Dirt
Word on the street is that Comp is dead. What
do you say to those people?
I think the class has definitely declined and
part of the reason behind it is, in my opinion, is
because the class is very expensive to run. It’s
hard to say but I really feel NHRA is trying to
do things to help bring it back so I don’t think
it’s dead, yet. The car count is down but I feel
like the car count is down in all classes. It’s not
only Comp and I know they keep putting all the
emphasis on Comp’s car count but look at Top
Fuel and Pro Stock - it’s the whole sport. NHRA
seems to be doing things to help revive Comp
and maybe that’s why there is such an emphasis
on the class but I don’t think the class is dead yet.
What do you think it’ll take to get more racers
back into Comp?
That’s a real good question. There’s a lot of people searching and trying
to figure out what would
bring more cars to the
class. Bottom line, I feel
it’s money. I truly feel the
class started to decline
when they went away
with qualifying money.
Comp is, to a degree, like
the pro classes. If you
don’t have a fast car, then
you’re not likely to win
so when they took away
the qualifying money,
the guys that were probably not capable of winning without some luck
quit coming. When that
money was taken away, a
lot of racers stopped coming because although the
money wasn’t much, it
would sometimes pay for
their entry fees at least and it made it worth it.
The quality of Comp cars is still there. There’s fast
cars everywhere but there just isn’t the quantity
like there used to be.
How has the class changed since your first win
in 1989?
The one thing that has changed since that first
win is there were few good
cars back then and now
there are quite a few good
cars out there capable of
winning. I think when I
first started racing Comp,
the emphasis was o n performance more than driving and now it seems that
that has changed and now
there’s a huge emphasis
on driving and cutting
a light. I’m not taking
anything away from the
Comp drivers back then
but I think they realized
that if they got a good
light over their competition, it was the same thing
as horsepower or performance. Comp is really competitive on the driving
end now. Yes, Comp is first to the finish line but
the starting line is real important too. The cars
are faster than they’ve ever been; back in the day,
if you could run 50 or 55 under the index, you
were a really fast car. Now everyone can go 55 or
60 under and it’s normal.
What is your favorite win in Comp?
To be honest, my first win was my favorite win
and let me explain why. Most of my racing before
that 1989 win was in my car or my father-in-laws
car. My first ever NHRA win was in a Super Stock
car that belong to my father-in-law. That ’89 win,
I drove for Harold Stout and I had never flown
on an airplane before and I flew in for that race
and I won it. I was almost like a fly-in driver. That
win will always be special.
What do you think has been your key to success
in Comp?
I’ve always said being surrounded by good
people is a big part of my success. Since my first
national event win, we’ve had Patterson Motors
in my cars and all my Comp wins have been
with them under the hood; they’ve always built
us great horsepower. When I stared in Comp, I
wanted to focus on focus on my driving. I think I
opened people’s eyes to the fact that if they drive
the starting line, they can win. As they say, I got
in on the ground floor of trying to be a better
driver and drive the starting line and I contribute
that to having good equipment, good sponsors
and being able to have all of it along with good
people around me. That combination all together
DI DI DI
has been a key to my success.
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
24 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 110
PHOTOS: AUTO IMAGERY, NATE VAN WAGNEN
Q&A: DAVID RAMPY