POMONA, Calif. - A rising star in the NHRA Full Throttle Series and a drag racing legend came together Thursday at the 51st Annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals and the result is one of the hottest paint schemes in racing. To celebrate his 45th year in drag racing, legendary artist Kenny Youngblood designed the new look for TJ Zizzo's PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel dragster, which was unveiled prior to the first round of qualifying of 2011, the NHRA's 60th season.
The idea was originally hatched after the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis last year between Youngblood, Zizzo, and Old World Industries' brand manager Brian Bohlander, in an effort to combine drag racing's old school and new school eras.
"It's a dream come true for me to not only be on one of these cars, but for it to be on TJ Zizzo's car with the PEAK brand," Youngblood said during a press conference at Auto Club Raceway here prior to qualifying. "TJ's one of those guys, you meet him and you feel like you've known him for ten years. (Zizzo Racing) is just a great team and that makes it all the better. I'm just honored and thrilled to be involved."
Zizzo Racing is currently scheduled to run six NHRA Full Throttle Series events after the Winternationals. For those events, along with any additional races that may be added to the schedule, the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner rail will carry a special logo honoring Youngblood's four-and-a-half decades in the sport. All the team uniforms will also carry the logo. In addition, different decals will be added over the course of the season, displaying some of Youngblood's favorite paintings.
For Zizzo, who grew up in the sport watching his dad, Tony, race Top Alcohol dragsters, it has been a special project to work with an artist who many consider the best in drag racing. "I think over the years, in every facility I've been in, in every shop I've been in, I've seen Kenny's artwork," said Zizzo, an Illinois native. "But even more than Kenny's artwork, it's been his conversations that mean the most to me. When I'm on the phone with him, I don't talk, I listen, and I come away having learned so much.
"But having said that, when I get into that car today and get strapped in in front of all the fans and media and they see that paint scheme, I will be honored to have (Kenny's) insignia, (his) touch, everything (he) wanted to put into this, riding on this car and riding in my heart."
Taking Youngblood's original rendering and working with it to truly stand out among all the cars competing in the NHRA was Kevin McNeiley, a graphic artist with Old World Industries. Freelance Imaging in Indianapolis took McNeiley's graphics and made it a reality with their expert wrapping of the 8,000 horsepower, nitro-burning machine.
"This is one of the most exciting things we've done in drag racing and we've been in this sport for a long time," Bohlander said. "We would just like to thank TJ for all he does and thank Kenny for being a part of this project. It's a great program for us."
To see more of Youngblood's work, visit YoungbloodArt.com. For information on PEAK and the entire line of PEAK products, head to PEAKAntiFreeze.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.
To see the paint scheme, click HERE.
The idea was originally hatched after the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis last year between Youngblood, Zizzo, and Old World Industries' brand manager Brian Bohlander, in an effort to combine drag racing's old school and new school eras.
"It's a dream come true for me to not only be on one of these cars, but for it to be on TJ Zizzo's car with the PEAK brand," Youngblood said during a press conference at Auto Club Raceway here prior to qualifying. "TJ's one of those guys, you meet him and you feel like you've known him for ten years. (Zizzo Racing) is just a great team and that makes it all the better. I'm just honored and thrilled to be involved."
Zizzo Racing is currently scheduled to run six NHRA Full Throttle Series events after the Winternationals. For those events, along with any additional races that may be added to the schedule, the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner rail will carry a special logo honoring Youngblood's four-and-a-half decades in the sport. All the team uniforms will also carry the logo. In addition, different decals will be added over the course of the season, displaying some of Youngblood's favorite paintings.
For Zizzo, who grew up in the sport watching his dad, Tony, race Top Alcohol dragsters, it has been a special project to work with an artist who many consider the best in drag racing. "I think over the years, in every facility I've been in, in every shop I've been in, I've seen Kenny's artwork," said Zizzo, an Illinois native. "But even more than Kenny's artwork, it's been his conversations that mean the most to me. When I'm on the phone with him, I don't talk, I listen, and I come away having learned so much.
"But having said that, when I get into that car today and get strapped in in front of all the fans and media and they see that paint scheme, I will be honored to have (Kenny's) insignia, (his) touch, everything (he) wanted to put into this, riding on this car and riding in my heart."
Taking Youngblood's original rendering and working with it to truly stand out among all the cars competing in the NHRA was Kevin McNeiley, a graphic artist with Old World Industries. Freelance Imaging in Indianapolis took McNeiley's graphics and made it a reality with their expert wrapping of the 8,000 horsepower, nitro-burning machine.
"This is one of the most exciting things we've done in drag racing and we've been in this sport for a long time," Bohlander said. "We would just like to thank TJ for all he does and thank Kenny for being a part of this project. It's a great program for us."
To see more of Youngblood's work, visit YoungbloodArt.com. For information on PEAK and the entire line of PEAK products, head to PEAKAntiFreeze.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.
To see the paint scheme, click HERE.
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