MCINTIRE JR. TO RUN LIMITED NHRA NITRO FC SLATE IN 2019

by Tracy Renck    Thu, 2018-11-15 20:26

Mike McIntire Jr. is ready to take his drag racing career to the next level.

McIntire Jr., a longtime Nostalgia nitro Funny Car racer, recently purchased a chassis and Funny Car body from Kalitta Motorsports. The chassis and body were being used by Paul Lee.

“We are piecing together an operation right now and the plan is to run nitro Funny Car,” McIntire said. “We’ve been accumulating parts and the plan is to try to make Norwalk (Ohio) the first event we go to. Hopefully for next year, we are going to try and run about five events and then see how that goes and try and build off that. Maybe get some marketing partners and do more the following year (in 2020).”

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals are scheduled for June 20-23 in 2019.

McIntire’s team is based in Chesterland, Ohio, and the primary business for the team is a family-owned CNC machine company.

“We’re going to probably stick in about a 12-hour radius from the house for our races (in 2019),” McIntire said. “We’re looking at St. Louis, Reading (Pa.), Charlotte (N.C.), and then we will see.”

McIntire can’t wait to get behind the wheel in an NHRA nitro Funny Car.

“This is a dream come true,” McIntire said. “This was always the ultimate goal to run a big show car in some capacity and I like wrenching on it as much as I like driving. I’m excited to learn all the new stuff that is on this thing. The Nostalgia cars are limited when it comes to what you can do with them. There are a lot of things you can control on this big car that I’m really excited to learn and figure out.”

According to McIntire, he will make his first test laps at Norwalk around May or June.

“I want to get some good laps in and get myself comfortable in the car,” McIntire said. “We are only going to go (to NHRA national events) if it is right. We only do it one way and it is going to be the right way.”

The journey to get to this point has been a process for McIntire.

“We ran the IHRA tour from 2010 on until they dissolved and and since then we have been match racing and we did a Funny Car Chaos race and stuff like that.”

McIntire Jr. campaigns the McAttack 1970 Chevy Camaro Funny Car. McIntire’s father, Mike Sr. raced for years in alcohol cars and match racing.

“We stopped racing for a while and then in 2008 we decided to build a car,” Mike Jr. said. “In 2009, we had a fuel altered we ran a couple of match races and then in 2010 IHRA came up with its Prostalgia nitro Funny Car class and we were able to put a body on are altered and do that for a few years. Then, in 2014, the IHRA deal went to a more NHRA-style Heritage rules qualified in elimination style and that’s when I started driving in 2014.”

Mike Jr. is unsure who his crew chief will be for his limited NHRA nitro Funny Car slate in 2019.

“Bobby Lagana is going to help us a lot,” Mike Jr. said. “We are good friends with the Lagana brothers, so we have been talking to them a bunch. Kalitta (Motorsports) has offered what they can. Everybody seems to want us to do well and they want to help.”

 

 

 

 

 

 
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