T.J. ZIZZO
TOP FUEL veteran T.J. Zizzo is
feeling good and these days,
well, that means a lot. In the
midst of a global pandemic, his Zizzo
Body Shop is on a better pace than last
year, which is a massive win in these
times, and he’s ready to race. ¶ He’s
more than ready, actually. Zizzo and his
team are excited to race, eager to see
how NHRA’s revised schedule — which
now includes two-day events and two
qualifying sessions — plays out, especially
as a part-time team.
Sure, he won’t be at every race — an arduous
stretch that includes 14 straight weeks of racing
— but NHRA has been open and receptive to his
input, and that’s gone a long way. He talked with
Drag IllustrateD about those conversations, what
his 2020 season could look like and if some of
the changes could stretch beyond just this year.
Knowing what the schedule will look like,
knowing these will all be two-day events
for NHRA in 2020, what’s your reaction to
all of it?
The NHRA has been wonderful.
Even for a small team like ours, they’ve
been asking what we would like, how it
should go, things like that. They have
been absolutely great to deal with during
this pandemic. I absolutely love that
NHRA is trying new things, so I have
the utmost respect for them.
One thing I know about this sport is
people have a lot of passion. We both
need each other and we need to work
together to survive. The more we work
together, the more dialogue there is, the
better the sport will be.
I love that NHRA has gone to a twoday
schedule with two shots at qualifying.
It’s way more exciting for fans,
and it’s more exciting for the drivers and
teams trying to qualify. You go in there
with a completely different mindset. It’s
wonderful and it’s great for a team like
us. It’s badass and I will give NHRA a
lot of kudos.
Not only does it really up the
ante for each of the qualifying sessions,
what is the impact financially
of a two-day event with only two
qualifiers?
It saves us a shit-ton of money. We’re
all trying to figure out a way to cut costs
in the sport. That’s a tough thing and it
has to come from both sides. With two
“PEOPLE HAVE A LOT
OF PASSION. WE
BOTH NEED EACH
OTHER AND WE NEED
TO WORK TOGETHER
TO SURVIVE. THE
MORE WE WORK
TOGETHER, THE MORE
DIALOGUE THERE
IS, THE BETTER THE
SPORT WILL BE.“
shots at qualifying I should save, at minimum,
$30,000 a race and it could be up to $50,000
per race. To save money, it allows us to think
outside the box.
We were planning maybe 2-3 events this year.
Now, Dad and I are looking at the schedule, poking
around. We’ve discussed going to the first two
races at Indy. I’ve given every team member the
[schedule] and asked them where they want to go.
I marked nine races on that [schedule] and the
reason I did that is because I think it’s attainable.
There’s a lot to consider during unprecedented
times like this. What went into your decision
in moving forward to race this year, knowing
all the uncertainty out there?
This whole situation is going to have to be fluid.
Nobody knows what’s going to happen two weeks
from now. It’s definitely going to be trying on the
team. We don’t have to worry about going to all
these races in a row, but we have enough parts in
our arsenal to do it if we really wanted.
I had to ask each team member if they’re comfortable
going to a track during a pandemic. And I
got a thumbs-up from every one of them. Without
those guys, I can’t go anywhere. Some of our team
has been together 27 years. [Clutch specialist]
Tony Smith has been with me for every single race,
and [crew chief] Mike Kern has been with me
a long time. The longevity of our team is badass.
Do you foresee something like a two-day race
sticking beyond this year, and do you think
that is something that should be considered?
This pandemic is bad for a lot of people and it’s
been devastating. But I think if we work through
all this and learn to adapt, we’re going to be a
better society from it. We have to learn to adapt
and NHRA is doing that. I really hope they do
continue [two-day events]. There could certainly
still be three-day events.
There’s some markets that could accommodate
it and there’s others that can’t. Maybe the
condensed schedule is a good [idea]. Maybe
it gets the NHRA to think about night
racing. There’s so many options, but we’re
an entertainment world and how can we
entertain better than we have been?
One thing I really voiced my opinion
on multiple times is when do we want to
attack the racetrack. There’s nothing more
exciting than two Top Fuelers going down
the track at night, so why not show it?
Finding a way to make things more
affordable — or at least cutting costs —
seems like it would help, in that regard.
Is that a pipe dream when it comes to
nitro racing or are there things the
sport can continue to do?
I see potential and there’s a lot of positive
talk out there. But I could ask each
member of my team how we could curb
costs and I would get 15 different answers.
I could say a lot of things, but so would
each crew chief or team owner.
If you take some aerodynamics away,
that would be a blast to drive and you
would really have to manhandle these
things, but truly there is not an easy way
to curb costs unless you get one engine
a weekend or whatever it may be. But
the thing burns nitro, so it’s going to be
expensive. It’s a challenge, but I think two
days of racing, two shots of qualifying,
it’s a start. DI
June 2020
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