It has been a different year of racing for me and I think everybody around me. Stepping out of the seat and being a full time crew member for this Dina Parise Racing team is harder to do than it looks. Like Dina says, I am driving the car from standing behind her and that is hard on everyone, but especially hard on her. We are both very competitive people, and we are two different drivers. All I know is I have to get back in the car next year or I will strapping myself to the parachutes. I am sure Dina will love to pull that handle knowing it would send me sailing!
Drag racing is a great sport, but like so many other sports it has its Pros and Cons. What I find very aggravating is if you don’t have the ‘Big Name’ some companies just do not care about you. Pro Mod racing is still (to some)not considered the ‘big leagues’ . Let me tell you, it isn’t cheap to run these machines. We (DPR) do not look for special treatment from anyone. But it is irritating and insulting when companies just plain do not call you back or respond it inquiries regarding product. Better yet, when a company makes a mistake and never acknowledges it or gives you ridiculous time line for a product delivery when you know others are receiving theirs in a timely fashion. Frankly, it just burns my ass.
I formerly worked for a fortune 100 company in New York. We worked with Doctors, dentists and other companies that we acquired and we were held to strict time lines. Yes, you will always have an exception to the rules but at a cost. It’s not rocket science it’s called expediting. My point is that everyone’s money is the same color, GREEN. No matter how much they have or do not have it’s still green. Every sale should be treated the same way with the same amount of respect. This is one more reason more and more teams are now making their own parts rather than purchasing them. This in turn will cause companies to close or at the least cut jobs. Those who can not make parts will miss races due to the fact that they can not receive parts in a ‘timely manner’ due to the fact that their team ‘status’ is not ‘outstanding’ enough to require prompt service. That needs to change.
Next stop for this DPR team is the IHRA world finals ! They are coming up next month October 9th-10th at Memphis International Raceway and it has come down to the wire. It has been a tough year for all of us. Dina has been struggling with this new car. From getting comfortable to just driving it. Like I say all the time a bad car will make a good driver bad. Not that the car is ‘bad’ but you get the picture. But, we have got our driver back now! We started off in Florida, at Bradenton we had to bow down due to a broken wheel stud. In West Palm, Stella (the Cadillac Pro mod) kept going left, Dina was trying to reel it in but couldn’t get it worked out. We then went to a back-up motor and found out in Cordova it was just a pig. We made some changes and in Budds Creek it finally started coming around. At US 131 Martin I changed a couple things that back fired causing us not to be able to test. To top that off, we had issues with the chutes and Dina went into the sand. In Canada we had the car working very well, but Dina was not on her game. This is the first year I can say that it has been a real struggle of just stupid stuff coupled with rough driving. Quain Stott has been a huge help to this team, from tuning to helping Dina regain her confidence. I am no way near the tuner/driver that Quain is. He is just a scary man. Not scary looking just tuning wise. He has taken a car that wasn’t working to going .977 60ft and hasn’t even touched much. Behind every man is a great woman, well in my case not so much (LOL). Yup I hear the ‘Fired’ word again. Actually, Cynthia is behind scenes for Quain and let me just say she is probably a better tuner then most of us out here. They make a great team and for us we are honored to have them part of our family even though Dina sucked all year. Oh boy ,I feel a war coming on!
I lost my mother when I was 20 years old and I became a bit bitter from it. I did things that most would never dream of and have seen things most shouldn’t. Now, I don’t believe in mediums or palm readers, things like that. But, this year someone came to me and told me things about my mother nobody would ever know. The one thing that was said was she doesn’t want you angry anymore. For me, it took a couple days to register. I never got along with my father and after my mother died it was worse. Anyway, I get short and angry with Dina very quickly. Like I said we are two different drivers and me riding her ass is not helping her. Really, I am surprised I don’t have a black eye by now. But truth be told….I am glad she doesn’t think like Lorena Bobbitt either.
It is going to be a great final race. I have been hard on Dina all year and I want this race to be fun. Everybody will be throwing the kitchen sink at their tune-ups trying to win this championship. We are in number one in points. According to some, if we win we will be ‘paper champions’ only because we haven’t won a race….Yet. Well, being in 2 finals and attending every race, fighting and digging to earn points makes champions too. For me this race is going to be about having fun. Let the trash talking begin, but we as a team will enjoy ourselves. I am sure the Crower Cams (thanks to them for bringing Pro Mod back to IHRA!) Party is going to be crazy as always. We are very fortunate to be able to race and have the team we do with the BEST fans and Marketing Partners in the world. We appreciate everyone’s support! So, we want to see everyone at the World Finals. It is going to be a crazy and exciting event.
You might even see one (or 3)of us in a TUTU….?
See you in Memphis!
Andrew ~Bam Bam~ Parise