It wasn't the way Zizzo Racing wanted to end its 2011 campaign, but TJ Zizzo and his Chicago-based teammates have nothing to hang their heads about. A season highlighted by an upset win of championship contender Spencer Massey at the team's home track, Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., also saw several improvements in its qualifying program and race day tune-ups.
 
In the first round of the Auto Club NHRA Finals Sunday, Zizzo was paired with fellow second-generation racer Brandon Bernstein. Despite a quicker reaction time by Bernstein, Zizzo was faster nearly the entire 1,000 feet by .06 seconds at one point. Unfortunately, the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner dragster's supercharger failed near the finish line, giving Bernstein the round win and ending Zizzo Racing's season.

After 15 years as a constant presence on the starting line at drag strips all over the country, NHRA starter Rick Stewart is retiring from his post after today's Auto Club NHRA Finals. Zizzo Racing wishes him nothing but the best and has made the following statements:

Tony Zizzo, Team Owner: "The only problem I have with (Stewart retiring) is that him and my redheaded girlfriend/fiancee are like lovers! They always kiss each other before the first round. Every time we go to the starting line, they're kissing each other. That's good luck! We won't have that kiss anymore."

On the day after 11-11-11, PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel driver TJ Zizzo qualified, you guessed it, 11^th after laying down a smooth 3.888 second ET in the third round of qualifying for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Q3 was also the last round of the weekend for the nitro classes due to inclement weather. The NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Stock classes were able to get all four rounds in.
 
A year that has seen the Chicago-based Zizzo Racing make numerous positive strides has also gone by very quickly for the second-generation racer. Sunday's first round of eliminations will see him face another driver from a racing family, Brandon Bernstein. Bernstein barely edged the Zizzo Racing rail for the round win at Indy in September and the team is looking forward to the matchup tomorrow.
                          
"Man, it feels like just yesterday that we started the season here at the Winternationals," Zizzo said. "We're facing Bernstein. We last faced him at Indy and gave him a great run. We were awfully close to nipping him so we'll try to do our best tomorrow and see where we go."

In drag racing, cool is, well, cool. Cool temps make for better racing conditions, faster speeds, and quicker times. On Thursday at the Auto Club NHRA World Finals at Auto Club Raceway, the weather conditions were cool and overcast. On Friday, it was the same.
 
Until it came time for TJ Zizzo to make his Q2 run in the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner dragster.
 
"The weather of course played into it," Zizzo said of his 3.935 second run that placed him 15^th in the qualifying bracket. "You have a little bit of cloud cover all day long, actually a lot of cloud cover, and then before we go (to the starting line), the sun comes out.

Looking to take advantage of overcast skies and cool track temps, TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing went for it during Thursday's Rd. 1 of NHRA Full Throttle Series qualifying at the Auto Club NHRA World Finals here. Two weeks ago in Las Vegas, the gambit paid off with the Chicago-based Top Fuel team as they earned the No. 2 overall spot when Q1 ended.
 
The tuneup at Auto Club Raceway was just a bit too aggressive, causing the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner dragster to smoke the Goodyears almost immediately, resulting in a 9.896 second ET. Since it was the only qualifying run of the day, the team can take extra time to prepare the car for Friday's second round and earn a spot in Sunday's eliminations.

For the entirety of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Series season, Chicago native and Top Fuel pilot TJ Zizzo has partnered with legendary drag racing artist Kenny Youngblood to celebrate the latter's 45^th year in the sport. For this weekend's Auto Club NHRA World Finals, the pair are honoring the man whose vision 60 years ago became a national phenomenon and the fastest sport in the world: Wally Parks.
 
"It's the most fitting tribute we could come up with," said Zizzo, a second-generation driver who races for his father, Tony. "It's the epitome of both Kenny's talent and the man who made it all possible."
 
"It's been an incredible and fun year for me working with the Zizzos," Youngblood said. "They are a hardcore group of racers and the family I never had."

TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team made a heroic effort in the final round of qualifying Saturday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, putting themselves solidly in the field at 11^th with an ET of 3.879 seconds at a team record 319.14 mph. They knew they had their work cut out for them, however, with three-time and defending NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon in the opposite lane.
 
The Big O Tires NHRA Nationals E1 pairing was only the third time in Zizzo's career he has faced Dixon, the most recent matchup coming at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Penn., in 2005. The champ put it down the track in 3.844 seconds to earn the round win, while Zizzo became a victim of the right lane, striking his tires. Only David Grubnic earned a round win in the right lane in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations.

