3/19/2025
Joe Morrison
BLOG - On the Go with Nitro Joe
As seen originally on RacingJunk.com
Behind the Ropes with drag race driver Joe Morrison
The 2025 racing season has officially begun! The 3 major sanctioning bodies have all had their first events of the year with NASCAR in Daytona, Indy Car in St. Pete, and my favorite, NHRA in Gainesville, Florida. I was there to take part in a handful of events surrounding the race, but unfortunately it was not behind the wheel of the Paul Smith Racing Nitro Funny Car. Like many drivers, I am not a great spectator, but fortunately there were a lot of cool things happening to share with you all.
One of the reasons I was excited to return to RacingJunk is to share with you what it is like behind the scenes of an average guy trying to be a full-time paid driver. The reality is that it can be brutally tough and requires being comfortable with a high level of discomfort at times. Many of my friends have heard me talk sarcastically about “the glamorous life of a nitro driver”. It’s not a complaint really, just acknowledging the fact that if you want to succeed you will have to do whatever it takes. The other side of that coin is that there are also moments when things happen that are absolutely amazing, unexpected, and so good that they almost feel surreal. I mean really, as a guy who thought he would never have an opportunity to race ANYTHING let alone have driven in Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car, every run down the dragstrip is a gift. The point I’m trying to make here is that when you get to do what you love, the hard parts (while tough) don’t seem too bad. Fortunately, Gainesville was mostly great moments despite not driving.
With that in mind, here’s a little summary of the Gainesville event. My younger son Brendan and I drove down to Florida from New Jersey on Tuesday in my old, mostly faithful, GMC dually. Normally, I would bring my RV trailer but since I have to replace the AC unit, we were lucky to have the opportunity to stay in my pal Jim’s motorhome. Also staying with Jim was Will Smith who was completing his cross over license in the Paul Smith Funny Car before the event. (Congrats again, Will!). We got a late start because I had some work to do before we left, so we ended up arriving about 2 AM.
Wednesday’s agenda included “Media Day” with the NHRA. That means, get on my Firesuit and bring my helmet over to the Gainesville tower for pictures with Jerry Foss, a little video work with social media manager Nikki Schele, then a quick stop with Elon and Abby Werner to do a quick promo for Drag Race Bracket Bonanza, a very cool bracket game for race fans. Once that was done, I had to arrange for a last-minute VIP Hospitality experience for one of the customers of my sponsor, D-A Lubricant Co and their PennGrade1 brand. Thankfully, Paul Lee was able to
accommodate a few unexpected guests. I greatly appreciate the ability to do business with friends, and Paul is a first-class guy who I respect and admire.
Next up was the AMAZING fan-fest that Josh Hart and his team at Burnyzz Speed Shops puts on. I was honored to be one of the many drivers who were invited to participate in the driver autograph session. The place was totally packed, and fans waited in line for almost 2 hours to get autographs from all 25+ drivers who were there. Before the autograph session started, I was talking with Bob English and former nitro funny car champ Bruce Larson when I looked over and saw someone I never expected to see: one of my guitar heroes, Steve Morse. Now, most of you might not recognize his name, but in addition to his rock/jazz fusion band “The Dregs”, Steve played guitar in the band Kansas as well as toured with the classic band Deep Purple for many years. I tried not to act like a fan-boy, and after talking for a while I invited Steve to come out to the race. He was psyched to check out a drag race since he had not been out to one in over 35 years. Since it was then time for me to sit down to sign autographs, I promised to text him the details. Throughout the entire night, the people there were patient with the line, and I got to meet a ton of cool race fans and signed some cool items.
Thursday, Brendan spent the daytime with the Paul Smith team preparing for the race with John Smith driving. Brendan was there because he wants to continue learning about nitro cars. He got to learn a bit while working on the Leverich top fuel car when I drove there, and now Paul Smith has been gracious enough to allow Brendan to learn from him. Meanwhile, I spent a large part of the day working remotely on my laptop in Jim’s RV. There’s always a price to be paid for being away at a race, and I do my best to not let too much work pile up. I also took the opportunity to text with my guitar hero Steve Morse to see if he was able to come out to the event. He let me know he could get there Saturday, and I was totally psyched to spend time sharing my love for drag racing with someone who had a profound impact on my guitar playing! By 5PM, it was time to get cleaned up and head over to the International Drag Race Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. This was my 6th year in a row attending the event and Brendan’s first. It’s a great way to learn about the history of our sport, and the room is always filled with racing’s living legends. Highlights of the acceptance speeches included Phil Burgess from National Dragster, driver and track owner Charlie Allen, and “Wild Thing” Gary Scelzi. After another late night, it was time to get back to the track and get some sleep to be ready for Qualifying Day 1.
