LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – The last time Zizzo Racing owner Tony Zizzo was in a Top Alcohol dragster was 2003 with his son, TJ, in the next lane. The elder Zizzo, on the heels of celebrating his 60th birthday, returned to the cockpit of the "Avenger" Memorial Day Weekend for the Olympics of Drag Racing at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wis.
Zizzo ran a pair of 6.50s, one on a planned half-track pass and the other resulting from a blown belt, but the veteran drag racer couldn't have been happier and is looking forward to the next time he gets to be behind the wheel.
"I should have put the new blower belt on," he said. "The dragster did what it was supposed to do and surprisingly enough I did my job as a driver. I am looking forward to driving the alky car again and standing on it next time.
"The best part of the weekend was hanging out at my local track was seeing my team members and friends having a good time. They were happy to see me drive again."
TJ, himself a veteran racer and the driver of the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel dragster, was on-hand for his dad's return to the strip along with several members of Zizzo Racing.
"When I went down to the end of the track to pick him up he was smiling ear to ear," TJ said, a smile on his face as well. "Too bad the weather did not cooperate on Sunday. The car was setup an easy high five second run, but the rains came and they canceled the event."
The next time Tony is planning to be in a car is in August for his annual trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The next scheduled race for TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team is the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals at his home track of Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. For more information or for tickets, visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com
Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.
Zizzo ran a pair of 6.50s, one on a planned half-track pass and the other resulting from a blown belt, but the veteran drag racer couldn't have been happier and is looking forward to the next time he gets to be behind the wheel.
"I should have put the new blower belt on," he said. "The dragster did what it was supposed to do and surprisingly enough I did my job as a driver. I am looking forward to driving the alky car again and standing on it next time.
"The best part of the weekend was hanging out at my local track was seeing my team members and friends having a good time. They were happy to see me drive again."
TJ, himself a veteran racer and the driver of the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel dragster, was on-hand for his dad's return to the strip along with several members of Zizzo Racing.
"When I went down to the end of the track to pick him up he was smiling ear to ear," TJ said, a smile on his face as well. "Too bad the weather did not cooperate on Sunday. The car was setup an easy high five second run, but the rains came and they canceled the event."
The next time Tony is planning to be in a car is in August for his annual trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The next scheduled race for TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team is the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals at his home track of Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. For more information or for tickets, visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com
Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.
