When you look at a cross-section of today's fuel classes, so many of the people we consider to be the "stars" of today got their start in the alcohol classes. World Champ drivers such as Joe Amato, Gary Scelzi, Blaine Johnson, and tuners Dale Armstrong, Tim Richards, Dave Settles and more all worked their way up through the alcohol ranks. Former Federal Mogul Dragster driver Darrell Russell has the talent to fit the shoe, and is patiently waiting for the right ride to come along to prove it.

Like so many alcohol racers, Russell's first ride was a Super Comp dragster. Russell raced the car with his family in the late Eighties until 1991.

"The first racecar I ever had was a Super Comp dragster we bought back in 1987," said Russell. "We bought the car from an individual in Oklahoma. The car was really like science fiction to us, we didn't know anything about throttle-stops, delay boxes or anything like that. We pretty much started from ground zero."

Slowly but surely, the Russell family got the hang of the car bracket racing at local Houston tracks before moving up into Super Comp in Division 4.

"We went to local races a couple of weekends to try to get things figured out," explained Russell. "We eventually started to get a little bit more comfortable with it. We started going to more bracket races on Wednesday and Saturday night. From there we moved up into Super Comp at the NHRA level, and started running at National and Divisional events. But our ultimate goal was always to step up into Top Alcohol Dragster. We knew the Super Comp dragster was just a stepping-stone for us. When we finally got to a certain point, we knew it was time to move up."

The Russell family, led by his father Burnell, started making steps towards the Top Alcohol Dragster category at the end of 1990 with the advice of former World Champion Tom Conway.

Russell said, "My dad initiated the majority of the move. In 1990, we went to the Division 4 Championship Banquet. My dad went and had a conversation with Tom Conway, and basically told him that if he ever wanted to sell a car, we wanted to move up. About a week later, Tom called my dad, and they started making a deal."

"My parents have played a huge role in getting us where we are, they have always been behind us 100%"

The deal with Conway set the stage for his debut in the middle of '91. Once Conway had his new car, the Russell family could pick up his old car and start racing.

"When we bought the car from Conway, he was having another car built, so had to run the car he was going to sell to us for another couple of months until his was ready to go," explained Russell. "When we got the car, it wasn't until the middle of the season."

"Part of the deal was for us to sit down with Tom and learn how to work on the car, for my brother Chris to learn how to tune it, and for me to learn how to drive. He kind of showed us the ins and outs of the alcohol cars. So, when he got his new car, we were able to get our start."

The Russell family debuted the car in Division 4 competition, but went out in the first round of their first race. Not discouraged, they moved on to the Division 2 race in Memphis, Tenn., and picked up their first win in only their second race.

"We went to our first race in May or June of '91 and went out in the first round," said Russell. "A couple of weeks later we went to a Division race in Memphis, Tennessee and won that race by beating the late Bill Barney in the finals. We were pretty confident about ourselves, and thought maybe we had found our niche, and was getting in the groove with the alcohol cars.

"1991 started a long, long dry spell for us," laughed Russell. "It was a huge learning curve, and a lot of things changed. During that time, my brother Chris really started to get involved in trying to learn how to tune, and I was really trying to learn how to drive. It took us four years to learn how to go out there and really qualify the car well and start winning races. 1994 was when everything started turning around for us."

Chris added, "When we started out we had Charlie Durel tuning for us. We were hurting a lot of parts, and he was on the payroll. My dad came up to me after a few races and told me we couldn't keep paying him to tear up stuff, and we were going to have to let him go. I asked him who was going to tune the car, and he looked at me, and told me 'you are.'"

In '94 the Russells put together an impressive string of wins to bring home their first of four Division 4 Championships. What made the Division Championship sweeter is the fact they did it the same year Tom Conway won his second World Championship, but didn't win Division 4.

"Tom came back in the picture and kind of helped us get on our feet," Chris continued. "He was definitely instrumental in getting us going, there's no doubt about it. But where we started getting competitive, and I really learned as a tuner was when we broke away from Tom. When he was with us I was ask him if we should try something, and most of the time his answer was simply, 'that won't work.' I told Darrell that we were never going to learn what did and didn't work like that. If we made a mistake, and something didn't work, at least we knew why, and if it did, we also knew why. So we started making the calls on our own, and learned a lot. Tom stopped helping us in '94, we paid our dues in '95, but in '96 we won six races that year and finished third in the country."

