CHUCK GROSPITCH
Professional crew member Chuck Grospitch knew since a young age that he wanted to become a crew chief on a nitromethane-chugging Funny Car or Top Fuel dragster . He dabbled in the local bracket racing scene in his native northern Ohio in his late teens before starting work as a Funny Car crew member in 2012 . Since then , Grospitch has worked on Steve Harker ’ s 2014 NHRA world championship-winning Top Alcohol Funny Car team , John Force ’ s PEAK Antifreeze Funny Car , Jonnie Lindberg ’ s alcohol flopper , and a local supercharged Pro Mod . His latest move brought him to Don Schumacher Racing , where he currently serves as the supercharger specialist on Leah Pritchett ’ s Top Fuel car .
“ I ’ ve always wanted to learn more and more and be able to do any position or job on a car ,” claimed Grospitch , 25 . “ Through all of this I ’ ve been bouncing around to different positions ; doing cylinder heads at Force ’ s then moving to short blocks , doing clutch and bottom end on an
alcohol car . Everything I ’ ve done has always been a move to where I ’ m doing something new so I can ‘ build my toolbox ’ essentially . My ultimate goal is to one day be an assistant crew chief or crew chief and a driver . Between being in the seat of a car and knowing the ins and outs of the car , I think that builds a well-rounded crew member or crew chief at some point .”
Grospitch came one step closer to his goal of driving a fuel car this summer when he took over the seat of Randy Meyer ’ s proven A / Fuel dragster at the Noble , Okla . NHRA regional event . He drove the nitro-injected machine to a 5.28 at 272 mph to qualify number one , then improved to a 5.27 to win first round of eliminations . A starting line advantage over former Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey wasn ’ t enough to get the semifinal win , but the outing was a considerable success for the rookie driver . Grospitch hopes to continue his Top Alcohol Dragster driving career in 2017 , taking advantage of occasional off weekends during the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Series tour with Pritchett .
“ I ’ m going to continue working at Schumacher ’ s , but I have goals to race more next season . I got my feet wet getting my license last year , and my goal for this year was to run a race and get that experience . I set a new goal for each year . My goal for next year is to run at least two more regional races just to get more seat time and build my comfort level in an A / Fuel car one step at a time . Our schedule doesn ’ t really allow me to race an A / Fuel car full-time or at national events so I have to squeeze those in on off weekends .”
It ’ s a demanding schedule , but the long hours and grueling work are worth it for Grospitch . “ That ’ s what it all comes down to – I love drag racing . I ’ m always hungry to do more and more , to win , and to keep moving up .” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
PHOTOS : NATE VAN WAGNEN , DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES
JIMMY DANIELS
Many racers who have been fortunate enough to claim victory at the prestigious NHRA U . S . Nationals count winning the ‘ Big Go ’ as the highlight of their racing career . In 2010 , Jim Daniels achieved that dream by winning the famed Hemi Challenge , a headsup competition featuring ‘ 68 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda factory race cars . Six years later his son , Jimmy , entered the event with the exact same ‘ 68 Dart with which his father won the event . The apple didn ’ t fall far from the tree . Daniels ’ Hemi-powered machine ran consistant
8.40s to march through one of the toughest fields in the history of the Challenge . Jimmy Daniels earned his first NHRA championship Wally in the SS / AH class and received a nice hunk of change from Mopar .
While the youngest Daniels , who ’ s now just 20 years old , technically got his start in Juniors , he only competed in a handful of races before he turned 16 and graduated to Stock and Super Stock , running a couple of Camaros locally at first and then on a national level . When his father was ready to give up his seat in the Dart last winter , Jimmy jumped right in . He admits they struggled with the car , which they changed from a four-speed back to an automatic . They took the car almost completely apart and readied it just in time for Indy .
“ It was an awesome experience ,” Daniels said of his big win . “ I can ’ t even describe it , really . It was just awesome to be able to win that race several years after my dad won Indy in the same car . It was even the exact same motor . I want to thank anybody that ’ s helped me along my drag racing career . Anything that anybody ’ s ever told me , I appreciate and I ’ ve learned from it . I can ’ t thank my father enough for giving me the opportunity , letting me drive his car , and the Bartons for providing us with really good horsepower . It ’ s a whole team effort .”
Daniels followed up his Indy win with another win at the Pennsylvania Dutch Classic , proving his success was no fluke . “ Dad ’ s given me the confidence to drive the cars and taught me things over the years . I ’ ve also learned a lot from David Barton , as well as Ray [ Barton ]. Those two are really the ones that have impacted my driving and learning the most , especially with the Hemi car .”
Daniels may be a bit of anomaly in the stock categories , where the average age is often well above his 20 years . He ’ s proving that his generation doesn ’ t always need the shock and awe of the nitro categories to spark an interest in the sport . It ’ s this love of stock class racing that earned Daniels his 30 Under 30 spot .
“ Racing is not always easy ,” Daniels stated . “ I take it as a challenge . My approach is to never give up , no matter how bad the weekend could be . Keep digging and eventually one of the races is going to come out in my favor .” – LISA COLLIER DI
November 2016 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 101