JOHNNY TOLISANO

calls with a laugh.“ I went to Maple Grove, and I reset the record. Then, I did it again in New Hampshire. It was originally 11.24, and I reset it to 11.02.”

Over the years, John set 10 more national records across various categories, including Comp Eliminator and Super Stock. By 1977, he had won the SS / IA class at the NHRA Sportnationals. Standing proudly beside him in the winner’ s circle was his son Joey, holding the Wally with a big smile.

After years of traveling and learning from his dad, Joey finally got his own chance behind the wheel of the Nova on his 18th birthday. At his first points race in Englishtown, he managed to win five rounds in an impressive debut.“ He would come home and hand Dad a stack of tickets when he won,” Johnny recalls.“ He’ d say‘ Look how fast I went’,” John adds.

Joey often raced alongside his best friend, Scott Geoffrion, who started out in Super Gas with an engine John had built, while Joey pursued the Super Stock route.

In 1984, Joey drove his SS / LA Chevy II Nova to the final round of the Molson Grandnationals at Sanair Raceway in Quebec, Canada. He runnered up against Larry Morgan after defeating heavy hitters Mark Osterbye and Charlie Graff along the way. That same day, John won Comp Eliminator, marking a historic father-son appearance in two classes at an NHRA national event.“ He would have been a really good racer. He was addicted,” John says, reflecting on his son’ s natural talent.

Before Joey’ s unexpected passing in 1985, the father-son team had planned to compete together in Comp Eliminator. Joey, just 20 years old at the time, had been in the process of obtaining

his Comp license, and John was coming off his best year of racing.

“ When my son died, I sold my business and quit racing. My escape was not to work or race. I went to the golf course every day,” John explains.

Losing Joey left a void that racing couldn’ t fill, so John relocated to Lake Worth, Florida, in 1987. By 1992, he decided to continue the plan he had started with Joey by opening his own business: J & J Balancing.

“ That was going to be J & J originally. I sold my’ 72 Corvette to buy the first crank grinder. I was balancing about 40 cranks a month and grinding about 40. It was a pretty good business,” John says.

After another move to Jupiter, Florida, John began frequenting Moroso Motorsports Park, where he eventually returned to racing just before his second son, Johnny, was born. Over the years, John won dozens of races, mainly in Quick 16 Dragster, before stepping away to help Johnny

with his own Jr. Dragster.

It quickly became clear that the same raw racing talent Joey had also lived in Johnny. At just 29 years old, Johnny has already won five track championships and a world title in Jr. Dragsters, followed by five more track championships, including victories in three categories – Box, No Box, and Quick 16 Dragster – all within the same season. Over the years, Johnny has earned dozens of wins across multiple classes.“ I spent my time helping him race the Jr., training him like an athlete,” John says.

Now at 80 years old, John still builds a variety of motors and balances cranks while Johnny handles their shop’ s CNC block machining services for LS motors, late model Hemis, big-block Chevys, and more.

As they begin to plan for John to get back behind the wheel of the near-replica of his late son’ s Nova, his goal is to extend his 40-year spread of national records at the next divisional race in Super Stock with the same combination Joey once ran.“ It’ d be nice to go to the first points race and set the record. I got 10 national records – I need more,” John says with a smirk.

While drag racing has a way of keeping people connected, it also keeps the memories of loved ones alive. The Nova may have returned to John’ s life as a birthday surprise, but it now stands as a symbol of the Tolisano family’ s enduring legacy – linking Johnny, John, and Joey, who, in spirit, never stopped racing together. DI

46 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 198