30 UNDER 30
30 UNDER 30
JOE ALBRECHT
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Race cars are all I know ,” Albrecht said . But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine a year like 2016 transpiring . Albrecht had an incredible weekend winning the YellowBullet Nationals and then followed up with his runner-up finish in the Al-Lee Motorsports 2006 Pontiac GTO at No Mercy 7 in the cutthroat Radial vs . The World class . It was a massive leap onto the scene for the 26-year-old Albrecht , and it was capped off by a selection onto Drag Illustrated ’ s 30 Under 30 list , yet another thing Albrecht didn ’ t see coming in 2016 .
“ This is something I never thought would be possible if you asked me a year ago ,” Albrecht said . “ I ’ ve been racing my whole life . I eat , sleep and breathe it , so to get something like this , it ’ s an incredible thing and very humbling . It ’ s been the single-most incredible year of my racing career . Standing next to some of these people on the list , it ’ s just crazy .”
It all came together perfectly for Albrecht , a fourth-generation car builder at Thrift-Way Autobody and Chassis Works in Hempstead , N . Y . He built an Ultra Street car for Eddie Whelan and his company , Al-Lee Motorsports , two years ago , which Albrecht raced for one season . But Whelan wanted to make the move to drag radial racing and Albrecht was happy to oblige . The team hired tuner Jon Salemi and things came together quickly – much faster than Albrecht anticipated .
“ We all learned together ,” Albrecht said . “ It was just lots of hard work . Jon is very dedicated and very smart and a lot of long , long nights went into this deal . We were expecting to go out and maybe qualify , but it all came together .”
It didn ’ t take long for the team to mesh or find results on the track . The car went 4.12 at 188 mph on its first full pass and Albrecht knew he might have something special on his hands . After making improvements off the starting line , Albrecht turned heads immediately at the YellowBullet Nationals . He ran 4.02 at 190 mph on the first pass to take the number one spot in the Outlaw 10.5 vs . Radial Wars class and finished with the win and low elapsed time – the first pinch-me moment of 2016 for Albrecht . “ That was real fantasy stuff for me ,” he said .
Albrecht continued to impress at No Mercy 7 before falling in a heart-stopping final-round duel against Dewayne Mills . Albrecht went 3.781 to Mills ’ 3.765 in the quickest side-by-side drag radial pass in history , making it nearly the perfect ending to Albrecht ’ s breakout campaign .
“ This is a fast car and I tried to really ease into it and listen to the people who drive these cars ,” Albrecht said . “ From starting in bracket cars and then 8.50 to Ultra Street and then a radial car , I definitely just tried to pay attention . I ’ m still learning but everything just feels natural in the car .
“ A year like this motivates us . We lost in the final round , so now we want to win . It ’ s been a rewarding year , but we ’ re looking forward to next year and trying to live up to everything . We ’ re trying to live up to our own expectations , do some damage and win some races .” – JOSH HACHAT DI
PHOTOS : JOHN FORE III , DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES
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