Hey guys! Remember last year when I featured my crew in the blog? Well, it’s that time of year again. You have heard me talk about the Fram Boys in just about every blog entry—now it’s time to put faces and names to the title. I will feature two of my Fram boys in each blog spread out over the next couple of weeks. This is the proverbial “15 minutes of fame” for some of them, so make sure you spend at least that amount of time reading this so you don’t gyp them out of any of that coveted time! Now, without any further ado, lets meet the crew!

We don’t have a single crew chief for the Fram team. We have “co-crew chiefs.” Todd Okuhara and Phil Schuler fill those shoes, and make the tuning decisions together. They each bring a different approach to making decisions. Combine their talents, and we end up with a Top Fuel dragster in contention for the Full Throttle Championship.

Todd Okuhara hails from Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. He has 12 years of experience in the world of professional drag racing. The majority of his work has centered around fuel Funny Cars. This is his first season calling the shots on a dragster. I can only imagine what he’s going to be like with a couple more years under his belt! Todd says that one of the things that he likes best about working at DSR is that he has everything at his disposal needed to win a championship. Although Todd tends to take a more conservative and scientific approach to tuning a dragster, it still takes the full backing provided at DSR to be a serious contender for the Full Throttle championship.

Todd would have been a good Cub Scout. He is the kind of guy who is often seen, and seldom heard. His steady, calm, and level-headed demeanor has a tranquil effect on the entire crew, even when things get hectic in the pits. Todd has an innate ability to calm Phil Schuler down ... more on that in a minute! He is also a very humble guy. Todd isn’t the kind of guy to run toward a camera. He is perfectly happy to tune the car to a great run, smile, and quietly stroll back to the pit and try to make it happen again.

It’s hard to hide something from Todd. He has an ability to read people, and that is an invaluable skill to have when serving in a supervisory capacity. Knowing something about people and what makes them tick comes in handy when serving as part of a management team. Todd might be a quiet guy, but he is very aware of what is going on, not only with the car, but with the guys on the team as well. No matter what is going on, like a still pond on a windless day, Todd remains steady.

Todd says that his favorite thing to do away from the track is to spend time with his wife, Amy, and his son, Shane. In fact, when I asked him what he liked doing other than tuning the car, he stated, “Time with my family—period!” No question there! That’s the kind of steadfast guy that he is. Todd Okuhara: Steady guy in the trenches, making it happen behind the scenes. I’m glad he’s in my corner!

Now, let’s shift gears a bit (as I clear my throat, and adjust my collar...). Let me introduce Mr. Phil Schuler, my other co-crew chief. Phil is the kind of guy who would strap a jet engine on top of the blower and pack the headers with pure gunpowder if he thought it would make the car go faster! Forget the fact that I am strapped in front of said gunpowder … Phil wants to make it go fast all of the time. Enter, Todd Okuhara -- calm down Phil. Thanks Todd... Yup, that’s our Phil! He’s a genuine southern boy from Sumter, South Carolina. Affectionately known as “Philbilly,”... go ahead and finish laughing...okay, that’s what everybody else calls him. I call him “40 grit,” which is my tribute to his somewhat rough nature. Phil lets you know what he thinks and rarely holds back. On occasion during qualifying, we might shake the tires or break loose and have a bad run. Todd will ask me what I felt during the run. Phil, on the other hand, will ask, “What the hell did you do to it?” When you have 23 years of drag racing experience like Phil has, you can ask a driver anything you want to—just like that!

Phil also has an extensive Funny Car background and recalls many events with DSR as being among his most memorable. Winning the 2006 Skoal Showdown as crew chief and setting the Funny Car e.t. and mph record in 2006 brought a smile to his face as he fondly recalled these events. In addition, our win in North Carolina was Phil’s “home race,” and it’s always special to win at home! Rumor has it that his hometown newspaper posted a headline that read, “40 Grit earns braggin’ rights in Charlotte!” Just kidding; I made that up. But it would have been cool!

Mr. 40 Grit—I mean Phil -- is happily single and likes to play golf and race Pro Mod-style cars. When I asked him if he had any secrets, he said that if he told me they wouldn’t be secrets anymore. Really, he looked at me as if I just keyed his car when I asked him that! I thought he was going to hit me. That’s our Philbilly! Even though the other guys on the team also describe him as being, shall I say, “straightforward,” Phil lends his own style and expertise to make this team into a winning combination. His efforts to “throw everything we have” at every run has resulted in some very respectable qualifying spots. He and Todd complement each other in a way that allows us to utilize the best that they both have to offer.

Thanks to both Todd, and Phil, the Fram dragster is a serious contender. When they get the combination right, believe me, all I can do is hang on for dear life! With two races to go, they will utilize their talents to do what has to be done. I can’t think of anybody else that I would rather have in my corner in the home stretch. Thanks guys, I appreciate your work.

We’re taking the fast lane to the winner’s circle -- Todd and Phil know how to get there.