POMONA, Calif. – Even when things are at their worst, it’s rare to see NHRA Mello Yello Series Top Fueler TJ Zizzo without a smile. After missing the show at the season-opening O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway, the Chicagoland native didn’t have a lot of reasons to crack a grin.
“One of the top five worst weekends in the 33-year history of Zizzo Racing,” said the second-generation drag racer. “I feel really bad for PEAK, for our other marketing partners, and for our fans. Not being able to test meant having to race to the finish line with some bad combinations which led to a big boom.
“But we have a great team, a team that has been together a long time. Our PEAK Motor Oil dragster is showing promise. It’s talking to us, but right now, it’s talking to use in a foreign language that none of us understand and we need an interpreter. I understand one thing, though—we need to get our (act) in gear to keep up with our millionaire friends.”
The weekend started off on a positive note with Zizzo qualifying eighth on Thursday with a 3.95 even after losing a cylinder. Unfortunately, that was the best run of the weekend and for the quickest Top Fuel group in NHRA history, it wasn’t enough. Fellow Chicago native and seven-time class champion Tony Schumacher earned top qualifier honors and made it to the finals, but lost to Shawn Langdon.
The next race for Zizzo Racing and the PEAK Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster is the 44th Annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at the Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., March 15-17. The first round of nitro qualifying is scheduled for Friday at 12:45 p.m. EST with the first round of eliminations kicking off at 11 a.m. For more information on the race or for tickets, visit AutoPlusRaceway.com.
From: Brandon Mudd
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“One of the top five worst weekends in the 33-year history of Zizzo Racing,” said the second-generation drag racer. “I feel really bad for PEAK, for our other marketing partners, and for our fans. Not being able to test meant having to race to the finish line with some bad combinations which led to a big boom.
“But we have a great team, a team that has been together a long time. Our PEAK Motor Oil dragster is showing promise. It’s talking to us, but right now, it’s talking to use in a foreign language that none of us understand and we need an interpreter. I understand one thing, though—we need to get our (act) in gear to keep up with our millionaire friends.”
The weekend started off on a positive note with Zizzo qualifying eighth on Thursday with a 3.95 even after losing a cylinder. Unfortunately, that was the best run of the weekend and for the quickest Top Fuel group in NHRA history, it wasn’t enough. Fellow Chicago native and seven-time class champion Tony Schumacher earned top qualifier honors and made it to the finals, but lost to Shawn Langdon.
The next race for Zizzo Racing and the PEAK Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster is the 44th Annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at the Auto Plus Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., March 15-17. The first round of nitro qualifying is scheduled for Friday at 12:45 p.m. EST with the first round of eliminations kicking off at 11 a.m. For more information on the race or for tickets, visit AutoPlusRaceway.com.
From: Brandon Mudd
More...