Friday, all of us were up and out early: Brendan to the nitro funny car, Will headed to help on the Samsel Racing A/Fuel Car, Jim on Dan Dietrich’s Top Alcohol Dragster, and I was off to greet the D-A Lubricant guests and get them settled in at the VIP Hospitality tent of Paul Lee Racing. Once that was done, I headed over to Paul Smith’s pit to see if they needed any help. Of course, everything was going well there, and they had plenty of time to get ready for Q1. We rolled up to Q1 and John “Bodie” Smith ran a little slower than normal 4.17 at 303 MPH but it was good enough for the number 14 spot for now. The team decided to sit out Q2 and because no one
really was able to improve, we went into Saturday in the #14 position potentially running Ron Capps round one.
Saturday morning, the weather forecast did not look promising. I was really trying to keep a positive outlook, but Gainesville turned into RAINsville on and off all day. I was scheduled to join a handful of other drivers to go to the Top End Club to sign autographs and hang out with the race fans there. I was seated between Julie Nataas and Greg Stanfield; and there were about 12 drivers there in total including Jeg Coughlin, Megan Meyer, and my pal Buddy Hull. After that, the rain started. Since I didn’t want to make Steve Morse and his guest walk through the rain from the parking lot, I called Elon Werner to ask him to help me with his golf cart. The rain was relentless at times, but thankfully Steve is a pilot in addition to being a world-class guitar player. He seemed to really enjoy learning all about how nitro cars run, and I introduced him to a few other racing friends like Doug Kalitta, Paul Lee, and Krista Baldwin. Unfortunately, not a single car went down the track. I had everything worked out to get Steve on the starting line to experience nitro racing up close, but that will have to wait for another time. Getting to spend a few hours with a guitar player that I respect and admire was one of those “I can’t believe I get to do this” moments I spoke about earlier. Of all the things I expected to happen in Gainesville, this was something I never imagined. It’s funny, before committing to going to the event and before I was asked to provide hospitality for D-A, I was about 50-50 on going. Something inside me told me that I really need to go, so I listened to my “gut” and committed to being there. Somehow, everything worked out better than I imagined.
Raceday was finally here, and thankfully I still had things to do to keep my mind off the fact that I was not driving. While Brendan headed over to work on the Paul Smith Funny Car, I headed over to the track walk to support Darrell Gwynn and his efforts to provide power chairs for paralyzed people. It’s always great to talk with him for a couple moments, and I also got to speak with Larry Dixon, Antron Brown, and Jack Beckman. During the track walk, Joe Castello came up to me with the PA mic for a short interview as we walked along. Due to all the rain on Saturday, the Safety Safari had a tough job to get the track prepped for round one. Despite their valiant efforts, only Tony Stewarts team was able to make a full run before Tripp Tatum ended up hitting the wall after trying to pedal his car after losing traction in his matchup with Dan Mercier. After a long delay and clean up, we were set to resume racing as the rain came again! We all towed back to the pits and waited. Once again, the Safety Safari worked hard to prep the track surface. I ended up doing an impromptu interview on the NHRA Stage with Jason Logan and Hannah Rickards. They’re both fun to talk to and I was grateful to be able to talk to the crowd about what I do with my nonprofit, Right2Breathe helping provide free lung screenings for race fans. By then, it was time to go racing again. Unfortunately, “Bodie” lost traction and fell short to Ron Capps and our race day was over. I changed into work clothes and help the team pack up everything, take the awning down, and got everything loaded into the hauler. Since Jim had already left to go home to Maryland in his RV, Brendan and I decided to start heading home. I drove until about 2 AM and we pulled into a rest stop in South Carolina
and slept in the truck. After getting up at 6 AM to continue driving, we took turns at the wheel so we could both get some rest and ended up back in New Jersey by 6:30PM.
Over the next few weeks, besides keeping up with work, I will be helping my good friend Rocky Pirrone and his son Joe while they test their nostalgia funny car at Cecil County Dragway. I still have to replace the AC in my camper and find an electrical issue with my golf cart before I get to head to Texas for the first Funny Car Chaos event of the year. Last year was my first time at the season opener for Funny Car Chaos, and it is an awesome event! The Texas Motorplex is a great track, and I am excited to get back behind the wheel of my pal Dennis Champney’s alcohol Funny Car. Dennis bought a 1969 Mustang Body to replace the Dodge Avenger body he has had on the car, and I think it looks AMAZING! Hopefully we will get to make a test pass to see how everything feels. The pictures and video are the preview for our debut with this new set up in Texas. I can’t wait to see it in person and get behind the wheel.
Next month, I’ll share the results from Texas and maybe I’ll be ready to announce another car that I’ll be driving this year. 2025 looks to be a busy year, so if you want to see what goes on behind the scenes while chasing a crazy dream, stay tuned!
Article Credit: Joe Morrison
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