MADISON, Ill.  - T.J. Zizzo made the best of his qualifying effort, taking his 11th position into a first round showdown with the number 6 qualifier, Shawn Langdon. Zizzo was anxious to make a good showing in his first outing of the season with his PEAK / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster. Maybe a little too anxious.

"I just wanted to bring my reaction time average down a little," Zizzo joked about his red light start in round one action at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. "Honestly, I know Langdon is good on the tree and I know he has a good car. So, I knew if we were going to have a chance at beating him I needed to take a shot at it [the tree]."

MADISON, Ill.  - T.J. Zizzo piloted the PEAK / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster to the 11th spot for tomorrow's elimination rounds at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals. Zizzo Racing secured their position during the Saturday afternoon qualifying session when they recorded a 3.969 second elapsed time at 297.16 mph. Friday's qualifying sessions were canceled for weather.

If the shortened qualifying session worried Zizzo, it didn't show. "On the first pass we went out there pretty aggressive," Zizzo said. "We had tire shake and then it shook some more and then it just went into [tire] smoke. I probably should have peddled it - I think it would have went down the track."

The second and final attempt to make the field is where Zizzo posted his best numbers of the weekend. "We just backed the tune-up down to get it down the track," Zizzo continued. "We'll try it again tomorrow."

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Zizzo Racing will join the NHRA Drag Racing tour this weekend for the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Illinois, just outside of St. Louis. Driver T.J. Zizzo is looking forward to the race. 

  

"It's time to take off these winter boots and put on my driving shoes," Zizzo said from the family-owned auto body shop. "Our whole team is ready to get out of the shop and get on the race track. We haven't been to St. Louis is a couple of seasons. For us this track is kind of in the neighborhood. We're looking forward to getting out to the track and seeing all of the O'Reilly associates as well." 

  

The new season brings a fresh look to the PEAK/O'Reilly Dragster. Brand & Motorsports Marketing Manager at Old World Industries, Brian Bohlander, states "We're excited about the start of the season.  The team has worked long hours this winter on the little details to find an advantage since the Top Fuel field is now so competitive.  We are also very happy with the new car design that also includes one of PEAK's newest products, PEAK Performance Motor Oil.  Phil at Rage Wraps put the final design elements and graphics together with some 'old school' pinstriping on top of the car and it makes this hot rod look fast standing still!" 

DETROIT, MI. -- At the O'Reilly Auto Parts display during the 57th annual Detroit AutoRama, PEAK Performance, O'Reilly Auto Parts, and Zizzo Racing announced the continuation of their marketing partnership for 2009.  The PEAK / HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster has been displayed all weekend at the AutoRama event, held annually at Cobo Hall.   

AutoRama is pinnacle of the World of Wheels car show series, in which the prestiges Riddle Award is presented to the street rod builder of the year.  The event is sponsored in part by O'Reilly Auto Parts and features all forms of vehicles, from classics, to street rods and the ultimate 8,000  horsepower machine, piloted by T.J. Zizzo.  "Everyone loves to get out and see these cars," TJ said. "I'm a little partial to our dragster but, I wouldn't mind having a few of those street rods sitting in my driveway either." 

While Zizzo and his hot rod have been appearing at events throughout the winter, including the 101st annual Chicago Auto Show, they're preparing for a summer filled with racing.  The PEAK Performance dragster will be featured again through race and store promotions at O'Reilly stores this summer, bringing excitement to drag racing fans across the country.  The team plans several NHRA-Full Throttle Drag Racing stops including; St. Louis (May 1-3), Indianapolis (September 2-7), Dallas (September 24-27) and Memphis (October 2-4).