Former Jet Dragster pilot Jesse Harris plans to race Top Fuel in 2010.

Harris, of Rome, NY, will drive the Dote Racing Top Fuel dragster in at least five races next season.

“I’m ecstatic,” a jubilant Harris told CompetitionPlus.com. “This is what I’ve been working night and day for – for the last three years. My dream, since 6, was to drive one of these things.”

The Dote family, Len, Mike and Connie, decided they wanted to run a Top Fuel team in 2010 and selected Harris as not only their driver but manager as well.

Former Jet Dragster pilot Jesse Harris plans to race Top Fuel in 2010.

Harris, of Rome, NY, will drive the Dote Racing Top Fuel dragster in at least five races next season.

“I’m ecstatic,” a jubilant Harris told CompetitionPlus.com. “This is what I’ve been working night and day for – for the last three years. My dream, since 6, was to drive one of these things.”

The Dote family, Len, Mike and Connie, decided they wanted to run a Top Fuel team in 2010 and selected Harris as not only their driver but manager as well.

“Not only do I get to drive but I also get to see firsthand what goes on behind the scenes with managing a Top Fuel operation. I’ve always dreamed that one day I would own and manage my own team.”

For the Dotes, Harris makes for a perfect match.

“They’ve been in drag racing for thirty years and always wanted to do something bigger and better,” Harris explained. “They wanted to do it this year, so they contacted me. I’ve known them for a while. They knew what I wanted to do, so we literally sat down and in a four hour conversation hammered out all of the details.”

The Dotes purchased a Top Fuel dragster from Doug Foley and a former hauler used by Don Skuza.

The current plan is to run five dates, starting with Gainesville and then making stops in Charlotte, Norwalk, Englishtown and Reading.

“I don’t have any more sponsorship dollars at this time than to run those five races,” Harris said. “They made the investment of purchasing the equipment and the tools and I brought in the sponsorship dollars. We’re working on bringing in some additional funds. Our ultimate goal is to run 24 races.”

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