second pass. The Don Schumacher Racing driver made a lap of 3.995 seconds, earning him a standing ovation from the hearty crowd.
“There were a lot of hotdog runs out there tonight that’s for sure,” Zizzo said after the run. “It was a hero session as (NHRA announcer) Bob Frey called it and we were right there with them. It’s fantastic. All the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner guys did a good job. The car was put together well. (Crew chief) Mike (Kern) and TS (clutch specialist Tony Smith) put a great clutch setup in the car. It was a nice 3.86. It was fun, no oil, a clean run.”
Kern, a second-generation racer and the longtime tuner for the Midwest-based team, said Saturday’s runs are all about improving their position, weather permitting. “For the rest of the weekend, we’ll just try to work with what we’ve got and see what the weather gives us and maybe try to improve,” he said. “We’re going to have to keep putting tires on this thing. We’re eating the tires up, that’s what happens when you have a tight track. It was a good day. The car went down the track twice, two passes in a row, so we’re happy.”
The longest-tenured member of the team with more than 20 years under his belt, Smith felt the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team did exactly what they were supposed to do when it’s time to race. “We’re going to do what we always do when we come to the track and that’s try to make small improvements every run,” he said. “We made a couple changes after we got bumped out of the top 12. It feels good. We want to be in the top 12. That’s one of the goals we set every race weekend is to be in the top 12 so we can try some things on Saturday.”
Larry Dixon earned provisional top qualifier honors Friday night with a 3.784 second pass, the only ET in the .70 second range. Over in the Funny Car class, Matt Hagan made history when he became the first driver in NHRA Full Throttle Series history to run a three-second pass. The Don Schumacher Racing driver made a lap of 3.995 seconds, earning him a standing ovation from the hearty crowd.
