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BLOG - On the Go with Nitro Joe

On the Go with ‘Nitro’ Joe
Behind the Ropes with drag race driver Joe Morrison

“Summer has come and passed; The innocent can never last; Wake me up when September ends…” As the Green Day song is echoing in my head, it reminds me how long it has been since my last BLOG entry. Yes, things have been extremely busy, but the bigger reason this took me a long time to start was the loss of a friend and team member of RacingJunk team, Bobby Chalmers. One of the greatest aspects of being a part of the motorsports community is the amazing people you meet and the friends you make. Bobby was a great guy and I am glad we were friends. His passing is a big loss to the racing community, not just in New York dirt racing scene, but far beyond due to his work with RacinigJunk. I miss him, for sure. My friend Andreanna did a fantastic job honoring Bobby, so if you have a moment please take a look at her article here: https://www.racingjunk.com/news/saying-goodbye-to-one-of-our-own-r-i-p-robert-bobby-chalmers/
Backing up to June, my last entry was before the Norwalk NHRA event; the beginning of a 3-week mini marathon in 3 different cars. It started out with getting Right2Breathe set up in the midway, then it was on to preparing for driving Paul Smith’s nitro funny car. While it was a tremendously successful weekend for the nonprofit in the midway, the racing did not go well for us. There were 20 cars fighting for 16 spots and we ended up on the outside looking in after qualifying. This is only the second time I have not qualified for an NHRA event, with the last time being at Norwalk in 2022 with the Leverich Top Fuel car.
The only positive about not qualifying is that I had time to spend helping the Right2Breathe team with promoting our free lung screening we call, “Put Your Lungs on the Dyno.” For the 3rd year in a row, we had support from the amazing team at the Cleveland Clinic. New this year, the Allergy & Asthma Network joined us as well as support from Sanofi Pharmaceutical. Our friends from NDD Medical supplied the Spirometers (a.k.a. the Lung Dyno) that provided accurate measurement of lung function for the fans and racers who participated.
We packed up Sunday night and headed east to make the rest of the trip Monday easier. After a getting home midday Monday, I had to get ready to work landscaping Tuesday and Wednesday before heading up to Lebanon Valley Dragway for the East Region/Division 1 NHRA event for my next race in Tom Pickett’s Top Alcohol Dragster.
I got to the track Thursday morning to get parked with the truck and camper. The team had gotten there the day before so we could make a couple test hits Thursday. We managed to qualify 5th and ended up racing our pal, Brett Winward round 1. It was a good race, and we lost a close one which ended our weekend. Our 5.44 at 269 MPH lost to Brett’s 5.42. The good news is that with each run, I am driving better. The high level of precision needed to drive a top alcohol car well takes time and I am grateful for the opportunity to hone my skills. I absolutely love it.
Next up was the Rock-n-Race event at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. I had a lot of work to catch up on before I left and could not leave until Thursday evening. Since it is about an 8-hour drive and I was pulling my camper, I made a stop part of the way there to sleep for the night. Thankfully, our first run was not scheduled until Friday evening, so my arrival on Friday morning did not cause any problems. The Rock-n-Race is a fun event with live music, cool Gassers, and of course the group of nostalgia funny cars. They even had a jet powered Amish Buggy owned by Chad Clark. I was once again driving Dennis Champney’s Crazy Horse Mustang funny car. We made a total of 3 runs in our match race and managed to run a best pass of 6.37 @ 220 MPH.
After getting home from Ohio, I had 2 weekends off to get my Fiat Altered ready for the Island Dragway Anniversary Race and Funny Car Throwdown. Island Dragway is my “true” home track. If you have listened to any interviews with me, you already know that I have been going to Island since before I was born. Yes, my mom was working in the timing tower while she was pregnant with me. My mom and dad’s first date was to Island Dragway, so racing at Island truly is in my blood.
We have my pal Mike McCormick’s blown alcohol Chevy engine in my car, and we’re still creeping up on a tune up. We are only overdriving the blower 21% for now because we want to conserve parts and make sure the new set up is happy. We were set to match race the Geroni Family Fiat with Mike Geroni at the wheel. Mike Geroni is a darn good driver, and I knew I would have to be on my game to get to the finish line ahead of him. We were definitely the slower car, but after 2 solid “A to B” passes with my ol’ trusty Fiat and some bad luck mechanically for Mike, we ended up with 2 lucky round wins.
That brings us to mid-August. I’ll stop for now, because the next BLOG will include 7 race weekends in a row preceded by an Anniversary trip to Key West! The mileage on my old “dually” has really been adding up. Stay tuned to hear about breaking down near Pittsburgh, then racing 4 cars in 3 weeks. To quote the lyrics from the band Rush from their first album, “They call me the workin’ man. I guess that’s what I am.”

See the original story on RacingJunk right here: https://www.racingjunk.com/news/on-the-go-with-nitro-joe-behind-the-ropes/

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