Driver/Owner nitro teams are amazing (2 Viewers)

[Paul]

Can you imagine being an NFL quarterback where in addition to competing at the highest level you also had to:

Come up with and continually evolve the entire game plan.

Find enough sponsors to pay all the bills and keep them happy.

Manage the budget, travel arrangements and handle all the team expenses.

Manage equipment stocking and replacement and associated costs.

Hire and manage all the team members including often making tough personal decisions.

Stay on top of all the technology changes involved in your sport.

Handle all the press and promotional relationships.

How many current top NFL quarterbacks would still be successful if they had to also handle all these activities?

Probably close to zero.

My hat is totally off to the Wilkerson, Pedregon and remaining other driver/owner Pro teams that compete in the NHRA, you guys are totally amazing and I don't think you get the recognition you deserve.

 

[Horsepower & Heels]

I've thought this too over the years. Its amazing how much goes on behind the scenes on ANY team that we fail to appreciate, much less an owner/driver team.

 

[Just Paul]

Dang, I had a Dan Pastorini moment after reading that one.

 

[.]

I have personally witnessed Tim Wilkerson in the middle of a mad thrash of working on his car and handling all those things you mention to visit with a fan(s) that stopped by. And he did so without being rude, without pressure, without half-assing it, without rushing thru it.

For this reason and others like it, I am a proud fan and supporter of drag racers and NHRA's open pits policy.

 

[tx_trojan]

I have personally witnessed Tim Wilkerson in the middle of a mad thrash of working on his car and handling all those things you mention to visit with a fan(s) that stopped by. And he did so without being rude, without pressure, without half-assing it, without rushing thru it.

For this reason and others like it, I am a proud fan and supporter of drag racers and NHRA's open pits policy.

I can attest to Wilk doing the same when I saw him last at LVMS and RPR. I've seen the same with Vandergriff - he also has been real cool between rounds from my experience.

 

[Sandman]

It isn't just nitro teams, it's all through drag racing. I remember several years ago at Sears Point, I happened upon none other than Frank Iaconio, outside, no shade and he was adjusting the valves on his Pro Stocker on race day. I was in awe just to see him, yet in the middle of it all, he looked up saw me and said hello. I asked him to sign my program, if he had time and without hesitation, he dropped what he was doing, carefully signed it and thanked me for coming out. It seems to me, the little guy, owner/driver/tuners are by far the nicest in all of racing. Just ask anyone who has ever met Gary Densham or Bob Glidden. I swear, they are the very nicest people you could hope to meet and we are lucky enough to have them in our sport.

 

[Toejam]

I've thought this too over the years. Its amazing how much goes on behind the scenes on ANY team that we fail to appreciate, much less an owner/driver team.

I knew a guy who handled ALL finances, travel arrangements, hospitality, signed all checks to vendors, crew salaries, you name it for a former Top ten FC back in '07-'08? He said their per race budget was roughly $120,000 per weekend!

 

[T.Smith]

Can you imagine being an NFL quarterback where in addition to competing at the highest level you also had to:

Come up with and continually evolve the entire game plan.

Find enough sponsors to pay all the bills and keep them happy.

Manage the budget, travel arrangements and handle all the team expenses.

Manage equipment stocking and replacement and associated costs.

Hire and manage all the team members including often making tough personal decisions.

Stay on top of all the technology changes involved in your sport.

Handle all the press and promotional relationships.

How many current top NFL quarterbacks would still be successful if they had to also handle all these activities?

Probably close to zero.

My hat is totally off to the Wilkerson, Pedregon and remaining other driver/owner Pro teams that compete in the NHRA, you guys are totally amazing and I don't think you get the recognition you deserve.

Dumb comparision...apples and oranges.

 

[mastertone]

Dumb comparision...apples and oranges.

And then there are the not so nice ones....

 

[vegasnitro]

I was thinking about this and it seems to me drag racing is the last professinal level motorsport where 1 person could be driver/owner/crew chief and have any measure of success. AJ Foyt in the 70s was probably the last IndyCar guy that fit the description, and the late, great Alan Kulwicki in 1992 was the last in NASCAR (and it was a complete shocker when it happened). In F1, there has never been a driver/owner/crew chief that I am aware of. The closest was probably Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus. He would design the cars, crew chief them at the races, test them himself and was reputably as quick as half of his race drivers.

