NHRA News: Another two-car team blossoms as Weickgenannt joins Skuza (12/19/2000)

Another two-car team blossoms as Weickgenannt joins Skuza

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
12/19/2000

"I'm counting the days until we can get started."
-- Bob Weickgenannt

Fun-loving Funny Car pilot Dean Skuza is adding a second car to his Mopar Parts team with the hiring of Bob Weickgenannt, who will drive the second team car at select events in 2001.

Skuza, a 33-year-old, eight-year veteran of the Funny Cars wars, says adding the 42-year-old Weickgenannt will help elevate his team to championship contender status. Weickgenannt, meanwhile, is thrilled to finally have a chance at running with the top teams in the Funny Car class.

"Having two cars is the order of the day," said Skuza. "It's such an advantage to have double the info you get during a race. In the past we've tested like crazy after races but we've come to the realization that the data you get after a race really doesn't count for much because the track is different.

"I've run No. 1 qualifier numbers 100 times on Mondays. What you need to do is run those numbers when everyone else is there. Adding a second car and twice the amount of info on the track and the conditions during a race will get us closer to that set-up."

Heads-up racing on tap
A two-time national event winner who has raced to 11 final rounds over the course of his career including last year's Sears Craftsman Nationals in St. Louis, Skuza is very specific about how Weickgenannt's car will be run.

"This will not be a test car," Skuza said. "This will not be a blocker car. These two cars will truly be identical. A lot of people say that but we mean it 100 percent. If I turn out to be 15 pounds heavier than Bob then he's going to be sitting on 15 pounds of lead. We want the cars to be twins. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm 15 pounds heavier than Bob so he better start eating because I don't see me losing 15 pounds in the next couple of months.

"When we race it'll be heads-up. We owe that to our sponsors and, most of all, we owe that to the fans that pay to go to the races. I can't, in good conscious, tell Bob to tank a race or take a dive myself. I feel like we'd be ripping off a lot of people. The way I see it, if we line up in Round 1 then I'm assured of a car being in the second round. That's a good thing."

Dean Skuza and his new Mopar Funny Car

The specifics
The initial plan is for Weickgenannt to run eight to 10 races beginning in Gainesville, Fla. In the meantime, both Weickgenannt and Skuza are working feverishly to gain a title sponsor for the second car that would allow Weickgenannt to have a full-time ride.

"For now, Bob will run Gainesville and then all the bigger races," Skuza said. "But if we can sign a major sponsor, he'll turn into a full touring car right away."

Weickgenannt already has associate funding in place from Mopar Parts and Cornwell Tools. He is also close to inking a major associate deal with a dot-com company, which the team hopes to announce in the coming weeks.

"We've got enough funding in place to run all-out for 10 races," Weickgenannt said. "If we don't find a major sponsor before we start we hope to run well enough to get some attention and show potential sponsors what we're capable of delivering. With Lance Larsen and John Stewart working together on both cars I'm confident we'll have several opportunities to shine.

"I have a brand-new truck and trailer and I'm actively searching for crewmen to join the team. I believe we're at the start of something very exciting. I invite everyone interested in joining our team to track me down."

Who's Bob Weickgenannt?
Although he has raced several different nitro Funny Cars over the last few years, Weickgenannt is a bit of an unknown commodity in the NHRA ranks. In fact, his new teammate is still learning the basics.

"I guarantee you I can't even spell his name yet," Skuza said with a laugh. "I do know Bob has made a bunch of laps in an alcohol Funny Car and he has raced nitro cars for a few years so he's obviously tuned in to what it takes. Plus, he's willing to learn how to get better.

"But the main reason I wanted Bob as my teammate is because he's made of the right stuff. He's a great family man, an Ivy League guy that graduated from Colgate, and the kind of person who will represent us well in all areas. A teammate is not only a reflection of our sponsors but also of our team and my family. When you consider all of those factors, Bob was an easy choice."

Weickgenannt, who lives in Marriotsville, Md., with his wife, Betty, and their two children, Casey and Carly, has actually been drag racing for 20 years. He started in the Stock and Super Stock ranks before moving up to a Federal-Mogul Funny Car in 1990, which he raced for seven years. Weickgenannt decided to turn pro after winning his last Federal-Mogul points race at the end of the 1996 season.

"Everything has been a stepping stone to get into a nitro Funny Car," Weickgenannt said. "It's taken time because after I graduated from college I started a construction company (Starcom Design Build) and it just took off and did better than I ever expected it would.

"Finally, I have reached a point where I can step back a little and let the talented people I've hired over the years take over a lot of the day-to-day responsibilities while I go racing. I'm counting the days until we can get started."

Growing up in snowy Rochester, N.Y., Weickgenannt first leaned towards hockey as his favorite pastime. In fact, his prowess on the rink earned him a scholarship to Colgate University where he earned a B.A. in Economics. But the call of horsepower was never far behind, much to the chagrin of his coach.

"When I went to Colgate I got a job at a filling station just so I could work on cars," Weickgenannt said. "It drove my coach crazy. He'd come by the station and say, 'What the heck are you doing here?' He hated it. I'd be a mess when I'd show up at practice with grease up to my elbows. But I just loved working on cars."

Ready to debut
Weickgenannt will finally begin to fulfill his dream in 2001. The team plans to test in both Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., in January and hope to have both drivers drive all four of the group's racecars.

"Bob's never had a good racecar," Skuza said. "I can't wait until he takes a lap in my No. 1 car and throws up a 4.8-second lap. I want to be there at the finish line to see the smile on his face."

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