Rust-Oleum Dragster driver T.J. Zizzo has coined a phrase for the racers like him who compete on a part-time basis and know how to go rounds.

“I call us ‘super part-timers.’ Super part-time is really what we are,” he said. “We led the charge in competitive part-time teams. Now I’m seeing it more and more, where there’s a handful of guys who go out on a part-time basis but you count ’em in when they’re on the entry list.

“And I take great pride in probably our team being able to get fulltime team members fired from their position – because ‘How can these Zizzos come in here on part-time basis, and guess what? They outqualify us. That’s not right. I’m paying you guys full-time salaries to make our team the best it can be, and these super part-time guys come in here and [outshine us].’ We take pride in stuff like that,” Zizzo said.

One of the reasons his team is competitive, he said, is that he has “had the same people on our team for nearly 20 years. To be able to go out and compete with the best of the best, the Doug Kalittas of the world, the Steve Torrences of the world, and have their respect, is pretty bad-ass. That is like playing minor-league baseball and being able to go to the majors whenever the heck you want.”

He has a choice, an all-American concept, rather than being controlled by a system. And that’s unique.

“I love it. And there was a time when I didn’t have a choice. We, as a collective team, all make choices about what we want to do and where we want to go. That’s a wonderful situation. I still have to make sure all our marketing partners are happy with us and what we’re doing. Then we can go out and kick some ass,” Zizzo said. “I think since 2015, we’ve gone to events and qualified in the top half of the field or right there and expected to win first round, race in and race out. I’m not saying it’s going to happen at Brainerd, but the chances are pretty good.”

Zizzo got off to an impressive start at Brainerd in his first appearance of the year, qualifying in the provisional first half of the field with a 3.861-second elapsed time at 317.87 mph. Especially for sitting out the past 10 months, he had a decent reaction time, .089 of a second.

“We have a crosswind, so they just made it easy for me and went straight down the groove. No issues whatsoever,” Zizzo said following the pass. “I brought ’er a little right when I knew the wind was going to come past the grandstands. That worked out well. I believe I went right down the racetrack. 

“It feels great to stand on the gas on one of these things,” he said. “I drive a 2004 Toyota Avalon every day with a whopping 240 horsepower. So to come out here and step on the gas in one of these deals is a hoot. It really is.”

Zizzo has his racing interests in perspective.

“When you have other jobs and other obligations throughout the work year, racing interrupts that,” he said. “We could have gone out months ago, but we have a lot of things happening in our businesses [including a busy auto-body shop in Lincolnshire, Ill.]. So [we thought,] ‘Let’s get some of that organized and continue to work on our race car, make improvements, and go out when we are ready. We have a great group of guys who show up and work on our race car, no matter what I’m doin’.”

It sounds a bit like when couples say they’ll start a family or buy a house “when the time is right.” No time is perfect for a drag racer – and yet, any time is perfect.

“I guess that’s the beauty of our situation,” Zizzo said. “Our marketing partners aren’t pushy. We have an obligation to them, and all we have to do is fulfill it, with their blessing. It’s kind of a perfect situation. Yeah, I say, ‘when we’re ready,’ but we’re racers – we’re always ready and eager to race. So I don’t think it’s quite like a pregnancy or buying a house – it’s a lot more fun than all that stuff.”

He said, “I still love what we do. For years, people have asked, ‘Why don’t you try to go fulltime? Because I’ve got way many other things going on. This is important to me. It’s part of my lifestyle - drag racing is a lifestyle. I’m taking a lot of time from my wife and kids to be able to compete at a very high level when we do go. But I love it because I don’t have to worry about it every day. I don’t have to worry if we’re No. 1 in points or if our sponsor’s happy with us or ‘Do I have enough money coming in?’ or ‘Holy s---! I just blew a body off the car and I’ve got to go find one for the next weekend.’ I can just park it for a little while and go back to it later.

“It is a love affair,” he said of drag racing. “That’s why fans like us – because we treat it as recreation, as fun. That’s what it is. There’s a delight to that. There’s truly an enjoyment.”

Fans certainly enjoyed seeing Zizzo advance to his first final round at Indianapolis last year and finish the rain-delayed final round at the U.S. Nationals there last September. But he’ll be skipping the U.S. Nationals this time around – because he can. And he said he sees a trend.

“I think the sport has come back a little bit to the Pat Dakins and the T.J. Zizzos and the Doug Foleys of the world,” he said. With that, the balance of power might be beginning to shift from multi-car-team dominance to single-car team threats l;eveling the playing field.

“I think the sport has peeled back a little bit of wondering what those megateams are going to look like in the future and what marketing looks like and ‘How many races are we going to? And is 24 races too many, and is 21 not enough?’ I don’t know,” Zizzo said. “But I’m really in a happy spot.”