Tyson Parker Driver 2024
After beginning our 2022 Season in Pomona for the Winternationals in mid-February, we will soon begin our Season at our Home Track, Woodburn Dragstrip, for the first time this year at the Season Opener, May 21st & 22nd, 2022.
We are pleased to have Trevor Larkin back for the 2022 Season as our Driver. Trevor began driving for us last year at the beginning of the 2021 Season. Trevor exhibited excellent Driving Skills right away- Especially related to the wildly important issue of being safe and in control of the Car. I was very pleased with his decision-making in the Car and I was very quickly able to relax as I would Belt him in the Car for a Run, knowing that Trevor would make good decisions as a Driver. As Car Owner/Tuner, I Drove the Car for the first 14 years of owning it, so I have a good understanding of the challenges of Driving a 4,000 HP, Fire Breathing Nitro Dragster. Bottom Line- Things happen VERY quickly in the Car. I can still distinctly remember how early on in my Driving when I would mash the Throttle, there was an overwhelming sensation that my Body was WAY down Track very quickly, while my Mind was still at the Starting Line, saying- “WOW!! What just happened?!!” Thankfully, with “Seat Time”, I was able to maintain awareness throughout the Run- To keep the Mind and Body together. Obviously, this is a very important Skill to develop – As quickly as possible. For a bit of perspective, a Dodge Hellcat Redeye Widebody Factory Hot Rod with 797 HP is said to be able to accelerate from 0 – 60 MPH in only 3.15 Seconds. This is VERY fast……….. Uhhhmmm, UNLESS, there is an A/Fuel Nitro Dragster in the other Lane. The Gregg Racing A/Fuel Car that Trevor is Driving accelerates from 0 – 80 MPH in 1 Second. So, as the Hellcat Redeye gets to 60 MPH, a couple tenths of a second later, Trevor is traveling upward of 227 MPH in 3.5 seconds and is at the 1/2 Track, or 1/8th Mile mark. Then, Trevor will cross the 1/4 Mile Finish Line in just over 5 Seconds at 270 MPH. So- Things happen VERY quickly. In spite of this, as Car Owner/Tuner, I remember very early last Season being impressed with how Trevor handled the Car. In our vernacular, when a Driver is “Driving over his (or her) Head”, this means they’re not in proper control of the Car- Rather, the Car is then way ahead of the Driver. I truly never saw Trevor exhibit this. He always had proper control.
Over the Winter, Trevor then went to work on his “Lights”- aka- His Reaction Time. During any one of our Races, when the Christmas Tree is activated, all 3 Yellow Lights will come on at once and then 4 tenths of a second later, the Gree Light comes on. We want our Car to leave the Starting Line as closely to that .4 Seconds as possible, as anything over that is giving up time that we could be going. Since the Car takes a certain amount of time to get moving and it takes a bit of time for the Driver also to react, it’s important for the Driver to “leave” as soon as they see the Yellow light. During our first Race of this 2022 Season, Trevor’s reaction times, or “Lights” were greatly improved. I am proud to say that his “Lights” are now very competitive.
Trevor is a second-generation driver who has cross-licensed from a nostalgia Funny Car into an injected nitro dragster in 2019. Larkin brings sponsorships NGK Spark Plugs, Permatex, FedPro, Clean Boost Oil, and Mechanix Wear with him to Gregg’s Team for the 2022 Season.
“I’m stoked to be able to fill the seat of Gregg’s car”, Larkin said. “Russ did a great job, and I was cheering them on in Seattle when they went to the finals in 2019. I’m proud to be able to bring NGK Spark Plugs and Clean Boost Oil with me to his team. NGK is the ignition specialist and the leader in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and Clean Boost oil is also widely used in the class to keep these fire-breathing engines running smoothly. This will be an exciting season with lots of moving parts and things in the works. Gregg and his team have a great reputation and offer a safe and dependable car. I hope to be able to find success as I fill the seat, doing as good as Russ did.”
You can follow them this Season on social media at Facebook.com/GreggRacing,
www.greggracing.net, on Instagram under trevor_larkin_racing and gregg_racing, and our YouTube channel- GREGG RACING.
About Gregg Racing
Gregg Racing acquired the A/Fuel Car in 2000, so this year, 2022 is my 22nd year campaigning the A/Fuel Car. My career best ET is 5.283, and we’ve been over 270 MPH. Since NHRA has taken the Nitro percentage down over the years, little by little, we now can run only 95% Nitro. Although it doesn’t sound like much- changing our 5% of the Nitro for Methanol (Alcohol) makes a HUGE difference! We’ve worked very hard to get the Horse Power back that was surrendered there. Thankfully, we’re running better now than we even were back on 100%. Tons of Laps and lots of experimenting- But the Car runs well again now.
We’ve spent a ton of money to get it back- all in search of the illusive Cylinder Pressure. With the Hard Work and dedication of my faithful Crew and my always-believing-in-me-Bride Robbie, we have gotten there. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Jerry Darien, who has helped me sort this program out and without whom we would not be seeing the performance and reliability gains that we have. Also, Russ Parker made major contributions to the Program during the 3 years that he Drove for us (2018 – 2020), allowing me to focus on the Tuning. During this time, I was able to get the Car to run 5.2’s at over 270 MPH- And the BEST part is that it hasn’t been hurting itself!
This 2022 Season, we’re excited to have Trevor Larkin back in the Driver’s Seat. He brings help from NGK Spark Plugs, Permatex, FedPro, Clean Boost Oil & Mechanix Gloves. We’re very excited about the upcoming Season and we appreciate your interest in our program!! Keep checking back for more videos, stories and pics! We deeply appreciate you!!!- our Fans, Friends and Family- frankly, they all kinda’ blend together!! 🙂
Warmly,
Gregg
Crew Dudes That Make the Nitro Magic Happen at Gregg Racing, Inc.~
- Kris Derby- Clutch Dude & Car Chief
- Stan Wise- Bottom End & Cylinder Heads
- Josh Cutlip- Bottom End & Fuel Mixologist
- Keith McCurdy- All Over Car Expert
- Robbie- My Bride, My Lover, My BFF, Parachutes, Parts Washer, Fuel & Warm-Ups in the Car.
- Maggs- Maggie Mae & Holly Dog- Our Dalmatians
Gregg Racing 