Just in case you’ve never heard the word “grunt” used in conjunction with drag racing – and we’re not talking about someone making guttural noises – it’s a word used to describe the often faceless front line warriors of the Army and Marines.  They’re the rifle-carriers, the guys asked to take that hill, or hold that beach or capture that airport.  When the battle’s been won it’s the generals who take the bows, while the grunts just settle back to clean their gear and get ready for another assault.

Part 1 Of An On-going Series

Just in case you’ve never heard the word “grunt” used in conjunction with drag racing – and we’re not talking about someone making guttural noises – it’s a word used to describe the often faceless front line warriors of the Army and Marines.  They’re the rifle-carriers, the guys asked to take that hill, or hold that beach or capture that airport.  When the battle’s been won it’s the generals who take the bows, while the grunts just settle back to clean their gear and get ready for another assault.

Drag racing’s grunts are the hundreds of faceless and nameless men and women who make professional drag racing happen.  The only time you’re likely to see their faces is in the winners circle, but you’re certainly not going to know their names – unless you follow this series, which we hope to continue at future races, finally shining the spotlight on those who may very well deserve it the most.

It’s almost ironic in a way.  You probably know almost every driver’s face well enough to pick it out of a crowd.  But, when it comes to crew chiefs sure, you know who Austin Coil is, or Alan Johnson, and maybe you know Ed McCulloch, but do you know the guy’s name who does the clutch on Larry Dixon’s car?  Ever heard of the bottom end guy on Terry Haddock’s team?

One of the “problems” with today’s racing is the proliferation of team shirt sales.  While we definitely dig the threads, you can never be sure if the guy walking towards you in the pits is really a crew member for Brandon Bernstein, or just a fan from Tuscaloosa.  Kinda makes you hate to stop the guy and ask some dumb question, doesn’t it?  We’re going to try and change that in the months ahead, and while we know we’ll never be able to cover the whole army of workers in professional drag racing, we’ll at least introduce you to some of them.  The men and women to be featured in this and future editions of “Grunts” may be anything from an obscure crew chief to the guy who drives Don Schumacher’s hospitality rig.  Stick around and meet the people who really make our sport work – or should we say, meet the people who actually do the work!


TIM KULUNGIAN, 33, is the largely unknown crew chief for Steve Johnson’s Pro Stock Suzuki.  “I’m responsible for tuning the bike,” he told Attitude Apparel’s CompetitionPlus.com.  “I try to make sure we’ve got a bike that’s capable of going down the track.  I also handle any special projects we have going on, things like that.”  Kulungian reached this point by “putting in a lot of long hours I’ll never be able to get back, but I’m not sorry.  I’m not even sure why I’m doing it today.”

When we suggested that he must be taking home a salary of $350,000 per year his laughter could be heard two pits stalls over.  “Man, if I was making money like that I’d subcontract the job to someone else and I’d be sitting on the beach!”

JOHN DE PHILLIPS hails from Totowa, New Jersey,  The 49-year-old is the car chief for Morgan Lucas Racing’s Geico-backed Top Fuel dragster.  DePhillips is the man responsible for making sure the car is ready to run when it heads to the staging lanes.  He personally checks every nut and bolt on the car before it moves an inch, this after the mechanics working with him have already been over everything.  At better than 300 mph, the more people checking things, the better.  It goes deeper than that.  “I’m the one who orders all the parts,” he says.  “I also take care of all the electronics on the car.  It’s a big job with a lot of responsibility.”  DePhillips got his start with Tony Bartone’s alcohol Funny Car in 1992 and spent the next 18 years working his way up.  “I’ve loved every minute of it,” he says.  “There are excellent people out here.  It’s like one big family, and I enjoy that.  The traveling gets a little old by the end of the year, but all in all it’s been a good 18-year ride.”

COLLIN HA’O is a native Hawaiian now living in Seattle.  The 36-year-old is the bottom end guy on Jim Dunn’s Funny Car.  “I’m the guy on his back changing the rack of rods and pistons,” he says with a grin.  A 10-year veteran of drag racing, working with the Dunn family operation is very much part time, so Ha’o does it for fun and the sense of accomplishment he gets when the car goes from A to B without spitting parts on the ground.  “The one thing that’s bad about this,” he acknowledges, “is that you don’t get to see a lot of cars run.  We’re so busy working on this car between rounds and stuff that there’s no chance of becoming a spectator.  So, you have to get your fun out of the actual work, and getting the job done right.”

 

 

JOSH ROBINSON had an “in” when it came to getting a job on Mike Edwards’ Pro Stock crew.  Mike’s his uncle.  (Pardon our interrupting our own story, but Part 1 of this series includes four individuals.  Two of them weren’t even sure of their own ages, including Robinson, who essentially asked us if he was 28!  Go figure!)  Robinson, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, has been turning wrenches for Edwards for 9 years.  “I do the clutch and transmissions,” he told us.  “I came on the West Coast Swing when I was 15, and I followed his career my whole life.  There’s a lot of work to do.  We’re always testing when we’re not actually at a race, and when we’re in the shop the work just never ends.  There’s always maintenance work to be done on the truck and trailer, and there’re tons of projects going on all the time.  We’re going to be testing almost non-stop for the next two weeks, but it’s all good.”