Former Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Senior Editor and current IHRA announcer Brian Lohnes has met a lot of great personalities in drag racing throughout his involvement.

Lohnes had befriended Jet Funny Car racer Chris Gould, the Maine-based driver who lost his life last weekend at Moroso Motorsports Park.

This is Lohnes’ tribute to Gould.

“Chris was a 100% first class guy with a thirst and passion to entertain fans and run hard. I was not a close friend of Chris or his family. My experiences with him were always based around the race track. He often appeared at New England Dragway, in Epping, NH as part of a match race or testing his car when he made changes or improvements.

Former Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com senior editor and current IHRA announcer Brian Lohnes has met a lot of great personalities in drag racing throughout his involvement.

Lohnes had befriended Jet Funny Car racer Chris Gould, the Maine-based driver who lost his life last weekend at Moroso Motorsports Park.

This is Lohnes’ tribute to Gould.

“Chris was a 100% first class guy with a thirst and passion to entertain fans and run hard. I was not a close friend of Chris or his family. My experiences with him were always based around the race track. He often appeared at New England Dragway, in Epping, NH as part of a match race or testing his car when he made changes or improvements.

“One of the things that will stick with me from meeting and knowing Chris on a racing level is how genuine he was. He loved to do pre-race interviews, something that many racers loathe, because he got to talk directly with the fans and get them excited. He was able to do that because he was genuinely excited about performing for them. During some of our shows at New England I work as the Race Director, and one of our constant areas of concern is finishing the program before our noise curfew forces us to stop.

“On more than one occasion I have had to run down to the staging lanes where Chris was strapped in and getting ready to be pulled onto the track and ask him to shorten up his show to try as to not run over the curfew. Where many others have greeted me with gritted teeth (at best) or profanity (at worst) Chris would nod and through his helmet say ‘no problem.’ That’s the kind of guy he was, willing to do what it took to make the fans happy, keep the track operators happy and put on the best show possible.

“Drag racers in New England, within the jet racing community, and across the country have lost a great brother, racer, friend, and competitor. Chris realized a dream by owning and competing with his own jet car and anyone who was lucky enough to meet him or see him run is better for the experience. Speaking for myself, the next time I hear a burner pop echo from under the timing tower at New England Dragway, I’ll be thinking of Chris. He truly was one of the good guys in the sport of Drag Racing.”