This montage adorns the hood of the Mystery 4 Funny Car.

This weekend at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing Funny Car team will honor Tasca's grandfather, Bob Sr., who died in January 2010, with a special paint scheme honoring the iconic Mystery series campaigned by Bob Sr. in the early days of drag racing.

Bob Sr., who first raced a Mystery 9, said it was a mystery how quick his cars would run. Every time his car broke a second barrier, he’d lower the number. He breezed through Mystery 9, 8, 7. Years later, Bob III put Mystery 5 on his Top Alcohol Funny Car. The latest car will be called the Mystery 4 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang. Someday, he says he’ll run Mystery 3 when he breaks the four-second barrier in his nitromethane-burning Motorcraft/Quick Lane Funny Car.
 
Through his own ingenuity and straight-talking leadership style, Bob Sr. influenced decisions made at Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., even convincing it to become involved in drag racing on an organized, strategic level. He developed the Cobra Jet engine. And though the list of his contributions on both sides of the “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” equation is long (Bob Sr. came up with that famous phrase, for starters), his proudest accomplishment was his family.
 
“I was blessed to have had my grandfather in my life for as long as I had,” Bob III said. “He taught me so much about business, but he taught me more about life. For me to have been able to be part of the family dealership for many years while he was alive and then to bring the Tasca family back into drag racing and for him to see me get my first win in both my Top Alcohol Funny Car and my Funny Car, those are moments I’ll never forget.
 
“Before he died, he was asked if he’d do anything different. He said, ‘No, there’s nothing left for me to do but to watch my family continue and to build on what I started. I can do that here, or I can do that in heaven.
 
“I think about that every time I get in the car. He’s looking down on me. I’m just honored to have the opportunity to be able to race this car this weekend in memory and respect for all my grandfather has done for our family and all the Ford racers around the globe.”