By: Zizzo Racing
ST. LOUIS (September 29, 2024) — The Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster team and Zizzo Racing once again turned heads and impressed the field by scoring their second No. 1 qualifier of the season and racing to the quarterfinals at the NHRA Midwest Nationals today at World Wide Technology Raceway. TJ Zizzo was confident coming into race day knowing how well his Rust-Oleum team, comprised completely of volunteer crew personnel, had worked throughout the event.
“I am a proud driver, but I am not a cocky driver,” said Zizzo. “Coming into race day in the No. 1 spot was a huge accomplishment for our team. We’re all out here because we want to be, not because we’re paid to be. But even though we were No. 1, we knew each round would be a battle. We made it to the quarterfinals today, and I am still so proud of my guys.”
In the first round Zizzo was looking for his first win over veteran driver Billy Torrence. In their two previous meetings Torrence took the win but today Zizzo had a significant performance advantage. Zizzo was first off the line with a .070 second reaction time and the Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster never trailed in the race. His winning elapsed time of 3.718 seconds was just a tick off his No. 1 qualifying effort of 3.714 seconds.
“Both Torrences are tough competitors, who have the benefit of racing out here every weekend,” said Tony Zizzo, Zizzo Racing team owner and TJ’s dad. “They’re able to work out all kinds of stupid issues all the time, by making more runs. But we do the best we can with the few races that we choose to compete in. What I’m proud of is every time we come out here, every other team knows that we mean business, and that we have the capability to beat them.”
Heading into the quarterfinals Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum team knew that would have another tough opponent in four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence, son of Billy. Zizzo was on his game against the Countdown contender with a near psychic .038 second reaction time but his 11,000-horsepower Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster had an exhaust header gasket that allowed a little fuel to leak in front of the left front tire, costing them the run. Torrence’s winning elapsed time of 3.776 second was well ahead of Zizzo’s 10.915 seconds.
“What I am choosing to take away from this race and this season is positivity,” said Zizzo. “We already found the problem. It was something so simple and inexpensive, but it was just another way to lose a drag race. As we rolled through the leaked liquid, it caused us to smoke the tires. Now we won’t let that ever happen again, and we’ll come back to race another day. We’re happy that our car is going home, sunny side up for another year.”
The Midwest Nationals marked the final race of the year for Zizzo Racing. With two No. 1 qualifiers earned at this event and the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance in Chicago, plus his best qualifying effort to date at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals, Zizzo is thrilled with how this season is ending.
“Weekends like this one only build momentum for our team,” said Zizzo. “As long as there’s no big rule changes in the off-season, we can continue to work on our craft and get better at it, to be able to do bigger and better things. We will continue to come out here and compete against the best of the best and give everyone else a run for their money.”
Zizzo Racing has not officially decided on what their 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season will look like yet, but right now they are tentatively looking at competing at the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance in Chicago (May 16-18) and the NHRA Midwest Nationals (September 26-28).
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.778 sec; 324.12 mph; Qual. 6
Q2: 3.714 sec; 327.66 mph; Qual. 1
Bonus Points: +3 (Quickest run of Q2)
Race Results
First Round
TJ Zizzo, Lincolnshire, Ill., Rust-Oleum dragster, (.070), 3.718 sec, 330.88 mph def. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Tex., Capco Racing dragster, (.085), 3.812 sec, 310.84 mph
Second Round
Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Tex., Capco Racing dragster, (.073), 3.766 sec, 315.49 mph def.
TJ Zizzo, Lincolnshire, Ill., Rust-Oleum dragster, (.038), 10.915 sec, 73.35 mph
