Drag racing in Abruzzi's blood

By MIKE McLAIN
CHAMPION — Marco Abruzzi is often in a hurry to get to places, which isn’t a bad thing in his line of work.

When the 40-year-old Champion resident isn’t busy building transmissions at Abruzzi Racing in Warren, he’s strapped into a car and zooming down drag strips at speeds of faster than 200 mph. Abruzzi won the International Hot Rod Association’s Top Sportsman points championship in 2003 and 2006, and he finished second in Top Dragster last year.

There was never a doubt that Abruzzi would become a drag racer. As a child, he was often taken to races by his father Joe. Joe raced cars in the 1960s, and the thrill of the sport moved down another generation.

‘‘He’s been taking me to races my whole life,’’ Marco said.

Once Marco caught the racing bug, it was up to him to take the next steps in a career that is costly, occasionally dangerous and not always financially rewarding for drivers that literally aren’t up to speed.

Marco began racing Top Sportsman in 1996, and he added Top Dragster to his repertoire in 2003.

The Sportsman classes of racing (Top Sportsman and Top Dragster are included) are a step below the Top Fuel divisions in which speeds can top out at near 300 mph.

Top Sportsman cars are essentially road vehicles that are modified to meet the standards of drag racing. Top Dragsters, which are fastest among the Sportsman classes, have the needle-nose front ends that people associate with drag racing.

Having spent more than a decade in the sport as a driver, Marco sets his goals high each season. Fresh off a win in the Summit Racing All-Star bonus event last month in Rockingham, N.C., he’s thinking about winning another points championship.

‘‘That’s difficult,’’ he said. ‘‘My realistic goal is to win two races a year.’’

In the wide world of auto racing, drag racing takes a back seat to the immense popularity of NASCAR. Most sports fans know Dale Earnhardt Jr., even if auto racing isn’t high on their list of favorites. Naming an IHRA points champion isn’t as easy.

The disparity in popularity doesn’t seem to bother drag racers. If anything, NASCAR’s popularity has had a trickle-down effect to the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and IHRA.

‘‘The popularity is high right now, even with the price of gas,’’ Marco said. ‘‘People are still at the races.’’

The stratospheric price of petroleum has impacted lifestyles. From the soccer mom making short trips to run a household to racers like Marco that depend on the expensive mix of fuel to propel their cars, the high costs of energy are altering budgets on all income levels.

Those costs don’t simply hit home on race day. Marco travels to race sites in a motor home with his wife Kim and 2-year-old daughter Emily.

‘‘It’s doubled what it was,’’ Marco said of his expenses. ‘‘Motor homes use diesel fuel, and that’s expensive. You need to just pick and choose races better and hope to win a few more.’’

Marco uses his cars to advertise his business. Abruzzi Racing also supplies the transmissions for his cars, which are built by a manufacturer in Florida.

Marco doesn’t have a huge team of employees. He receives help from his dad and crew chief Brian Sexton.

Beyond that, the pressure is on Marco to run well in each event and make enough money to keep the enterprise going. Unlike stock-car racing, there’s very little margin of error in drag racing. A slow reaction time after the tree of starting lights hits green can be as destructive as a blown cylinder.

‘‘It’s all about hand-to-eye coordination,’’ Marco said. ‘‘Reaction time is real important. A lot of that has to do with concentration. I’ve raced a lot over the years. You have to have the whole package - reaction, experience, and the car setup has to be good.’’

Marco’s next IHRA appearance will be May 23-25 at Milan Raceway in Milan, Mi. He also occasionally competes in NHRA events.

Marco lists Top Sportsman as his favorite division, although he enjoys the high speeds of Top Dragster. He has no immediate plans to move up to the Top Fuel divisions, which run on powerful and expensive nitro methane.

‘‘I’m staying where I’m at,’’ he said. ‘‘At this level you don’t need a million dollars a year.’’

mmclain@tribune-chronicle.com