Odd Man Out

    My name is Toni and I'm the odd man out.  I'm the only female crew member on our NHRA Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car team which is pretty unique in drag racing.  Girls drive, girls date or are married to drivers/crew; but very few are involved in the dirty, hard-work of the pit crew because they want to do it.  I'm connected to the car only out of a love for racing and loyalty to my guys.  They are amazingly talented and bust ass every round, every meet, every time.

   I'm responsible for the back half of the car, which means; the chutes, wheelie bar, body between runs, fresh air bottle, driver's compartment, puke tank, in-pit tire pressure, and of course; fetch refreshments and make sandwiches.  I also help with potential sponsors, dump used oil, keep track of qualifying ladders and points, run to the store, research services in new cities, find auto parts stores, hold flashlights, maintain peace, am sympathetic to bullshit, listen to stories, make hotel reservations, cancel hotel reservations, make more hotel reservations; whatever is needed to help the team be successful and win.  If I could do this every day, I would.

 Nostalgia cars differ from their "big show" counterparts significantly and only slightly resemble the actual cars they represent from the heyday of the sport.  Body styles are limited to pre-1980 makes; fuel pumps are restricted to about 20 gals p/min; we run only one generator and are limited to a specific type of blower atop the motor.  These fuel funny cars run elapsed times of somewhere between 5.70 and 6.20 seconds in the quarter mile at speeds averaging/topping out in the mid-250, mile an hour range.

   I grew up in the epicenter of drag racing; Southern California during the 1960's and 70's.  My dad was a racer and Famoso Raceway, outside of Bakersfield, was his home track. Currently known as Auto Club Famoso Raceway, it's the home of the annual March Meet race and kicks off the nostalgia nitro drag racing season.  He and his buddies campaigned a top fuel dragster for a number of years and we spent many weekends at the famous dragstrips of the day; like Lions, Fremont, Fresno, OCIR, Irwindale, Pomona, Sonoma and Famoso. 

   Back then, all classes of drag racing was a family sport.  There's nothing like waking up at 2:30 am and having a bowl of Cheerios while it's still dark outside and the Chaparral is being loaded; but you can't eat because you're so excited about the trip.  At the track, Dad and his buddies worked on the car while our moms made lunch, drove the push car and kept track of us "pit rats".  Racers kids were often referred to as pit-rats and you could spot us a mile away.  Usually covered in dirt of some sort, we'd be playing with other pit rats and avoiding our moms as best possible. 

I love the one second of silence before the starter spins the motor to life; when the cadence of lifters, valves, connectors and pistons, wrap me up in a comforting blanket of childhood memories. This is what I chase I suppose; that excited feeling I had as a kid, when nothing else mattered and all was right with the world.  It's race day, baby; let's go rounds!!!