FORD ENGINEER SURPRISED WITH DEDICATION
NHRA Funny Car racer suprisingly rewarded Ford engineer with Winternationals trophy
Instead, he remained adamantly dedicated to protecting NHRA POWERade Funny Car drivers from the same harmonics issue that killed Eric Medlen last March.
Singh helped the John Force Racing team re-design its chassis for the 2008 season, and has been instrumental in developing additional safety features for all the nitro Funny Cars.
Because of the relentless dedication Singh gave to the project, JFR driver Robert Hight deemed it necessary to reward the behind-the-scenes player.
Hight surprised many by giving his winning trophy to Singh. The most surprised was the engineer himself.
Instead, he remained adamantly dedicated to protecting NHRA POWERade Funny Car drivers from the same harmonics issue that killed Eric Medlen last March.
Singh helped the John Force Racing team re-design its chassis for the 2008 season, and has been instrumental in developing additional safety features for all the nitro Funny Cars.
Because of the relentless dedication Singh gave to the project, JFR driver Robert Hight deemed it necessary to reward the behind-the-scenes player.
Hight surprised many by giving his winning trophy to Singh. The most surprised was the engineer himself.
It was a complete surprise. I think all the crew chiefs at John Force Racing had this agreement that the first trophy, whoever won, would go to our department here at Ford Racing because of the help we provided. After I got the trophy, I went back to the Force trailer, and everybody there, including all the crew chiefs, was congratulating me. So, I think they were all in on it. They just didn’t tell me. I was shocked, and completely humbled by it. - Ford Racing Engineer Niranjan Singh
Such a move speaks volumes about the way the JFR operation feels about the involvement of the Ford engineers and being handed the trophy creates an incredible feeling according to Singh.
“Because of the hectic pace in racing, they sometimes just don’t get the time – although they tell me from time to time the appreciation that they have for Ford Racing helping them,” explained Singh. “I sent a note back, saying, ‘Thanks,’ but I’m still surprised by what they did for us. They sent a note back saying how much they appreciated Ford Racing helping them. Yes, it was a shock for sure. What can I say? The thing is, when we started re-designing the chassis, John Medlen, and to a certain extent, Austin Coil, were completely driving the design, and I was kind of helping them along. Most of the ideas came from John Medlen. He’s the safety point man for the Force guys. If anything, he should keep the trophy.”
Make no bones about it; Singh is so enamored with the trophy that he’s proudly keeping the award at his house. There are some plans for the trophy, though.
“Pat DiMarco [Ford Racing Technology engineer] is setting up a get-together in Dearborn [Mich.] for some sort of celebration, I think,” Singh added. “So, I will bring in the trophy for that.”
