TASCA THE STUDENT RETURNS AS TASCA THE TEACHER

CLASS OF 1995 - Roy Hill Drag Racing School Class of 1995 [left to right] Guest instructor Robert Patrick and students Bob Tasca III and CompetitionPlus.com Editor Bobby BennettBob Tasca III is an accomplished drag racer with national event victories to his credit and a handful of No. 1 qualifying efforts. The driver of the Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Cobra Mustang has mastered the art of driving a fuel Funny car at four seconds at well over 300 miles per hour.

How did the driver, from one of the more famous drag racing families, learn how to drive?

Tasca went to school.

In two weeks, one of the more celebrated students of Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School will return as an instructor. Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School will be conducting a special two-day class featuring the Cobra Jet vehicles on Oct. 16 and 17 at zMax Dragway.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” said Patrick. “I remember being one of Roy’s students and we had drivers come in. I remember Larry Dixon and Robert Patrick came into one class. I was just learning how to drive, so whenever I can I give back and help Roy.”

Hill’s drag racing school became the official drag racing school for Ford Racing and as part of the alliance schools new Cobra Jet owners on the nuances of racing the special edition Super Stock and Stock vehicles.

Making a living in drag racing, Tasca is quick to point out his involvement with the school is no simple fan interaction experience.

“This is serious stuff,” explained Tasca. “These aren’t fake race cars. These are real race cars with real consequences.  You get to see people, how they perform under pressure. It’s always fun for me to see how people progress.”

“We live in a 60 mile per hour world and that’s what it is, I mean, that’s your whole life. But when you drop somebody in a car that can go 60 miles an hour in under a second, you know that speeds your brain up, as Roy Hill would say, and people progress at different rates, but by the end of the school, I know everyone’s leaving with a smile on their face and a real sense of self-satisfaction, to be able to accomplish something maybe was very intimidating at first.”

Even though he’s an instructor this time, Tasca readily admits he’s always a student of the game. Recently he added a new experience to his extensive resume thanks to his association with Hill.

Tasca drove a dragster.

“I’ve been in dragsters, doing burnouts and stuff, but never took one to the finish line,” admitted Tasca.

One time, while an observer at a Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School, an opportunity presented itself.

“There were some kids having some trouble getting the car down the track and [Roy] said ‘Hey Tasca, you ever drive one of these before?’ I said no, and he goes ‘Well that’s fine, get in it and take it down.’ So I jumped in that thing, I didn’t know what to expect, and I just remember being like on the tip of a needle, it was unbelievable.”

Tasca continued, “It was like an out of body experience. I could see, I could really see going down the racetrack, you know, peripheral vision, and it was a lot of fun. Got wind blowing on my face, which I never had that sense before, you know, even though you wear a helmet, it’s a different feeling than being inside a Funny Car.”

Tasca, in his prior days of running both alcohol and fuel Funny Cars was a licensed Super Gas and Pro Stock driver. Driving the dragster only compounds his belief of being a good teacher requires a willingness to learn.

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