 

[Jim]

Sir Jack Brabham (sp?) perhaps. and Dan Gurney did win one race (Spa) with the Gurney Eagle Westlake.

But, yes, it's a rare (and quaint?) notion - owner driver.

I The closest was probably Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus. He would design the cars, crew chief them at the races, test them himself and was reputably as quick as half of his race drivers.

 

[Toejam]

I was thinking about this and it seems to me drag racing is the last professinal level motorsport where 1 person could be driver/owner/crew chief and have any measure of success. AJ Foyt in the 70s was probably the last IndyCar guy that fit the description, and the late, great Alan Kulwicki in 1992 was the last in NASCAR (and it was a complete shocker when it happened). In F1, there has never been a driver/owner/crew chief that I am aware of. The closest was probably Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus. He would design the cars, crew chief them at the races, test them himself and was reputably as quick as half of his race drivers.

Chris, I know most of the Unsers. Al Sr. Won 2 back to back on 71-72! He said his budget for those Johnny Lightning cars then was around $500,000 per year!

 

[Paul]

Dumb comparision...apples and oranges.

Tony, after thinking it over, your right, it was a dumb comparison.

Most NFL quarterbacks have been way too pampered and coddled from high school through college and then the NFL to even think about them taking on any of the listed tasks so it was dumb to bring it up.

 

[vegasnitro]

Sir Jack Brabham (sp?) perhaps. and Dan Gurney did win one race (Spa) with the Gurney Eagle Westlake.

But, yes, it's a rare (and quaint?) notion - owner driver.

They were owner-drivers ... But they weren't crew chiefs too.

Joe ... Same thing with the Unsers, owner-drivers but not crew chiefs.

I am not trying to diminish any of these great drivers accomplishments, just keeping with the theme of the thread in which the driver performed all functions.

 

[Project Paladin]

God bless the little guy teams!

 

[T.Smith]

Tony, after thinking it over, your right, it was a dumb comparison.

Most NFL quarterbacks have been way too pampered and coddled from high school through college and then the NFL to even think about them taking on any of the listed tasks so it was dumb to bring it up.

Paul, you have no clue of what your talking about, if you did you wouldn't make such a stupid and uninformed statement about NFL quarterbacks.

 

[Paul]

Paul, you have no clue of what your talking about, if you did you wouldn't make such a stupid and uninformed statement about NFL quarterbacks.

Tony I guess you're right again, guys like Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez and Cam Newton would all be naturals at handling all the complexities and interpersonal relationships of running a nitro team.

 

[Larry jr.]

Dumb comparision...apples and oranges.

How about celery and ruebarb?

Really the era of owner driver tuners has never left, nor has the paid driver or the pay to drive deal.

There are just fewer independently owned pro teams in fuel.

Look at the Alcohol classes and you will find mostly owner tuner drivers.

We used to call them Triple Threat as they could do it all, The era of the "tuner" was ushered in by King Kenny, and Double A Dale's alliance in the 1980's, Then Coil and Force in the 90's.

To address the NFL QB compairison................... they don't drive a race car at 300+ mph in 4 seconds and rebuild a motor and clutch in an hour and ten minutes 4 times to win on Sunday, But Wilkerson doesn't have four 300 Lb lineman coming after him trying to take Him out every 20 seconds on Sunday either.

 

[robinjackson]

Is that the Larry Fullerton, of Trojan Horse fame?

 

[clwill]

The NFL comparison is lame. It's a team game that can't be played without a full team. The entire setup of the game requires specialization. If you had to go there, you look at the QBs who call their own plays, which are fewer and fewer. But that's hardly the same.

A more apt comparison is someone who runs a small company. Owns the company, does the books, drives the truck, serves the customers, answers the phone, cleans the restrooms, etc. There are lots of those in the world, and they are much on the same level as a driver/owner/tuner like Wilkerson. Yet they don't get people cheering them on and stopping them in a restaurant asking for their autograph. And they don't get to drive a 300mph funny car.