September 2009 Archives
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. T.J. Zizzo had just qualified the PEAK, HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster at the U.S. Nationals, the largest and most prestigious drag race in the world. The tension and anticipation for the first round match up with multi-time champion Tony Schumacher was the classic David versus Goliath story line. Although the sling shot was loaded, a problem in the clutch linkage wouldn't allow T.J. to return from his burnout for the match up. Schumacher would go on to set low elapsed time of eliminations and win his eighth U.S. Nationals Events.
Battle of Illinois Route 22 in first round
INDIANAPOLIS - Today marks the 55th time drag racing competitors face off at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for final eliminations at the U.S. Nationals, T.J.Zizzo and the PEAK, HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster will be among the elite 16 finalist.
Zizzo will face Tony Schumacher in round one action in what could be deemed the Battle of Illinois Route 22. Zizzo and Schumacher live just a few miles from each other, Zizzo in Lincolnshire and Schumacher in Long Grove. "I wouldn't call it a turf war," Zizzo joked. "But it certainly would be nice to have bragging rights around the neighborhood."
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- There's one thing for certain about drag racing Labor Day weekend. Indianapolis is the place to be. Attending the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at the historic O'Reilly Raceway Park is a time honored tradition for most fans and a dream come true for competitors.
The same is true for T.J. Zizzo who will make his third consecutive start flying the PEAK, HERCULINER and O'Reilly banners on his Top Fuel Dragster. "Doesn't everyone block off their calendar for Indianapolis," Zizzo asked. "When summer and the NHRA regular season ends, all eyes turn to this race. We're excited about being there."
Brian Bohlander, Motorsports Marketing Manager for the PEAK and HERCULINER brands, is looking forward to the race also. "We're excited to be with Zizzo Racing and T.J again this season," he said. "This race marks the end of the regular season in drag racing, and there's something special about racing here on Monday. Being part of this event is the perfect place for us to kick off the antifreeze season."
In a special promotion with O'Reilly Auto Parts stores on PEAK Motor Oil, Dee Irey, an O'Reilly Store Manager from the California, Missouri store, won the opportunity to be an honorary crew member for Zizzo Racing. Dee will be in Indianapolis and will be part of the team on Sunday. "The fulfillment of this promotion is exciting because it provides a unique opportunity for an O'Reilly Team Member to be part of a professional race team with behind the scenes access that very few people ever experience," Bohlander explained.
"We're going to have a lot of fun with our new crew member," Zizzo added. "I'll have to look in our crew manual to see what the initiation will be for Dee this weekend," he laughed. "All kidding aside, we're looking forward to meeting her and having her be part of the team. I love learning about the challenges in running a successful store and of course they love the behind the scenes look at running a Top Fuel race team."
Professional qualifying for the 55th Annual U.S. Nationals begins Friday, September 4th with eliminations on Monday, September 8th.
DALLAS -- The 20th stop of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series took Zizzo Racing's PEAK, HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel team to the Texas Motorplex where T.J. Zizzo, team driver made his first ever appearance.
"What a great place to race," Zizzo explained post race from his Chicago area race shop. "We met a lot of great fans and made some new friends along the way. There's nothing quite like NHRA Drag Racing and the loyalty and camaraderie those fans bring with them to a race."
For Zizzo, the racing proved to be just as fun. The team proved they were up for the task during their third appearance of the season. His qualifying effort of 3.992 seconds at 307 mph would be good enough to secure the 14 qualifying position. It also aligned him for another showdown with multi-time champion Tony Schumacher. Schumacher would prove to be Zizzo's nemesis again, but that would prove to be true of the entire field as Schumacher would go on to win the event and take over the points lead with just four races remaining.
Continue reading Eventful week makes Dallas worthwhile for Zizzo.
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. T.J. Zizzo had just qualified the PEAK, HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster at the U.S. Nationals, the largest and most prestigious drag race in the world. The tension and anticipation for the first round match up with multi-time champion Tony Schumacher was the classic David versus Goliath story line. Although the sling shot was loaded, a problem in the clutch linkage wouldn't allow T.J. to return from his burnout for the match up. Schumacher would go on to set low elapsed time of eliminations and win his eighth U.S. Nationals Events.
Hind sight proved that it was another one of Tony's days. Zizzo agrees, He owns that place. "I'm not sure that we could have beat him on that pass, but we would have loved to run along side of him."
While Zizzo and his team didn't get a chance to challenge for the first round win, they were happy with the weekend.
Continue reading Lessons learned at Indy encourage Zizzo for next race in Dallas.
Battle of Illinois Route 22 in first roundINDIANAPOLIS - Today marks the 55th time drag racing competitors face off at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for final eliminations at the U.S. Nationals, T.J.Zizzo and the PEAK, HERCULINER / O'Reilly Top Fuel Dragster will be among the elite 16 finalist.
Zizzo will face Tony Schumacher in round one action in what could be deemed the Battle of Illinois Route 22. Zizzo and Schumacher live just a few miles from each other, Zizzo in Lincolnshire and Schumacher in Long Grove. "I wouldn't call it a turf war," Zizzo joked. "But it certainly would be nice to have bragging rights around the neighborhood."
Continue reading Zizzo ready for battle at 'Big Go'.
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- There's one thing for certain about drag racing Labor Day weekend. Indianapolis is the place to be. Attending the 55th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at the historic O'Reilly Raceway Park is a time honored tradition for most fans and a dream come true for competitors. The same is true for T.J. Zizzo who will make his third consecutive start flying the PEAK, HERCULINER and O'Reilly banners on his Top Fuel Dragster. "Doesn't everyone block off their calendar for Indianapolis," Zizzo asked. "When summer and the NHRA regular season ends, all eyes turn to this race. We're excited about being there."
Brian Bohlander, Motorsports Marketing Manager for the PEAK and HERCULINER brands, is looking forward to the race also. "We're excited to be with Zizzo Racing and T.J again this season," he said. "This race marks the end of the regular season in drag racing, and there's something special about racing here on Monday. Being part of this event is the perfect place for us to kick off the antifreeze season."
In a special promotion with O'Reilly Auto Parts stores on PEAK Motor Oil, Dee Irey, an O'Reilly Store Manager from the California, Missouri store, won the opportunity to be an honorary crew member for Zizzo Racing. Dee will be in Indianapolis and will be part of the team on Sunday. "The fulfillment of this promotion is exciting because it provides a unique opportunity for an O'Reilly Team Member to be part of a professional race team with behind the scenes access that very few people ever experience," Bohlander explained.
"We're going to have a lot of fun with our new crew member," Zizzo added. "I'll have to look in our crew manual to see what the initiation will be for Dee this weekend," he laughed. "All kidding aside, we're looking forward to meeting her and having her be part of the team. I love learning about the challenges in running a successful store and of course they love the behind the scenes look at running a Top Fuel race team."
Professional qualifying for the 55th Annual U.S. Nationals begins Friday, September 4th with eliminations on Monday, September 8th.
