For Top Fuel “super-part-timer” T.J. Zizzo, the US Nationals is emotional.
For motorsports’ most decorated woman Erica Enders, the impact of this race is hard to explain.
For small-budgeted underdog 2018 winner Terry McMillen, the overwhelming effort is worth it.
Runaway NHRA Funny Car points leader Austin Prock is poised to claim the $150,000 that goes to the regular-season champion.
But that’s just a drop in the gas tank to the reigning series champion. He has his eye on a much larger sum at this weekend’s Cornwell Quality Tools US Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.“I think it’s close to 400 grand on the line for us this weekend,” he said.
“So if everything goes right, I’d like to walk out of there with all of it.”
He just might, the way he has been winning this season: six victories in eight final rounds during the first 13 races (including four in the past five starts), four No. 1 qualifying positions, two Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenges, and a 29-7 race-day record. By Labor Day eliminations, Prock will have led the Funny Car standings for 10 of the 14 regular-season races.
He could earn $100,000 for winning the event, $150,000 for the regular-season championship, $80,000 for the Funny Car All-Star Callout bonus race, and $10,000 for the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Throw in a No. 1 qualifying payout and contingencies, and Prock’s calculations are right in the ballpark.
But the US Nationals is about more than money.
It’s career-defining.
It’s historic.
It’s the final race of the regular season, one that sets the seeding for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
It’s emotional.
Ask Top Fuel racer TJ Zizzo. He’s a part-time driver from Chicago who has become known as a “super-part-timer” for his ability to be prepared and focused—and threatening—when he shows up at selected races. He has raced only once this year, in May at his hometown track. But last year, he was No. 1 qualifier at both Chicago and St. Louis, so he has high hopes for another strong showing. But he did have some reservations when it came to Indianapolis in the past.
“I talked to Terry McMillen who, like me, had a family-owned and -operated single Top Fuel [team]. I asked him after he won the US Nationals in 2018, ‘Was it worth it when [you] considered all the time, the money, and the struggles?’ Without missing a beat, he said yes. That is the dream we are all chasing. Winning the US Nationals is like no other race on the series,” Zizzo said.
“I get emotional talking about this race, because I visualize hoisting the Wally on Monday afternoon,” he said of the trophy that’s named for the sports’ founder, Wally Parks. “I think about what the emotions will be like. I think about hugging my dad [car owner Tony Zizzo] after we win. You must have that attitude and that passion. We have come close, and I know we have a team capable of winning.
“It is the longest race of the season, and we only are doing a handful of races, so you want to make the most of the event. I think being able to qualify for the US Nationals is a major accomplishment, and winning rounds on Monday takes it to another level. Getting that first win is always the goal.”
Zizzo isn’t alone in craving a U.S. Nationals. Some of the sport’s best racers—Brittany Force in Top Fuel and Bob Tasca III in Funny Car, for example—haven’t scored at Indianapolis.
Steve Torrence has won the US Nationals Top Fuel final twice. But he skipped the past three events and four altogether this year. And he’s eager to return to the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour at Indianapolis, where last year he advanced to the final round for the seventh time in his 12 appearances.
“It’s Indy,” he said. “It’s the biggest race on the planet. How can you not be fired up when you’re competing against the best of the best?”
Pro Stock’s Erica Enders, the most successful woman in all of motorsports with 50 overall victories (49 in her current class), said, “It’s hard to explain the meaning of Indy to someone on the outside looking in. It’s just different, and the significance of winning here is unparalleled.”
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