Is Bob Vandergriff sentimental? “No. I never have been,” said the owner-driver who will be shortening his title to just “owner” after this weekend. He said he and wife Marissa share the trait. “Always for us, it’s like on to the next thing. When it’s over, it’s over, and then we’re going to move on to the next thing. It’s just the way I’ve always been.”

He said his collection of memorabilia is virtually non-existent. “A lot of guys collect stuff over their years of driving. I don’t have anything left. I don’t have firesuits and helmets and all that stuff that I’ve collected over the years. I don’t have any of that. I’ve just never been that way,” he said.

Of course, Vandergriff said he wanted to end his career “with a trophy in my hand.” However, he said, “I’ve had a good career out here. It’s been 20 years. Made a living at it. Didn’t have to get a real job. Been able to take care of my family. So it’s been good. I always would have liked to have done better, you know? But it’s one of those things it didn’t line up like some other teams have done – like 60 wins with Larry Dixon has or 70 like Schumacher has. I’m not complaining. I’ve had a good career.”

Is Bob Vandergriff sentimental? “No. I never have been,” said the owner-driver who will be shortening his title to just “owner” after this weekend. He said he and wife Marissa share the trait. “Always for us, it’s like on to the next thing. When it’s over, it’s over, and then we’re going to move on to the next thing. It’s just the way I’ve always been.”

He said his collection of memorabilia is virtually non-existent. “A lot of guys collect stuff over their years of driving. I don’t have anything left. I don’t have firesuits and helmets and all that stuff that I’ve collected over the years. I don’t have any of that. I’ve just never been that way,” he said.

Of course, Vandergriff said he wanted to end his career “with a trophy in my hand.” However, he said, “I’ve had a good career out here. It’s been 20 years. Made a living at it. Didn’t have to get a real job. Been able to take care of my family. So it’s been good. I always would have liked to have done better, you know? But it’s one of those things it didn’t line up like some other teams have done – like 60 wins with Larry Dixon has or 70 like Schumacher has. I’m not complaining. I’ve had a good career.”

Vandergriff, 49, has a degree in business administration from the University of Utah, and he’ll have a bigger chance – an obligation to drivers Larry Dixon and Dave Connolly and likely a third driver – to put that to use. He has won three times, most recently last spring at Houston. But he’s on track to be an owner much like IndyCar team owners Chip Ganassi and Dick Simon, who won more races as the mastermind behind the race team.

He might add current Funny Car racer Blake Alexander to the mix in a third dragster next season. “We’re working on things together. He’s really good on the business side, and I think he has a lot to offer from that standpoint. So we’re going to explore some opportunities with him,” Vandergriff said. “He’s got a lot of contacts in the industry. Some of it looks promising. Some we’ll see.”

As for himself, the C&J Energy Services driver said he was thankful for those three victories, for “being able to check that off. It would have been tough to retire without winning. To be able to pull that off the last few years and win some races, that part has been answered. But for me, it’s always been more about the business stuff than the actual driving the car, anyway. And we’ve had success from the business side of it. The opportunities that are out there for me on the business side are even greater. So I’m excited about that much more than I am disappointed about stopping driving.”

Referring to young sons Bob III and Luke, Vandergriff said, “With a new family, I have small kids again. I’ll be able to be at home a little more. At the same time, while I’m at home, I’ll try to increase business opportunities. And some of the sponsorship programs we’re working on now, for me, that’s the excitement for me, anyway. I get more of a thrill out of putting a deal together than running a 3.75 [-second elapsed time]. If we can some big deals together  . . .”

He said, “I’ll still be out here, and I get to watch. I have a three-time champion driving one of my cars. I’ve got a kid who, if he’s not the best natural driver out here, he’s in the top three or so. He’s taking my place. And I’ll be able to teach him and watch him learn and grow and have some accomplishments and win some races, that’s really going to be cool for me.”

Concentrating on the business side of matters has plenty of fascination for him.

“It’s going to be good for our program when I don’t have the responsibilities of having to drive the car and the guys waiting on me because I’m doing something else,” he said. “They can focus on doing the best they can and running the car. If they have to stay and test, Dave will be here because he doesn’t have the responsibilities that I have. It’s just going to be better to allow me to do the things I’m better at anyways.”

Vandergriff, whose father served a stint as PRO president, said he isn’t interested in having a more significant voice on the political side of the sport. “I really don’t have any desire for that. I’m not a committee person. Playing the political game, I’m just not very good at that,” he said.

“On the sales and marketing stuff, I think I’m pretty good at it. I think I’m pretty versed in it.  I’ve been exposed to it at a lot of high levels. But trying to convince somebody who doesn’t have that background that I know what I’m talking about, sometimes it’s more frustrating than it’s worth,” he said. “I’m not a technical guy, and I would never go to Alan Johnson what he needs to do on an engine combination, because that’s not my background. But I expect people in the sales and marketing side to listen to me and me not have to convince them that I’m right. I think that’s the frustrating and aggravating part of it sometimes that I don’t have any interest in pursuing.

“We’re just going to do the best we can with our own program. We’re going to build the best little pod we can build,” Vandergriff said. “And I think the rest will take care of itself.”

That includes any emotions that might surface following his last pass. “It’s hard to say. Maybe when it’s over and done with on Sunday,” he said. But it’s probably best not to count on that happening.