Indeed, '96 was one of the best years of Russell's career. He won four divisional race on his way to his second Division 4 Championship, and two nationals to finish third overall. In addition, he won the Federal Mogul All-Star race, and was named Division 4 Driver of the Year.

"Things really started to come into form in '96," Darrell stated. "I think that is when I really started coming on the top of my game driving, and Chris was getting comfortable in tuning. Things just started rolling well that year."

Russell stayed true to form in '97, finishing No. 2 in Division 4 points, and winning two national events on his way to an eighth place national finish. One of those nationals was the U.S. Nationals, and what he feels is the highlight of his career. He also was named Division 4 Driver of the Year for a second straight year.

"The biggest high point of my career was in '97 when we won Indy," Russell said. "That was the biggest win of all."

The following season, Russell once again made a hard run for the World Championship by virtue of six wins, four divisional and two national. He finished third nationally, and won his third Division 4 Championship. For the third year in a row, he was named Division 4 Driver of the Year, and was a team finalist in the Car Craft All-Star Drag Racing Team. He also acquired Arco Pipeline as a major sponsor

Unfortunately, the high cost and maintenance of running a competitive Federal Mogul Dragster team was taking its toll on the Russell's team. The Russells decided to put their operation up for sale at the end of the '98 season. That is when Brad McWilliams entered the picture. McWilliams bought the Russell's entire operation, and hired Darrell to drive, and Chris to tune.

Last year, the McWilliams/Russell/Arco Pipeline team won their fourth Division 4 Championship. They finished 14th overall on a very limited schedule. Unfortunately, again, the high costs of racing in the class took their toll, and the Russells decided to get out of alcohol racing.

"There were a number of factors that lead to us getting out," explained Chris. "At the end of '98 we decided that we were pretty much done. We had the Arco sponsorship, and a lot of it was the way NHRA would treat us. Like for instance, we had a couple of Arco reps at a race, and NHRA would cancel our session, and the reps couldn't come back. Parking us in the mud, etc. The terrible treatment we got from the NHRA was one of the reasons. Another one was the A/Fuel issue. We even went so far as to consider switching over. No sooner than we made the decision to change in '99, NHRA had already changed the rules. Money was also a big factor. We were spending a quarter of a million dollars a year to run this thing, and since my dad would never tell us no, Darrell and myself had to make the decision to quit. It just wasn't worth it anymore."

"We still had the Arco deal for '99, and we hit a deal with Brad McWilliams to buy the team and run the car. We ran ten races, and won the Division again. We decided against returning for 2000 though."

However, Darrell's career is far from over. He has set his sights on another goal: running top fuel.

Chris said, "Ever since we quit alcohol racing, we have spent a lot of time and money trying to find a sponsor to field our own Top Fuel team. Our ultimate goal is to have our own team. We have actually made it a long way into a couple of deals only to have them fall through at the last minute. We still continue to pursue looking for sponsors to go racing. Recently we have considered the option of going to drive for already established teams. We want to do whatever we can to get Darrell in a fuel car. We don't want to go back alcohol racing, we want to go at the professional level."

"When you look at Darrell, you can see he has what it takes. He has everything these guys are looking for. When you look at Larry Dixon, Ron Capps, Tony Schumacher, Darrell fits the bolt. I know that Darrell can drive with the best of those guys. What we want to bring to the table if we can't find our own funding is that Darrell is potentially one of the best future professional drivers out there."

"Hopefully an owner will see his brother as a valuable asset as well, in a position to eventually learn how to tune a fuel car. I think I can do it. I don't want my failure of finding a sponsor to keep Darrell from getting a ride." Chris added.

"The cream always rises to the top" as the old saying goes, and before they quit alcohol racing, they were the cream of the FMD field. Considering what the Russell team has done, and where they have come from, they have the tools to be successful in the Top Fuel ranks, and it seems that it will only be a matter of time before Russell lands a ride.