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David Baca Uncensored...
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Fuel's oldest rookie has made quite an impressive first impression
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By Bobby Bennett Photos by Roger Richards |
Sometimes I purposely look for a driver that can stir up controversy. Other times I look for an individual that exerts the kind of energy that makes people gravitate towards them. Case in point, I remember witnessing Top Fuel rookie David Baca leaping and jumping around at the finish line following a good run. I don’t know what it was but the interview that he gave that made my mind up quick. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this second-generation Top Fuel racer was the non-politically correct kind of individual that has no shame in calling a spade a spade. The fact that this guy was in the 40-something age group, yet exhibiting the energetic prowess to leap around like a teenager with no shame whatsoever, made it clear that this guy was the kind of individual that I needed to write about. Baca, who has followed in the footsteps of his father Dennis Baca, a former Top Fuel standout, was the perfect guy to write about.
Baca’s publicist Mickey Schultz introduced us shortly after a post-qualifying press conference in Indianapolis. Baca was very cordial and seemed to be in excellent spirits. Not that I expected any different. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Indy low qualifier in a bad mood. I waded with Baca through the large crowd en route to his pit area, and not a word was exchanged. Immediately, I thought to myself that this was one of those guys that gets to the point, answers the questions and doesn’t have the least bit of interest in helping a writer pad their word count. I was thinking that the same guy that jumped around on television certainly was not worthy of a Kurt Johnson-type interview. Not that Kurt is bad, he just gets to the point without a lot of idle chatter. “How long is this going to take?” He asked. When I responded that it would take maybe 30 – 45 minutes, he nodded approval. I then found out immediately how he kept his youthful exuberance. Baca added, “The reason I ask is because my masseuse is going to be here anytime, so we’ll just have to work through that.” I committed the cardinal sin of a writer. I judged the book by the cover solely on the basis of our silent walk to his transporter.
The one thing I felt might make a good opening topic is to hit on the idea whether age puts him at a disadvantage against the younger drivers. I figured that Baca could handle a few loaded questions and there’s no way in the world that he would sugarcoat. Baca never took offense to the inquiry by answering, “Nothing bothers me and I am in as good of shape as anyone out there. I can probably outrun ya, outlift ya, outbike ya or out**** ya. I work out four or five days a week and I take care of myself.” Baca proudly rolled off famous drag racing offspring that he grew up with. Among the names, Scott Kalitta, Craig LaHaie and John Muldowney, are the ones he proudly lists as growing up buddies. When it came time to race, Baca father had already stepped far from racing. “When my old man was through racing, he told me to go get a job. It took me a while to make it back out here, but I did.”
Baca gets a serious look on his face as he describes how his dad is supportive of his endeavors now despite his lack of presence in the day-to-day activities. “My father has nothing to do with my racing operation now.
Some people might wonder about it. I can’t tell you why he
isn’t.”
Baca says that his father’s absence doesn’t bother him, but clearly one can see that the involvement of Connie Kalitta with Scott and nephew Doug bothers him somewhat. He added, “It’s nothing I can’t overcome.” Baca will be the first to admit that his straight-forwardness has been something that he considers to be a positive attribute. He added that it has helped more than it has hurt. “I guess it has a lot to do with my Latin heritage. I guess I’m the Spanish version of (Gary) Scelzi, if you cut off hands off we couldn’t talk. I get emotional. I can get hot-headed sometimes. You just have to know when to shut-up. It all goes back to determination. Tell me I can’t do something and I will go to the end of the earth to prove you wrong until I get it right. “I’m living a dream. There’s no doubt. I have gained a lot of fans and sold a lot of merchandise. I don’t know if it’s because we are new or what.”
Clearly Baca is a self-confident individual, a trait that many of today’s youth sorely lacks. One has to wonder if Baca feels that the kids of today lack the “old school” mentality that has propelled his team into the upper-echelon of drag racing competition. He feels that kind of thinking is something that is not limited to racing. “They want to hang around on the computer instead of going
out and playing the stick and ball sports. They don’t to go
out and do anything. They want the quick fix. They want it now.
They don’t want to go out and work hard.”
