All in the Family

In the history of drag racing, there are many names that are synonymous with the sport. But in funny car, the name of Bob Tasca Sr. is up there among them. Widely credited with coining the phrase "Win on sunday, sell on monday", Tasca Sr. owned a successful ford dealership in his home town of Rhode Island at the age of 27. During that time, The Patriarch of the Tasca family campaigned the "Mystery" series of ford cars for many years and passed on that tradition to his sons Bob Tasca II and Bob Tasca III who campaign the Ford auto parts/Quick Lane Mustang Funny Car on the @NHRA Full Throttle series for 2012. Bob Tasca III is one of the most liked drivers out on the circuit, and with the help of his PR people thru email, I asked Bob when he was first bitten by the nitro gene:

"Englishtown, I was 12 years old. Said Tasca III I went with Ralph Poirier, the crew chief from my alcohol car. That was a cool experience for me"

I also asked when he saw first race, what made himself  say he had to try this

"From the first day I saw them I was amazed by what they did in the sport of drag racing Bob stated. As far as the first car that made me say "I have to try this"was probably....All I know as a kid it was amazing. I was fascinated by it. Tasca continued I remember meeting Bob Glidden at that race. He jumped off the chair when he told me who he was. That was the first time I said wow, my grandfather really is important in racing"

Heroes mean alot to anyone, especially to those who follow the sport of drag racing. Even drivers have those they look upto for guidance and advice, but getting to race alongside some of your heroes is an even greater joy which is exactly how Bob Tasca III describes it

" Bob Glidden, Bill Lawton, Bob Tasca Sr., John Force, Tony Pedregon. Heck, John, I'm racing with him now, but I met him in 1996, thats 16 years ago" Tasca excitedly stated "I remember he was larger than life. He still is today. I've said many times if you were a professional athlete in any sport, there are always people you'd want to play with. In my case, that was John Force...It doesn't get any better for me than to get that opportunity and continue to have that opportunity"

Tasca also added this about his good friend Tony Pedregon:

"Tony has been a mentor of mine for many years. I hated to see him leave John Force but destiny had a different plan in store for Tony" stated Tasca III "To see him go out on his own, start his own team from scratch and win a championship on his own, it inspires me to do the same"

The teams behind the horsepower are really the unsung heroes of drag racing of whom the fans don't get to hear much about. But to the Motorcraft-Quick Lane team and Bob Tasca III, they mean everything personally and professionally

"I can tell you this, when the win light comes on in the race car; the first people I think of are my team. The young Tasca told me "There's no better feeling you can get than not letting your team down, because these guys commit their lives to this. It's an unbelievable sacrifice. I think the average fans have no idea about the commitment these guys make and and the sacrifices they make to be part of a professional drag racing team. They become dear friends of mine. They're a group of guys that you put your life in their hands, and you have to have total confidence and faith in each and every guy on that team. They mean the world to me. Tasca continued by adding "A race car will never win a championship, people win championships. It takes a tremendous amount of confidence and positive attitude because the lows are lows and the highs are high and you just have to find a way to ride the roller coaster. You're going to lose a lot more than you win in this sport and you just have to keep going forward"

Walk the parking lots of any NHRA event, there are classic cars all around you. From fords to chevys, to mopars and oldsmobiles, fans love their cars. Even the stars of the series have their favorites much the way the Tasca family does

" My family... Ive got my alcohol funny car that set the record in Gainsville. I have it ready to run. Bob said "We have a Model A my grandfather saved. We have an old Shelby (of whom the elder tasca had a great relationship with the Late Carroll Shelby) We have a 427 Cobra kit car. We have a Holly Berry Thunderbird, We have 2 ford GT's and we have a few late model Shelbys.

From time to time, the NHRA series can become a hectic thing, and many racers have their ways of unwinding during the season. Running a business or corporation or an auto dealership are some ways, but Bob Tasca doesn't really unwind at all

"You're just so spun up on the treadmill of life. Whether its at the dealership or at the track, it moves fast You just don't stop. Thats what I love said the young tasca "Whatever minute I have I like to spend it with my family. The only way I can unwind is being with my kids, but even when I'm with my kids; you never turn it off. Bob added "Fortunately for me I have a motor home. No matter how lousy the day went, when you get back to the motor home and my kids are there, it makes it that much better"

When the new year begins for any team in any sport, the fans get hyped up and excited for what is to come for the season. New teams, new drivers and new cars give cause for expectations to hope for exciting things. The fans of NHRA teams want to see the very best their favorite teams and drivers bring to the table for 2012, and thats exactly how Bob Tasca III and the team want it:

"They can go to the bank that our team will fight and give 110% at each and every race each and every round that we compete in. Said the confident Tasca "I can't make any prediction on who will win the championship or a race, but I can make the prediction we will fight 110% at each and every race to put ourselves in position to win"

Bob Tasca III then added " We go to every race with a positive attitude and a determination to win. It's a humbling sport. We are competing against the best in the world and margins of victories are measured in the hundredths or tens of thousandths. Some things are out of your control, but what is in your control is going in to every race with a determination and going into every race with motivation to win"

Bob finished by saying "You have to race because you have the will to race. You've got to love the sport. When you love the sport, you're going to win sometimes, but you're going to lose more than you win. You're going to win battles and lose battles, but you can't lose sight of why we;re racing. There's nothing you can do to change last weekend, but you can change next weekend"