Zizzo holds down No. 2 on the ladder

By George Castaneda

Martin, Saturday; T.J. Zizzo and his Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster are number two on the ladder at the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals. The on and off sprinkles of rain would not slow down qualifying at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

Zizzo was the third pair to the line and is on a nice clean pass but loses a belt near the end of his run. He puts up a very good 4.710 at 292.58 mph and holds down the second position at the conclusion of the second round of qualifying.

Zizzo was the sixth pair to the line and is in the right lane for the third and final qualifying session. He leaves the tree in good shape and tosses a belt just before half-track. He cruses to a 5.525 at 166.19 mph and is qualified second for the Sunday round of eliminations. Zizzo will face fellow sponsored Torco Racing Fuels driver Dale Creasey Jr.

“The second round pass I was on a pretty good run until I dropped a right cylinder late in the run,” said Zizzo. “The car moved to the right and I brought it back then I tossed the blower belt. If we could have kept the car together throughout the entire pass we would have run in the 4.60’s.”

“The last pass the car left the line perfectly but pitched a blower belt pretty early into the run. We are a little concerned that we are loosing belts but we will make some adjustments over night and get ready for tomorrow.”

“I am going up against my good friend Dale Creasy Jr tomorrow. I know he has a lot of seat time in Fuel Funny Car and is kind of new to Top Fuel. He has a good handle on his Fueler therefore; I cannot take him for granted. It should be a good race it’s just too bad that only one of us will advance.”

A night of fire welcomes Zizzo to the IHRA

By George Castaneda

Martin, Friday: The start of Top Fuel qualifying at the 24th annual Torcco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals began with a bang. Top Fuel pilot T.J. Zizzo was greeted with fireworks before he completed his first round qualifying pass. As he was going through his burnout the engine concussion triggered the pyrotechnics igniting the fireworks display and sprayed debris on the track. The IHRA officials shut down both Zizzo and Dale Creasy Jr before they staged their dragsters. They were sent back to their respective pits as the safety officials moved in to clean and prepare the track. Both cars were allowed to attempt a first round qualifying pass and were then the last pair to the line.

Zizzo lays down a 4.750 at 277.02 and moves into the second position at the conclusion of first round of qualifying.

“I knew they were having difficulties with the fireworks because the same thing happened during the Pro Modified session,” explained Zizzo. “I saw the flash of the fireworks as I was going threw my burnout and ran over firework debris as I backed up the car. Even though we just went through the burnout there was still a lot of maintenance that needed to be done before when we were to get back to the line. We had to take a look at the clutch setup, change the oil and put more fuel in. The IHRA officials gave us more than enough time to get the car ready for the pass.”

“I’m really please with that first round pass considering I have not whacked the loud pedal in five weeks,” Zizzo continued. “I was a little behind the car from the start. It started to pull me out of the grove to the right and I decided to click it off just before the finish line because I did not want to hurt any parts. The nice thing about this run was that we were able to keep all eight candles lit on this hot rod. The main objective was to get our Fueler from point A to point B and generate good solid baseline data.”

“The IHRA track officials did a fantastic job preparing the track and I am confident that we can step it up tomorrow.”

Zizzo ready for debut on the IHRA Top Fuel circuit

By George Castaneda

Martin, prerace; Top Fuel pilot T.J. Zizzo and his Torco Racing Fuels Dragster will make their debut on the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series when they compete in the 24th annual Torco Racing Fuels Northern Nationals. Zizzo is looking forward to matching wits at the tree against some new Top Fuel competitors when he arrives at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.

“This will be the first time that we have ever competed on the IHRA circuit and I am very excited to be participating,” said Zizzo. “I have not been behind the seat in about five weeks and I might be a little cold going down the track on the first pass. Our Torco Racing Fuels Top Fuel dragster will go down a dirt road if we asked it to so need to do my job and it should put up a decent number on our first pass.”

“We have competed at US 131 Motorsports Park back in 2003 when we ran a Top Alcohol Dragster. Back then the track was in great shape and I would expect that it would be in equal or better condition this week.”

“There will be a lot of new drivers that I have read about and have never met. I am looking forward to meeting them in person. The IHRA circuit will be a whole new ballgame for us. With a final Saturday night qualifying session it will be fun seeing the cars bump their way into the Sunday field.”

“I want to thank my sponsor Evan Knoll of Torco Racing Fuels for all his continued financial support. Without the fantastic support we get from the entire team at Torco Racing Fuels we would not be able to competing at this level.”

“The team has been away from racing for five weeks and was too much time off in order to remain sharp,” explained team owner Tony Zizzo Sr. “The team had to refocus this week on competing because the other teams will tough. The night sessions will separate the men from the boys and we be right there slugging it out with the men.”

“T.J. and I will once again share the semi driving responsibility this week. We had the tractors clutch fixed so look out here we come.”