NHRA News: Pro golfer Blake loves drag racing life (4/07/2000)

Pro golfer Blake loves drag racing life

by Rob Geiger, NHRA Online
4/07/2000

"The sound of these cars, the excitement of racing, and the adrenaline of winning is great."
-- Jay Don Blake

Several drivers on the NHRA tour escape the rigors of the drag racing circuit with a round of golf whenever they can sneak away for a round. For professional golfer Jay Don Blake, a weekend at the track provides the same sort of relief from his equally pressure-packed job.

Blake, a 41-year-old PGA Tour pro from nearby St. George, Utah, is competing at this weekend's inaugural NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 14-year professional golfer has eight years of drag racing experience in the sportsman ranks. This weekend he's piloting a '57 Chevrolet Bel Air in the Super Comp ranks, logging a win in Friday's opening round of eliminations.

"I try to race whenever my schedule allows for it," Blake said. "I love it. Of course, this is Masters weekend so I'd prefer to be working right now. But if I can't be at Augusta then, in my mind, this is the next best place to be.

Pro golfer Jay Don Blake is piloting this '57 Chevy in Super Comp action this weekend in Las Vegas.

"It's so nice to have a first-class facility like this close to home. I mostly race in divisional events and other deals that are close to home, so it's a big thrill when we get the chance to race at a national event."

Blake races at 10-12 events per season, intermingling weekends at the track with tournaments that suit his style of play.

"It's not like I take a weekend off to race," Blake said. "But there are stretches in the golf season where I take time off and if there is racing going on during that time then I'm there.

"To be honest with you, I'm not very mechanically inclined [good friend John Brazeau tunes his Reher-Morrison engine] but I still love racing this thing. The sound of these cars, the excitement of racing, and the adrenaline of winning is great. Once you experience racing it's hard to forget."

The lanky Blake has enjoyed his fair share of success on the PGA Tour. In fact, he finished last weekend's BellSouth Classic in Atlanta in fifth place. Amazingly, drag racing played a role in Blake's strong finish as Top Fuel pro Bob Vandergriff Jr. served as his caddy.

"Bob's a good friend of mine and we had a blast last weekend," Blake said. "It's funny because he's a wannabe golfer who drives racecars for a living and I'm a wannabe driver who plays golf for a living."

Blake admits to being a fan of all forms of racing. He routinely spends his off-time on the PGA Tour in the clubhouse locker room watching the NHRA, NASCAR, and boat races.

"If it has a motor and goes fast, I like it," Blake said. "And I'm not alone, believe me. There are plenty of fans of drag racing and NASCAR on the tour. Most of the guys know I race and they're always asking me how I did."

Like many drag racers, Blake got his start by watching an older brother race in high school. In his case the love of motorsports became a family affair.

"My brother Ward is quite a bit older than me and when he started racing I was just a boy," Blake said. "He had a great car and he was always coming home with trophies. I thought it was the coolest thing. Now my other brother Richard and my wife, Marci, come with me to the races. I guess we're just a regular racing family now to a certain extent."

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