Drag Illustrated Issue 139, December 2018 | Page 82

30 UNDER 30 · 2018
says between sips of his coffee.
Alexander doesn’t have a choice but to know
the ins and outs of acquiring, maintaining and
expanding relationships with companies that
want to be involved in NHRA drag racing. The
brands that cover the side of the race car he’s
driven for Bob Vandergriff Racing on several
occasions this season are not owned by Alex-
ander’s family. They’re not owned by people he
bumped into on the golf course. They’re real-deal
automotive industry brands that expect a return
on their investment. Some of them are new to the
scene, while others, like Gates Belts and Hoses,
have been on board with Alexander since his Jr.
Dragster days.
“One of the cool things that I illuminate when
I’m talking to new sponsors is that a lot of the
sponsors that I got when I was 16-17 years old
are still a part of what I do now,” Alexander
ing manager of the race team, too. I don’t think
I’d have it any other way.”
Ever since Alexander raced Jr. Dragsters, he’s
known the importance of finding funding before
firing up the race car. His father, Willi, made
him raise half the money needed to buy his first
Jr. Dragster. He raised some of it through the
usual chores like mowing neighbors’ yards, but
he also went out and sold small sponsorships
to the companies his dad interacted with as an
auto parts exec.
These deals started at a couple hundred dollars
and have grown with Alexander as he worked up
through Super Comp, Comp Eliminator, outlaw
Pro Modified, Top Alcohol Dragster, and now
the nitro classes. He earned his nitro Funny Car
license on his 21st birthday behind the wheel of
Paul Smith’s rent-a-ride entry, which Alexander
drove for five seasons. When he worked out a “Plus, he always helps me with driving the car,
understanding if I make a mistake and how I can
do better. He’s had experience doing everything
that I’m doing now, so it’s been really big for me
to work with him.”
Beyond advice, Vandergriff has offered Al-
exander one of the best Top Fuel teams in the
pits. Led by Ron Douglas, the team is made up
of formerly full-time nitro crew members who
now enjoy the opportunity to go racing a dozen
or so times per season. Also on the team is Jordan
Vandergriff, Bob’s 23-year-old nephew, who will
field a second BVR entry at 15-16 races in 2019.
The team might only see the track half as many
times as the championship contenders will see it,
but the Brownsburg, Indiana-based group wants
for nothing and has proven to be every bit as
potent as their neighbors like Don Schumacher
Racing and John Force Racing.
deal with Pronto Auto Service Centers in 2017, he
moved to Top Fuel with Del Worsham’s team car.
He then inked a partnership with Bob Vandergriff,
who was returning to racing for the 2018 season
after a two-year hiatus.
The move to Bob Vandergriff Racing seemed
natural for Alexander, as Vandergriff has long
been known for his ability to develop unique and
prosperous sponsorship programs. Over two de-
cades of Top Fuel racing, Vandergriff has learned
the dos and don’ts of both driving and funding a
nitro car, and Alexander was more than eager to
listen to his words of advice.
“First of all, I’ve had a lot of fun having him as
my boss,” Alexander says of Vandergriff. “We joke
around about stuff and keep things fun, but when
we do get serious and talk business he’s been a
wealth of knowledge. He’s taught me a lot about
how to execute different things properly and look
for different business angles to attack when you’re
in the process of getting a sponsor. Much like Alexander, Bob Vandergriff Rac-
ing as a whole is on an upswing. It’s returned
to prominence as a Top Fuel power player with
Alexander, but the upcoming addition of Jordan
and the D-A Lubricants car also gives BVR the
advantage of entering the 2019 season with twice
the opportunities to win.
Alexander has been heavily involved in Jordan’s
learning experience this season, as the younger
Vandergriff has worked alongside the Pronto crew
members between races in an A/Fuel dragster.
Alexander has the unique perspective of a sev-
en-year nitro veteran who’s just as many years
older than his student. He understands what
Vandergriff is going through when he meets up
with the BVR team at The Strip later today to
help Vandergriff upgrade his license.
“The first run, no matter how far you take
it, the person gets out of the car and they’re
just completely mind-blown and you recognize
that it’s a landmark moment, something they’ll
says. “It’s important for me to always make sure
they’re getting their money’s worth even away
from the track.”
That’s one of the reasons why Alexander is still
in Las Vegas after eliminations at the Toyota Na-
tionals. While he won’t come right out and say it,
one could easily say Alexander gave his sponsors
their money’s worth on track when he won two
races in just 11 appearances on the 24-race NHRA
Mello Yello Series tour. But merely delivering
trophies to the company boardroom isn’t enough.
It’s also about engaging with sponsors’ custom-
ers at trade shows, connecting manufacturers to
distributors and being the face of the companies
on the side of the car.
“I wear two hats and that’s how I’ve gotten to do
what I get to do,” Alexander points out. “Some-
times it gets to be a lot and sometimes everything
goes smoothly, but I’ve always been involved in
both sides of the business, making sure that I’m
the personality of the race team and the market-
82 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 139
EVER SINCE
ALEXANDER RACED
JR. DRAGSTERS,
HE’S KNOWN THE
IMPORTANCE OF
FINDING FUNDING
BEFORE FIRING UP
THE RACE CAR. HIS
FATHER, WILLI, MADE
HIM RAISE HALF THE
MONEY NEEDED TO
BUY HIS FIRST.