WYATT'S SHOESTRING SUCCESS
Tue, 2009-08-18 22:33
When you're on a shoestring budget like Jack Wyatt's Top Fuel Funny Car team, this win was a much-needed jolt.
This past Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., Wyatt upset Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations.
Wyatt clocked a solid 4.272 second elapsed time at 261.78 mph to easily defeat Force Hood, who slowed to a 6.799-second effort after overpowering the track at 200 feet.
"That was a big win for us," said the 53-year-old Wyatt, who resides in Corydon, Iowa. "We felt like if we followed our game plan and went up there and made a consistent run that she might have to run harder than she wanted to and make a mistake and that's what happened." When you're on a shoestring budget like Jack Wyatt's Top Fuel Funny Car team, this win was a much-needed jolt.
This past Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., Wyatt upset Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations.
Wyatt clocked a solid 4.272 second elapsed time at 261.78 mph to easily defeat Force Hood, who slowed to a 6.799-second effort after overpowering the track at 200 feet.
"That was a big win for us," said the 53-year-old Wyatt, who resides in Corydon, Iowa. "We felt like if we followed our game plan and went up there and made a consistent run that she might have to run harder than she wanted to and make a mistake and that's what happened."
Unfortunately for Wyatt, his huge victory came at an expense. At the end of his run, his Dodge Stratus Funny Car, broke its blower drive.
Wyatt and his crew frantically tried to get his car fixed in between rounds, but they couldn't get to the staging lanes in time for their match-up with John Force.
"I was strapped into the car and was getting ready to roll out of my pits and the NHRA official standing there said the time was up," Wyatt said. "It was pretty frustrating to get that close and not get to make a second-round run. It would've been nice to give the fans at the race and the people watching on TV a show, but I don't make the rules and I knew the rules when I got to the race."
Despite having his day end abruptly, Wyatt was still happy about what his team was able to accomplish in only its second NHRA national event of the season. Wyatt also ran at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., May 29-31, ironically losing to Force Hood in the opening round.
Wyatt appeared to be on his way to defeating Force Hood at Topeka, but saw that opportunity vanish when his parachute deployed at 400 feet.
"Beating Ashley at Brainerd was a payback for what happened to us at Topeka," Wyatt said. "That win at Brainerd also was a real boost for our team. This is a brand-new car and we had only made 7 or 8 runs with it before that race against Ashley, so to get that win was huge."
Up next for Wyatt is a match racing event at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 56th annual World Series of Drag Racing Aug. 28-29 at Cordova (Ill.) Dragway Park. Wyatt, along with NHRA world champion brothers, Cruz and Tony Pedregon and Tim Wilkerson will make up the four-car Top Fuel Funny Car field.
"I'm not sure who I'm going to face in my first run, but in the second run, the two quickest and two slower cars will match up," Wyatt said. "I'm really looking forward to this event."
Wyatt also is going to another match race on Sept. 12 at the 5th annual Funny Car Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich.
"When we go to match races, we just try to sell apparel and make a few bucks, so we can pay the bills and hopefully get to a national event," Wyatt said. "With no (sponsorship) backing, we're trying to go to the NHRA national events at Dallas (Sept. 24-27) and Memphis (Oct. 2-4), but that depends on the car count at those races and what kind of money we have."
Prior to this year, Wyatt had been a standout competitor in the IHRA's Top Fuel Funny Car class the past several seasons.
"When IHRA dumped its Top Fuel Funny Car class this season, it made things kind of tough on us," Wyatt said. "We're just doing the best that we can to find a way to keep racing."
This past Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., Wyatt upset Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations.
Wyatt clocked a solid 4.272 second elapsed time at 261.78 mph to easily defeat Force Hood, who slowed to a 6.799-second effort after overpowering the track at 200 feet.
"That was a big win for us," said the 53-year-old Wyatt, who resides in Corydon, Iowa. "We felt like if we followed our game plan and went up there and made a consistent run that she might have to run harder than she wanted to and make a mistake and that's what happened." When you're on a shoestring budget like Jack Wyatt's Top Fuel Funny Car team, this win was a much-needed jolt.
This past Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., Wyatt upset Ashley Force Hood in the first round of eliminations.
Wyatt clocked a solid 4.272 second elapsed time at 261.78 mph to easily defeat Force Hood, who slowed to a 6.799-second effort after overpowering the track at 200 feet.
"That was a big win for us," said the 53-year-old Wyatt, who resides in Corydon, Iowa. "We felt like if we followed our game plan and went up there and made a consistent run that she might have to run harder than she wanted to and make a mistake and that's what happened."
Unfortunately for Wyatt, his huge victory came at an expense. At the end of his run, his Dodge Stratus Funny Car, broke its blower drive.
Wyatt and his crew frantically tried to get his car fixed in between rounds, but they couldn't get to the staging lanes in time for their match-up with John Force.
"I was strapped into the car and was getting ready to roll out of my pits and the NHRA official standing there said the time was up," Wyatt said. "It was pretty frustrating to get that close and not get to make a second-round run. It would've been nice to give the fans at the race and the people watching on TV a show, but I don't make the rules and I knew the rules when I got to the race."
Despite having his day end abruptly, Wyatt was still happy about what his team was able to accomplish in only its second NHRA national event of the season. Wyatt also ran at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., May 29-31, ironically losing to Force Hood in the opening round.
Wyatt appeared to be on his way to defeating Force Hood at Topeka, but saw that opportunity vanish when his parachute deployed at 400 feet.
"Beating Ashley at Brainerd was a payback for what happened to us at Topeka," Wyatt said. "That win at Brainerd also was a real boost for our team. This is a brand-new car and we had only made 7 or 8 runs with it before that race against Ashley, so to get that win was huge."
Up next for Wyatt is a match racing event at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 56th annual World Series of Drag Racing Aug. 28-29 at Cordova (Ill.) Dragway Park. Wyatt, along with NHRA world champion brothers, Cruz and Tony Pedregon and Tim Wilkerson will make up the four-car Top Fuel Funny Car field.
"I'm not sure who I'm going to face in my first run, but in the second run, the two quickest and two slower cars will match up," Wyatt said. "I'm really looking forward to this event."
Wyatt also is going to another match race on Sept. 12 at the 5th annual Funny Car Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich.
"When we go to match races, we just try to sell apparel and make a few bucks, so we can pay the bills and hopefully get to a national event," Wyatt said. "With no (sponsorship) backing, we're trying to go to the NHRA national events at Dallas (Sept. 24-27) and Memphis (Oct. 2-4), but that depends on the car count at those races and what kind of money we have."
Prior to this year, Wyatt had been a standout competitor in the IHRA's Top Fuel Funny Car class the past several seasons.
"When IHRA dumped its Top Fuel Funny Car class this season, it made things kind of tough on us," Wyatt said. "We're just doing the best that we can to find a way to keep racing."
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