Drag Illustrated Issue 113, September 2016 | Page 28

Dirt Chase Driskell: Chasing the Dream A t 36 years old, Chase Driskell has made a name for himself as one of the rising stars of the radial tire tuning world. Despite his relatively young age, Driskell has already lived a life that many could only dream of, and from his home base in Friendswood, Texas, his success continues to grow. Early on in life, Driskell knew what he wanted to do. He was raised in the aviation and racing communities and the two hobbies ultimately shaped his future. “My uncle, Joe Munsch, took me to the track when I was 13. He’d pick me up on Wednesdays and we’d go to the bracket races, and I knew at that point I was hooked,” laughs Driskell with his typical laid-back, casual attitude. By the time he was 17, Driskell’s first car, an ’83 Mercury Capri, was running in the 8-second zone. Torn between his two passions, Driskell went to flight school and began working as a corporate pilot. After years of simultaneously flying and racing part time, he realized that racing was becoming more and more important 28 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com to him. “All I was doing was trying to take off work so we could go racing. I’d get off an airliner from a trip to South America, land in Venezuela where I was living at the time, board a flight to Houston, and get in the rig to drive to a race. It just got to be too much,” he explained. With the desire to be more in control of his own schedule, Driskell eventually traded the cockpit and skies for a laptop and pavement. It was his involvement with “Turbo” Todd Moyer for well over a decade that helped solidify Driskell’s professional career in drag racing. Driskell was tasked with crew chief duties for Moyer’s multiple cars, and in addition to wrenching and tuning, he often stepped in to drive when Moyer himself was too busy. “There’s no way I would have had that opportunity without Todd, and I’m forever grateful for that. It was quite an experience to have access to top-flight equipment and resources,” Driskell says. He also had the opportunity to work with Jerry Bickel Race Cars while having Moyer’s brand new Pro Mod built from the ground up. “That’s not Issue 113 PHOTO: ELLEN ESCHENBACHER By Ainsley Jacobs