There’s the roughly $250,000 fireworks display celebrating the Fourth of July. A stunning display Elliott described by saying, “It’s like they’re trying to blow up the sky.”
Then there’s the ice cream. A pound of Velvet-brand ice cream for $1.
“They’re definitely trying to get us fat, that’s for sure,” Brubaker said, laughing.
The duo indulged in free ice cream at Norwalk in 2013 after winning the Funny Car division. They’ll attempt to dish up another victory this weekend with the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger Funny Car, now piloted by Tommy Johnson Jr.
Qualifying is Friday and Saturday with elimination rounds on Sunday at the ninth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. It’s the 12th of 18 races before the Countdown to the Championship, a six-race finale to decide the points champions. The Make-A-Wish team is currently in sixth place. The top 10 qualify for the Countdown.
Brubaker and Elliott, both 34, grew up about 40 minutes apart but took different routes to Schumacher Racing.
Brubaker, a 2000 Eaton High School graduate, started with John Force Racing. He left for a brief stint in NASCAR before returning to the NHRA with DSR in 2008.
Elliott, a 1999 Tippecanoe graduate, started with Warrior Racing in Tipp City and joined Kalitta Motorsports in 2002. He’s been with DSR since 2010.
Brubaker repairs and services the cylinder heads between runs. Elliott centers in the clutch. In all there are seven mechanics, each with a specialized job.
“It’s a beautiful artwork. It’s almost like a ballet of people working together,” Elliott said of repairing and rebuilding the Funny Car in a span of about 30 minutes between rounds. “Great life lessons learned from working next to someone and counting on the people around you to overcome obstacles.”
One of those obstacles is life on the road with 24 racing stops in 19 states from February through early November.
“It can be overwhelming at times because you’re on the road almost 200 days out of the year, so it takes a lot from your normal life,” Brubaker said. “It’s a lot of travel to race. But it’s definitely cool. You take pride in your job and it’s something people want to hear about. It’s a neat job.”
Brubaker grew up on a farm and worked on tractors, cars and trucks growing up. He never raced competitively but admits he wouldn’t mind experiencing the power of the Funny Car from the inside. The cars can travel the quarter-mile in 4.1 seconds at 300 mph.
“Oh yeah, without a doubt. I’d like to be able to hit the gas one time to see what the experience is about,” Brubaker said. “All the years working on one it’d be cool to get to drive one, to feel the horsepower. I’d be happy to just do a burnout in it.”
Elliott raced his 1987 Mustang GT at Kil-Kare Dragway in high school. He later drove an alcohol-fueled dragster for Kalitta Racing, going from those 13-second runs at Kil-Kare to 5-second runs at other tracks.
Family life convinced him to move to a safer job in the sport, but one that still puts him in the winner’s circle. And there are few places better than Norwalk to do it.
“If you win you actually get to serve (the Velvet) ice cream. That was probably one of the best things to happen in racing,” Elliott said. “For family and friends to come down to the winner’s circle and celebrate with us, it takes life full circle.”
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