Drag Illustrated Issue 146, July 2019 | Page 36

Dirt SCOTT PALMER So what did Tommy Thompson see in you and this team? Times were tough and I had a bunch of worn- out Top Fuel parts. I was just to the point where I knew I had to step this up or just be content being someone in the lanes. I didn’t have the parts to run it any harder, but I had a chance to run the Lucas Oil Top Fuel Hydro Series. I circulated my parts through the boat and I kept buying better stuff for the car. But the main thing was Tommy Thompson walked down in the pits and talked to me. He knew my story and we got to be real good friends. Where everybody goes around asking Tommy for money, I never did. We’re just friends and I was just fighting my fight, and I was content with that. One day he just said, ‘We need to do something together.’ I said no, initially, but he kept on me about it and I never saw anyone want to race that bad. He’s made it so much easier and nicer for us. None of it is work for me. I tell him, ‘I’ll spend your money like it’s my money.’ I don’t really have a budget, but we’re learning how to win as we go. The car runs good, but we’re learning. You’re now a team capable of going rounds and winning races. What’s that adjustment been like? It’s a whole new mindset. You have to turn your mind around and say we want to win this race. It’s hard when you qualify and not say, ‘Well, we did it.’ Before, if you qualified the celebration was on Saturday night. My rule this year has been to be aggressive no matter what first round. It’s hard to break that cycle of being conservative. But we have to do that. What’s the road been like to get to that point? Blocking everything out is hard. If you’re me- chanically involved on the car, I can’t block ev- erything out. But I like that side of it, too, and I’m not willing to give that up. Of course, Torrence has helped us and we have guys helping us, but we still have to do things on our own and I like that part. That’s the good thing about this deal. I want to show everyone you can be a competitive Top Fuel dragster and do it this way. I want to show them you can still have a normal life and have a Top Fuel car. Is there piece of mind for you knowing you’ve done things the right way? I’ve just been lucky to meet the right people. I’ve never asked anyone for money. I just meet the right people and it just happens. I don’t think it’s happened slowly. If you’re doing it the way I had to do it, it happened pretty fast. DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI Chip off the Block Jndia Erbacher follows in father’s footsteps in FIA Top Fuel By David Beitler Your father has been racing for 30 years and has won six European championships. How does it feel to follow in his footsteps? 36 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com The particular footsteps are quite big. My dad has raced in the U.S. and made himself a name. Even today he gets recognized when he’s walking the pits over there. And, of course, also in Europe he has his fans. And one always reads “daughter of the six-time champion.” This doesn’t exactly put pressure on me, but I surely want to make my dad proud. I want to show that I’m the future generation. But overall, I’m totally proud and look up to him. He’s been my idol since I was a small kid. And not just when it comes to racing, but also Issue 146 J ndia Erbacher has been involved with drag racing from an early age. Her father, Swiss custom motorcycle builder and European drag racing ambassador Urs Erbacher, has been active in the sport for over 30 years. It seemed that it was just a mat- ter of time before the daughter of the six-time European champion would make the jump up to Top Fuel too. In 2016, Jndia successfully debuted in an A/ Fuel dragster at her home race in Hockenheim and ended up fourth in the standings at the end of the season. Only one year later, she made the switch to Top Fuel, earned a runner-up finish and ran well at Tierp Arena. In 2018, she landed a big sponsorship deal and ran her first 3-second pass. This year will mark the first time she’s going to run the full European tour. During the season-opening FIA Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway in England, D rag I llustrateD sat down with Erbacher to learn about her goals for her assault on the 2019 season.