TJ Zizzo, Rust-Oleum Top Fuel Dragster Qualify No. 10 at Brainerd Nationals (1 Viewer)

BRAINERD, MN (August 21, 2021) --- In a welcome return to racing action TJ Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster qualified No. 10 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. After almost a year between races Zizzo Racing’s Mike Kern tuned race car made a solid pass Friday night with a 3.861 second pass at 317.87 mph. That initial run positioned the team solidly in the show in the provisional No. 6 spot at the time.

TJ Zizzo and Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster (photo credit Auto Imagery)
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On Saturday with two runs on tap the Rust-Oleum Rocket was in the enviable position of being able to try some tune-up adjustments to give the team an advantage on race day. In the mid-afternoon session Zizzo made his pass after several race cars had posted much improved elapsed times pushing him back in the qualifying order. When the Rust-Oleum dragster launched it was on an aggressive run that unfortunately overpowered the race surface. Zizzo clicked off his 11,000-horsepower race car before it damaged itself. His second qualifying time slowed to 6.745 seconds with one more opportunity to improve in the qualifying standings.
“With only eleven cars you have the opportunity to test things. We had a couple philosophies we wanted to go after today,” said Zizzo. “We had some ideas over the winter about how to apply the clutch earlier in the run. We tried that in Q2 and it didn’t work out. It was too aggressive and blew the tires off. No big deal. Those are easy fixes.”
As the final day of qualifying came to an end Zizzo was scheduled to run in the middle of the pack with hopes of moving up in the qualifying order. As his team rolled up to the water box crew chief Mike Kern went through his pre-run visual inspection and recognized an issue that forced the team to abort the run prior to executing the burnout.
“In Q3 unfortunately we had No. 1 and No. 3 spark plug wires swapped,” explained Zizzo. “The car was fixed before we got it back to the pits. We are a smart enough team and good enough team to recognize, to see, to feel and to notice issues before we roll up and do a burnout. It saved us a lot of aggravation and a big explosion.”
Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum Rocket will enter race day as the No. 10 Top Fuel dragster and will face veteran Mike Salinas and his Scrappers race team. The only time these two drivers have previously met was 2019 in the second round at the national event at Route 66 Raceway in Zizzo’s hometown of Chicago. Zizzo will be looking to even his record against Salinas with a first round upset over the No. 3 qualifier.
“The wonderful thing is we have Mile Salinas first round. He has a good car and a great team,” said Zizzo. “We will do a better job tomorrow, it is as simple as that. Of course, days like today are disappointing. You realize how much work this is when you have been away from the racetrack. All our guys put a lot of time and effort into racing. We will do what we always do, get reorganized and get back after it tomorrow. I don’t remember the last time we had an issue like that at the starting line. That is how infrequent an issue like that for this team is.”
The Rust-Oleum Rocket team and the rest of the Top Fuel teams will get the race day started tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT with the race broadcast commencing on Fox at 2 p.m. CT.

Qualifying Runs
Q1: 3.861 sec, 317.87 mph, No. 6
Q2: 6.745 sec, 89.62 mph, No. 9
Q3: Did not run, No. 10

Final Qualifying Position
TJ Zizzo, Lincolnshire, Illinois, Rust-Oleum Rocket, No. 10, 3.861 sec, 317.87 mph

First Round Opponent (W-L)
Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing, (0-1)

About Rust-Oleum
For more than a century, Rust-Oleum has been a global leader in manufacturing innovative coatings that empower do-it-yourselfers and professionals alike across categories including small project paints, cleaners, primers, automotive, industrial, high performance coatings and wood care. Its wide breadth of brands and products include such trusted names as Rust-Oleum, Stops Rust®, Painter’s Touch®, Universal®, EpoxyShield®, Varathane®, Zinsser®, Watco®, MultiSpec®, X-I-M®, Krud Kutter®, RockSolid®, Wipe New®, Testors®, Seal-Krete®, Modern Masters®, Moldex®, Whink®, Miracle Sealants®, Roto-Rooter®, Mean Green®, and Gator® Finishing Products. Visit rustoleum.com for more information. Follow Rust-Oleum on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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