I’ll bet you guys thought I would be hootin,’ hollerin’ and jumping up and down about winning Phoenix didn’t you? Well, as excited as I still am about our victory, I’m going to do a lane swap. Yup, I know you are getting that feeling that you get when you see two dragsters switching lanes on the starting line. People always look at that like someone is up to something! No, I’m not up to anything, but in light of our recent victory in Phoenix, I would like to tell you about one of the decision makers who call those critical lane swaps.

Scott Okuhara is my car chief. No, I didn’t make a verbal misstep, I don’t mean crew chief, I mean car chief. I was recently asked to explain the difference. Todd Okuhara is the crew chief. He spends the majority of his time at the computer analyzing data between rounds. He calls the shots concerning tweaks and adjustments on the car. The car chief, Scott Okuhara, spends his time making sure the tweaks and adjustments are properly implemented. He is the overseer in the pit and hardly ever leaves the car. You see him in the pit, staging lanes and starting line. He’s the guy who goes out and backs me up after a burnout too. I’m sure you “old-timers” remember the day when it was always a nice looking girl wearing go-go boots backing up the cars. Not anymore, we tried to get Scott to wear the boots but he wouldn’t go for it...

Scotty (yeah, we call him “Scotty”) hails from Honolulu, Hawaii and is a 12 year veteran in the sport of drag racing. He is a former funny car guy and worked with Jack Beckman’s team before making the conversion to top fuel. Although we have racked up a few victories with his help, he considers the 2007 Skoal Showdown victory with Jack Beckman to be one of his best drag racing memories. We’ll have to slide into the Winner’s Circle a few more times and change that answer this season!

Scotty is the one who bridges the gap between “command and control” and the guys in the trenches. I know that you veterans recognize those as military terms and I’m sure that you would appreciate how we work together here just like the military does. The military has a chain of command and we have one here too. Scotty is like the Chief Master Sergeant (Air Force rank) who is in direct contact with the squadron commander. The guys communicate with him and if an issue needs to go any farther, he is the one who steps into the trailer to talk to management.

Scotty confesses to feeling like he’s a bit short-fused and maybe even a little impatient at times. I think he has harnessed that energy and converted it into a mental drive that helps to keep the car running the way it should. Don’t tell him I said that though, it might go to his head. Yeah, let’s call it impatience for imperfection where the car is concerned. He prefers that things go the way that they should and he uses that to his advantage to try to get it right the first time.

He likes to spend time with his girlfriend of four years, Mandy, and her two sons, Cody and Ben. Scotty also likes to play video games (golden tee) in his rare spare time. When I asked him if there was anything  particularly interesting about him that nobody knows about he simply said that he could tell me, but he would have to kill me...okay, maybe the short fuse thing has gone beyond what I talked about earlier. Let’s call Dr. Phil and get him set up with some anger management! Maybe he’s still irritated about us asking him to wear the boots and hot pants when he backs up the car...

 All kidding aside, Scotty’s successful execution of his role as car chief is absolutely crucial in our effort to thunder our way to the winner’s circle. We’re off to a decent start and he played an important part every step of the way. Scotty, thanks for all of your hard work my friend, I’m glad you’re on my team. You always choose the fast lane and keep us in the groove!