CLERMONT, Ind. – The Big Go was eventful for TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel team. It saw Zizzo make a strong lap Saturday night to get into the field of 16. It saw the Chicago native’s rail burst into flames in the final qualifying round of the weekend. But most importantly, it saw Zizzo, facing fellow second-generation racer Brandon Bernstein in the first round of the 57th Annual Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, lay down an ET of 3.880 seconds at 313 mph, his fastest pass of the weekend.
Bernstein, though, was just .02 seconds faster and earned the E1 victory in what was easily the most competitive drag race of the round in Top Fuel. Additionally, it provided a shot of confidence to the team who worked hard Sunday night to replace their dragster’s engine.
“I hate the end of it,” Zizzo said of the NHRA’s biggest event on the schedule, “but I gotta say, we went out well. We made our fastest pass of the weekend, we were up against a great competitor, it showed well on TV, we didn’t beat ourselves. Just a lot of positives.”
A bigger positive for the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team is the fact they are racing again in less than two weeks. The NHRA Full Throttle Series returns to action at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.
“That last run was a huge confidence booster to get us to the next event and that’s only eight or nine days away now. So we’re excited; we’re ready to go. We’ll work on this thing and work on all our parts and in Charlotte, we’ll go for it.”
Bernstein, though, was just .02 seconds faster and earned the E1 victory in what was easily the most competitive drag race of the round in Top Fuel. Additionally, it provided a shot of confidence to the team who worked hard Sunday night to replace their dragster’s engine.
“I hate the end of it,” Zizzo said of the NHRA’s biggest event on the schedule, “but I gotta say, we went out well. We made our fastest pass of the weekend, we were up against a great competitor, it showed well on TV, we didn’t beat ourselves. Just a lot of positives.”
A bigger positive for the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team is the fact they are racing again in less than two weeks. The NHRA Full Throttle Series returns to action at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.
“That last run was a huge confidence booster to get us to the next event and that’s only eight or nine days away now. So we’re excited; we’re ready to go. We’ll work on this thing and work on all our parts and in Charlotte, we’ll go for it.”
