THE ART OF NEVER GIVING UP

It was about a year ago that Pro Mod racer Raymond Commisso was lying in a hospital bed recuperating from his second consecutive crash, a shoulder separated and two vertebra in his neck bruised. His confidence was shaken, his resources were rattled, and Commisso’s brand-new ’63 Vette was so badly damaged he’d have to start over virtually from scratch. But with a little help from a lot of friends, one year later this Canadian restaurateur has pulled off the nearly impossible--in two consecutive weekends his ‘67 Camaro rocked the Pro Mod world in both NHRA and IHRA.

After running three seasons in the Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com Pro Modified class without so much as qualifying for an IHRA national event, Commisso won the Skull Shine World Nationals, August 28 at Norwalk Raceway Park, when he beat Mike Janis with a solid 6.126, 232.35-effort. Then at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis the following weekend, Commisso wowed NHRA crowds by qualifying No.1 with a 6.016, 236.80 right off the trailer, backing it up with a 6.02, then going all the way to the final before losing to Joshua Hernandez, 6.10 to 6.04.

Talk about comebacks.

Owner and manager of an Italian eatery in downtown Toronto, Commisso first indulged his passion for racing when he got involved with Outlaw Street about a decade ago. By the end of the millennium his blown ‘90 IROC Camaro was conquering O/S’s Canadian contingent, setting records at 6.96 and 202.40 mph. “We even went to Orlando and made it to the semis one year, losing to Tony Christian,” he said.

But Commisso desired something more challenging than making the video cover of the Orlando race. With crew chief Paolo Dalimonte he formed P&R Racing and began converting his Camaro into a legal IHRA Pro Mod car.

“We tried to run some IHRA races for a couple years, never qualified,” Commisso said. “At the beginning of the ‘04 season we went to Virginia and ran a 6.32 at 225 in testing, but lost ourselves and never ran good again after that.” He had a brand new ‘63 Corvette built for the 2005 season, but crashed it in March during a test run at Bradenton.

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“I put the car on its side, causing about $25,000 worth of damage,” says Commisso. “But we fixed it, got it all back together for the first IHRA race in Cayuga [Toronto Motorsports Park] last year. The weekend before the race we rented Cayuga for a test session. It didn’t go as planned--I went upside down and hit the wall at 80 mph. It destroyed the whole car, the engine. I was hospitalized for a week.”

At this point friends and associates stepped in. “One thing that really helped was that they had a fundraiser here at home for me and my team,” said Commisso. “About 300 people raised enough money to pay for almost half of the car. All the local racers got together and basically held a dinner-dance.”

He also aligned himself with some new sponsors, Steelback, a Canadian beer, and Torco Racing Fuels. His race account thus fortified, Commisso commissioned G-Force Race Cars to build a new 1967 Camaro. “Jim Salemi’s been building the ultimate car for the last two years and a lot of guys haven’t caught on to that until just recently,” he said.

Fellow Canadian Al Billes was enlisted to rebuild and tune Commisso’s 526 cid Hemi (as well as that of countryman Tony Pontieri, another Pro Mod racer whose set-up is similar to Commisso‘s). Located in Barrie, ONT, only 40 minutes from P&R Racing, the veteran racer turned out to be helpful on many levels. Sidelined after a couple of devastating crashes of his own last year, Billes was able to offer more than the usual tuning advice.

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“Obviously we’ve given him the power and a decent tune-up in the car,” said Billes, who‘s known Commisso for several years but only recently began working with him. “But the biggest thing that’s been helping him is getting his confidence back in his driving, talking with him about what he should do, what he shouldn’t do if he got into trouble. I didn’t have anyone to help me and I’ve made some mistakes, some I’m still paying for… These cars (Raymond’s and Tony’s) are pretty new and have a little ways to go. And they’re so different than anything else we’ve run--different wheelbase, engine placement, rear suspension geometry--especially Raymond’s. We’re still kind of learning all of the parameters of that set up.”

“He gives me some good driving tips,” says Commisso. “He’s not only a tuner but a driver, a real good one, so it’s like I have a coach in my corner, too. And of course the biggest thing we have in Canada is Al. We grew up watching him. (Yet) Al was never one to let people into his world, except for the last couple of years. And he chose a couple of us and I was one of the fortunate ones. If you call him right now, he’s got another 10 guys that want to hire him in a heartbeat. The thing about Al is that he’s not only a crew chief; he does supercharger stuff that nobody else knows how to do.

“Our other secret is us my team and my partner,” Commisso said. “My partner Paulo Dalimonte puts in all the hours tuning the car; he’s the one (who’s) at the shop by himself sometimes. I also have a great crew and a bunch of other friends who’ve helped me tremendously. All these guys were basically friends that do it for no money, just out of the goodness of their hearts, having stepped up to the plate and helped me more than probably any friend has helped another friend.”

Then there’s Commisso himself. From the beginning it was his will and desire to get back on that horse which drove the whole effort. “I’m the type of person who when I’m determined to do something and it’s in my head, I’m going to do it,” he said.

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Right now he has North America’s fastest legal doorslammer, a Pro Mod once again on the verge of breaking into the 5’s. “When we ran at Indy,” says Commisso, “I’m not going to tell you it was soft, but there was a lot more left. When I ran the 6.02, the car shook the tires at top of third gear, otherwise that possibly could have been our 5.99. But it‘s like Al said, you‘ve got to have all your ducks in a row, and there‘s always one that‘s out of place. That weekend everything lined up. It might not ever happen again, but we‘ll definitely try for it.”

At the recent IHRA Canadian Nationals in Cayuga, Commisso qualified No.5 with a 6.14, while impromptu teammate Tony Pontieri ran a 6.06 in his ‘57 Chevy, qualifying No.1. Both were out in the first round, but Commisso knows it’s all part of the learning curve--especially the sudden media attention. “It’s overwhelming. It’s great. I’m having the best time in my life right now,” he said.

For the remainder of the season Raymond Commisso plans on keeping his race schedule light in preparation for next year, when he plans on running all 12 races in the IHRA schedule. “Who knows what the rules are going to be,” Al Billes said, “but he’s got good parts right now. And it’s so expensive here (in Canada) doing this sort of deal. He’s got ambition, so as long as he can get his funding in place, which he believes he can, I believe (he will succeed). It’s nice to see the guys get a break. I mean they’ve worked hard, had a hard time.”

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