Dickie Venables knows what it’s like to be an NHRA world championship crew chief.

Venables was tuning Tony Pedregon’s Funny Car when he captured the 2007 NHRA nitro Funny Car world championship.

After bouncing around to numerous NHRA teams the last several years, Venables had his doubts about ever regaining that championship feeling again.

 Dickie Venables knows what it’s like to be an NHRA world championship crew chief.

Venables was tuning Tony Pedregon’s Funny Car when he captured the 2007 NHRA nitro Funny Car world championship.

After bouncing around to numerous NHRA teams the last several years, Venables had his doubts about ever regaining that championship feeling again.

“There are a lot of good crew chiefs out there that really do not have jobs right now,” Venables said. “That thought crossed my mind, but I always believed sooner or later I would find the right fit.”

Venables has revived his career this season while working as the crew chief on Don Schumacher Racing’s nitro Funny Car driven by Matt Hagan.

Hagan, the 2011 world champion, has won two races this season, including the Summernationals Sunday at Englishtown, N.J. Hagan is first in the point standings, 44 points in front of his DSR teammate Johnny Gray.

“I really feel like I have found a home,” Venables said. “I feel like I did back when I was with Tony (Pedregon) winning races, and this is the first time I felt that way since then for sure. They are letting me do my job and doing what I know how to do and it is all working out.

“I just feel like we are in the groove. The people who are involved is what it’s all about, and Matt is doing a phenomenal job behind the wheel. It is just a hard combination to beat right now. We have a great group of guys and Don gives us the resources to get the job done.”

This is actually Venables’ second stint at DSR, as he served as an assistant crew chief to Rob Wendland, Johnny Gray’s Funny Car crew chief, from July of 2011 to the end of that season.

Since his first stop at DSR, Venables was with John Force Racing and then last season he joined Bob Tasca’s nitro Funny Car team and he served as Tasca’s crew chief from the fall Las Vegas race (March 30-April 1) until before the third qualifying session of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Sept. 1 when he and Tasca mutually parted ways.

Venables has found success with Hagan in surprisingly quick fashion.

“It certainly wasn’t the first race (the Winternationals Feb. 14-17),” Venables said with a laugh. “We felt like we were doing good just to get up to the starting line. But, I would say after the Phoenix race (Feb. 24) I saw what this meant to Matt. He was telling me how down everybody was last year and I didn’t live that because I wasn’t here. I have had several people tell me how the morale of the team has just been uplifted.” 

Hagan lost in the finals at Phoenix to his DSR teammate Ron Capps and then he reached the winners circle at the Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte, N.C., on April 21. Hagan finished 11th in the points last season and did not win a race.

“I didn’t go in there (to DSR) until the week before Pomona (the Winternationals),” Venables said. “We just all put our heads down and worked hard. There really wasn’t anything I could say. I just wanted us to do the best we could and see how the cards fell.”

A crew chief position came open at DSR for Hagan’s team when Tommy DeLago rejoined Kalitta Motorsports in late November as the crew chief for the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Alexis DeJoria.

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