Drag Illustrated Issue 136, September 2018 | Page 93
S UP ER TU NE R S
Dean Marinis Radial Tire
T
h e c l a s s wa s e v e r y b i t
DIY for a number of years, but
like everything in drag racing,
things change and they change
in a hurry. The top teams have hired
tuning guns, all centered on finding an
extra performance edge. Marinis still
goes the DIY route, but his opinion is
highly regarded by others, too. Still, Ma-
rinis likes the workmanlike nature of the
class and it’s something he won’t ever
change when it comes to his approach.
“I consider myself a DIY’er from chassis to
the engine to whatever else. I specialize in the
nitrous end and it’s become a lot more involved.
Everything has to be in place to make it run well.
The competition is so close your brain has to
be in overdrive the whole time. Every round has
to be a good round, so it’s definitely challenging.
It’s one of those deals if you had a job to do and
didn’t love what you’re doing, you would never
do it. The hours we put in, we leave the track
and the wheels are still turning on the way home,
planning for the next week and the next race.
September 2018
“As the competition
has grown, it really
puts a premium on the
details. There are so
many variables – shocks
have come a long way,
new struts, the way
the car launches at the
starting line – there’s
so much stuff on these
cars now, it’s crazy.”
But I always give 100 percent. The day I give
95 percent, I’m going to call it a day.
Things have definitely evolved and you have
to look at all aspects of it. Every single aspect
has become critical. Your bottles are filled to
the ounce. You want the last check on the tires
right as the thing is hitting the water box. As
the competition has grown, it really puts a
premium on the details. There are so many
variables – shocks have come a long way, new
struts, the way the car launches at the starting
line – there’s so much stuff on these cars now,
it’s crazy.
The converters have come a long way, but
again if you want to be up front you have
to be locked in on every aspect of it. Now
we’re changing turbines, pumps, and all that.
There’s different clutch clearances in the lock-
ups and there’s no longer one converter that
does it all.
One key that remained the same is pow-
er management. I’m lucky to have the right
people behind me helping out, getting me
the proper tools. One of the advantages of
the radial tire has always been about power
management and knowing how the track is
going to react.”
DragIllustrated.com
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