Baca’s hard work ethic and the subsequent Top Ten ranking in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel points is something that he came to expect. Again, he summons his self-confidence to prove his point. “I’m not surprised, matter-of-fact,” Baca said. “Anytime I put my faith in doing something, I do it well. I’ve heard people call me the oldest rookie – the last one to finally migrate to Top Fuel. The fact of the matter is that Baca has raced since the late-1980s in the Top Alcohol Dragster division. He might have made the trip to Top Fuel much sooner but chose instead to invest the time coaching his kids in stick and ball sports. Baca admitted that when the kids stopped listening to his coaching expertise is when he returned to the quarter-mile. Baca teamed with Ray Strosser to campaign an A/Fuel Dragster complete with Allen Johnson Oldsmobile powerplant. That led him to cross paths with Rick Henkelman. “I was going to buy a motor from him one day and one of his crewmen piped up and said, ‘Don’t sell him a motor,” Baca says with a laugh. “Needless to say I took their 5.50 tune-up and set the world record in the 5.20s. We also got the speed mark. ”
The speed record fell in March to Tony Bartone at Gainesville. Baca proudly quipped, “But we held it for nearly three years.” Baca says it’s that kind of dedication that has made him a player in drag racing and back at home with his new home carpet, tile and linoleum business. “Drag racing provides me with another kind of focus,” Baca adds. “It takes me away from the business. I’ve been at it for twenty years and I have some good people that can run it while I’m gone. I’m very fortunate in that aspect. But when it comes to funding, that’s another story.” Baca points out that issue should be resolved soon.
Rumors surfaced last year about the possibility of a two-car team with Cory McClenathan, but the necessary funding never came through. The Internet message boards were abuzz with rumors of a feud with Cory Mac over the driver’s seat on the team’s primary car. Baca replaced McClenathan for this season. McClenathan eventually landed a ride on Darrell Gwynn’s team. Baca holds tightly to the memories that he accrued through friendship with McClenathan dating back to their alcohol days. Two years ago, Baca and Henkelman made the calculated decision to go Top Fuel racing for at least nine races. “I got tired of being parked in the dirt and really getting shit on,” Baca added. “I just didn’t think it was good for us. Rick set the deal up and we went down and purchased the (Joe) Gibbs operation. I was going to drive it, but we decided that Cory might give us the better marketing opportunity.” Baca felt that was the decision because the team could gain experience and in the meantime, he could seek out funding for a second car. It just didn’t work out that way. “Our deal was always that Cory would drive the first year
and I would take over the second,” explains Baca. “I
would like to think that Cory thanks me because at the time, he
didn’t have anything going on. He got a ride. We finished
fifth in the season. I’ll be honest, if I had the money, I’d
have Cory back in a moment.”
Baca says that there were never any hard feelings, contrary to popular belief. “There’s always that bit of tension for a little while,” Baca says. “We are way beyond that. He tested my car in Topeka. Sponsors who were nurture have a decision to make as to which driver they are going to go with. Do they go with the team owner? Or, do they go with the driver that they had the previous year? They elected to go with the driver. Did it cause some problems? Maybe…but I was a big boy and got over it. I started over. This program is going to be around for a while.” With the late start in Top Fuel, I couldn’t resist asking Baca if he planned to race until he gets the same age as Garlits. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he answers. “Let’s look at it this way. I believe Kenny Bernstein still has a few more competitive years left. That gives me a good fifteen years or better. Maybe at that time I might step aside and let my kid take over. It just all depends on how the marketing partnerships go. In seeing the racers that his dad competed against, I wondered
if Baca might start feeling a bit sentimental at their retirements.
“Drag racing is a sport that is cyclical,” Baca contends. “It’s just evolution. You can’t change that. I grew up around racers like Garlits, Shirley Muldowney and Don Prudhomme since I was a wee buck. I can remember back to the time that Prudhomme and Brandt didn’t have anyone to help them with their Funny Car. I used to ride in the Funny car when they were towing it. “I can remember Garlits when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I remember pleading once to him that my dad wasn’t ready and to please wait on him. Garlits told me not to worry because they would not run the race without him. I am very fortunate to have gotten to know those racers.” As the masseuse arrived, I saw the end of our conversation was at hand and I lobbed one last question. “I guess it’s safe to say that you aren’t easily intimidated?” Baca, without a hesitation, responded, “Bring your shitbox
to the line and let’s go.”
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