They rolled the dice and avoided snake eyes. They hit 21 at the table. They bet it all on black at the roulette table and won. Pick your favorite Las Vegas cliché and apply it to TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team because when the chips were down at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday, the team put up a 3.879 second ET at a team record 319.14 mph. The run put Zizzo Racing in the 11^th qualifying position for Sunday's Big O Tires NHRA Nationals where they will face three-time and defending NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon.
 
The Chicago-based team qualified No. 2 in the first round Friday, earning two bonus points in the process, but back-to-back engine issues put the group behind the eight ball. The last-second discovery of an air leak allowed the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner crew to lay down a solid run and get into the show.

TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team did not come to the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to leave empty handed and proved they meant business in the first round of qualifying. The Chicago-based NHRA Full Throttle Series team laid down an ET of 3.899 seconds, good enough to put them second in the round behind Del Worsham and give them two bonus points.
 
The second round didn't quite go as well as the first. In the last Pro pairing of the day, Zizzo and his PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner rail ran clean and fast until around half track when the machine started losing cylinders. By the time Zizzo crossed the finish line, the engine was in flames. The veteran dragster pilot got out of the car safely and headed back to the Zizzo Racing pit to prepare the car for Saturday's qualifying.

To paraphrase Vince Vaughn in the movie "Swingers," TJ Zizzo is so money he doesn't even know it.

Zizzo and his PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team may be one of the most underrated in the NHRA Full Throttle Series. At every race in which they compete, the Chicago-based crew is a threat and their competitors know the odds can easily favor Zizzo Racing this weekend when the chips are down. This weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Zizzo Racing is going all in and won't be satisfied unless they're picking up a Wally at the cashier's window. Or the Winner's Circle. Whichever. The point being, they're racing for nothing less than a win in the desert.

The 2011 NHRA Countdown to the Championship has begun and Nitro Rewind continues to talk with the contenders and the spoilers. This week's episode talks with the Top Fuel and Funny Car winners from the O'Reilly Auto Part Nationals at zMax Dragway and looks to the Lone Star State and the AAA Texas Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. The show, an internet based broadcast, is hosted by Bill Stephens and features interviews from Top Fuel and Funny Car NHRA competitors, is available on the NHRA's YouTube channel after every NHRA national event.

"The Countdown got started in Charlotte and it was a record setting weekend. Viewers will get a great description from Matt Hagan of his record setting 3.995 second pass as well as his thoughts on eventually winning his first race of the season," said Ashley Force Hood, John Force Entertainment president.

The weather may not have been perfect for race fans at zMAX Dragway Friday for Day 1 of the 4^th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, but it made super heroes out of several drivers. Chicago native TJ Zizzo and his PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team were able to take advantage of 75-degree track temps for their fastest-ever pass, a 316.23 mph pass in 3.860 seconds. The lap puts them solidly in the top 12 in ninth entering the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday.
 
"There were a lot of hotdog runs out there tonight that's for sure," Zizzo said after the run. "It was a hero session as (NHRA announcer) Bob Frey called it and we were right there with them. It's fantastic. All the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner guys did a good job. The car was put together well. (Crew chief) Mike (Kern) and TS (clutch specialist Tony Smith) put a great clutch setup in the car. It was a nice 3.86. It was fun, no oil, a clean run."

At the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team showed why they're among the best in the business. After a strong run on Saturday, a blown engine Sunday night in the final round of qualifying created some extra work for the Chicago-based NHRA Full Throttle Series team. They came out of the box strong Monday morning in the first round of eliminations against fellow second-generation star Brandon Bernstein, falling by only .02 seconds in the best race of E1.
                   
This weekend, they return to zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., for the 4^th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. Last year, Zizzo entered Sunday's eliminations sixth, his highest-ever qualifying effort since he began racing in the NHRA in 2003. Only by a mere .005 seconds was Steve Torrence able to earn his way to E2. This year, Zizzo has no plans to leave early.

The Big Go was eventful for TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel team. It saw Zizzo make a strong lap Saturday night to get into the field of 16. It saw the Chicago native's rail burst into flames in the final qualifying round of the weekend. But most importantly, it saw Zizzo, facing fellow second-generation racer Brandon Bernstein in the first round of the 57^th Annual Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, lay down an ET of 3.880 seconds at 313 mph, his fastest pass of the weekend.
 
Bernstein, though, was just .02 seconds faster and earned the E1 victory in what was easily the most competitive drag race of the round in Top Fuel. Additionally, it provided a shot of confidence to the team who worked hard Sunday night to replace their dragster's engine.