Within days of parting company with Tony Pedregon, Dickie Venables could have gone to work for John Force, Don Schumacher, Kenny Bernstein and a couple others.

Instead of jumping at the first opportunity, Venables picked up his fishing pole and headed to the lake to catch his breath and a big one or two. When he was done fishing, Venables decided to go to school.

For the two-time championship tuner, the lure of learning from who many have proclaimed as the best drag racing tuner in the business, Alan Johnson, was an attraction to hard to resist.

The Chance to Learn Sealed the Deal for the Championship Tuner

Within days of parting company with Tony Pedregon, Dickie Venables could have gone to work for John Force, Don Schumacher, Kenny Bernstein and a couple others.

Instead of jumping at the first opportunity, Venables picked up his fishing pole and headed to the lake to catch his breath and a big one or two. When he was done fishing, Venables decided to go to school.

For the two-time championship tuner, the lure of learning from who many have proclaimed as the best drag racing tuner in the business, Alan Johnson, was an attraction to hard to resist.

“The biggest thing is Alan Johnson,” Venables admitted when asked why he made the choice he made. “There's certainly a lot to be learned from Alan, that's what sealed it for me. Everything else is in place. They've got good crew, good equipment and all the stuff you could ever want.”

One thing not on the wish list from Johnson, immediate success. Good thing, as the team struggled out of the gate posting six consecutive first round losses as Venables searched for the right combination.

By his own admission, Venables is not a tuner for the short-term. He believe patience and continuity yield dividends. Three weeks ago the patience paid off, as Del Worsham captured the “Wally” at the Virginia NRHA Nationals in Dinwiddie, Va.
 
“It just takes time to get a grip on it and I don't think we have a complete handle on it, but I think we're a lot better off than we were four or five races ago, for sure,” Venables contends, pointing out that driver Worsham is one of the best in the class.

The challenge, for Venables, was not the engine combination which was a similar version to what he campaigned while leading Pedregon to the top seed headed into the Countdown to 1.

The chassis was another story. Venables faced a totally different chassis and clutch combination than he was previously accustomed. Instead of moving around parts and pieces to his liking, Venables chose to expand his horizons by learning how to make work what was already in place.

“It just took some time to evaluate what the problem was and zero in on the area we needed to work on,” Venables said. “And most of it was in the clutch area. Not the components, but the mastering part of it, how to run it, that kind of thing.”

And, that’s exactly the game plan Johnson had in mind, according to Venables.

“You know there's no doubt if Alan had the time and wanted to devote the time to run a Funny Car that it would be at the top of the pack,” Venables said. “But he wanted somebody to come in and be able to run the Funny Car; that way he could concentrate on the dragster. He's been very supportive and there's a lot of things that you can learn from him.”

Venables believes he’s already a better tuner today. He owes that feeling, he believes to going to school under the watchful eye of Johnson.

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