On the Run |  |
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As most people probably already know, late last season I left the Tas Racing team that I formed three years ago with George Tamasi Sr. I had a lot of good times racing with George and Barbara Tamasi and their son, George Jr., and I have to thank them for that. While we were together, we won some big races and enjoyed a fair amount of success which has led many people to wonder why we chose to go our separate ways.
The answer, quite simply, is that I felt it was time to do my own thing and to be my own boss. I turned 19 this year and I have a wife and two young daughters to think about and I figured that the time was right to start planning for our future. I race for a living. It's the only living I've ever really known and I want to be able to do it for many, many years. Someday I'd like to step up and land a quality ride in Pro Stock or Pro Stock Truck, but for now, I'm very content being a sportsman racer in the Federal-Mogul Series. I went though a lot of sleepless nights before I finally made the decision to put my own program together. The Tamasi family was very good to me and I'll always be grateful for the time we spent together, but the time was right for me to make a move. Ever since I was a teenager I've always raced as part of someone else's team, either with my brother Edmond, or the Tamasi family or someone else. I've never been a car owner and I've never had the responsibility of putting together a winning program. It's a challenge that I've been looking forward to for quite some time and even thought I was a little nervous at first, I'm glad that I did it. My first test came this winter during the annual Winter Series E.T. races in Florida. I went down there with my Race Tech dragster and my own truck and trailer. I had a lot of doubts when I left Tennessee, but I managed to answer a lot of questions about myself in Florida. I had the kind of trip that you dream about having. I posted a win and a runner-up finish at Orlando Speed World and then I won a $5,000 gamblers race at Moroso Motorsports Park. I also won race and the overall points championship during the annual Moroso 5-Day E.T. championships and to top it off, I was runner-up at a big event in Bradenton, Fla. the following weekend. all told, I made $42,500 for the trip, which obviously went a long way towards offsetting the start-up costs at Scotty Richardson Racing, Inc. Needless to say, putting my own program together this off-season has been a major learning experience for me. My attitude has always been to just go out and race and let everything else take care of itself. Now I know that's not the case. Fortunately, Edmond, has been racing on his own for several years and he's enjoyed a tremendous amount of success on and off the track should be done. Edmond has been after me for a long time to start my own program and now that I've done it, he has supported me and guided me the whole way. Over the years, I have established pretty strong relationships with a number of companies, and even though I've never been one to blow my own horn, I've won five NHRA championships, so I feel like I have something to offer a potential sponsor. Initially, I was very tentative about trying to put this program together, but it is beginning to take shape now. The big news is that Rydin Decal has come on board as a major sponsor with a two-year deal. Rydin Decal will join my other major associate sponsors: Bill Mitchell, Hardcore Products, Jeg's, TCI, and General Motors. They will join my list of associate sponsors which includes Hoosier, Center Line, Holley, Goza Products, Jesel, Dedenbear, Borla, and Strange. I recently bought a new motorhome and I have a big two-car trailer coming from T&E Auto Haulers. I'm also preparing to take delivery of two new dragsters from Russ Farmer's RaceTech chassis. I will drive one and Rob Standard of Rydin Decal will drive the other. I will also continue to drive my F.J. Smith built '99 Firebird in Super Stock. Right now, my plan is to compete in 15 NHRA national events and eight Federal-Mogul series races in Super Stock and Super Comp. I'm going all out this year to try and win one more championship. I will also hit as many big E.T. races as my schedule will allow. A lot of people have shown that they have faith in me and I don't want to let them down. I want to be able to do justice to my sponsors and all those who have believed in me. I can't remember ever being this excited at the start of a season. | |