First Run of ’11 for Zizzo Ends With a Provisional 7th-Place Effort

The 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Series season started Thursday at Auto Club Raceway under cloudy skies and cool temps. The weather for the next two days of qualifying for the 51st Annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals could be a factor in whether or not the teams here for the beginning of NHRA’s 60th season get another chance to get into Sunday’s eliminations. The runs were critical and TJ Zizzo and his PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team, led by crew chief Mike Kern, rose to the challenge, laying down a lap of 3.87 seconds at 312.57 mph. The run was good for seventh spot on the provisional chart.                     

“Wow! What a way to kick off the season!” Zizzo said while helping his team during post-qualifying teardown. “We left here last November running in the high .80s and we started this year with a 3.87. Went down the track, looked up at the scoreboard, I can do that at 312 miles per hour, and said, ‘Huh, 3.87, that’s pretty cool!’”

In addition to making the first pass of the season, the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team had another reason to be excited Thursday. A new paint scheme, created by legendary drag racing artist Kenny Youngblood, was unveiled prior to Q1 and was immediately lauded by both media and fans. The design, to be run by Zizzo Racing for the entire 2011 season, celebrates Youngblood’s 45 years in the sport. Both the car and the team’s uniforms will feature a special logo honoring a man many consider to be the best in his field.

“The coolest part of that run was when I started, I hiked the front end up and all I saw was Kenny Youngblood’s (famous painting) ‘Beyond 300’ on my car,” Zizzo said. “I thought that was fantastic. I saw the whole top of the car, Kenny’s amazing artwork, all at probably 150 miles per hour at that point.”

Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.