NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Justin Schriefer holds an interesting spot in Funny Car history, as the guy who sat in the 16th and final spot of the quickest field in history, which was set at the 2019 U.S. Nationals.

Schriefer’s run of 4.005 was the only four-second elapsed time in a field that boasted 15 three-second passes, putting the class excoriatingly close to the long-elusive all- three-second field.

The field at the 2022 Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals has a shot at creating that all-three-second field and Schriefer wants to be one of them. After four of five sessions, 14 drivers are qualified in the threes, with only John Smith (4.034) and Dale Creasy Jr. (4.075) outside the threes. Schriefer is 17th with a 4.132.

It’s been a little of a star-crossed weekend for Schriefer. After a solid, get-established 4.13 on Friday, the team had to skip Saturday’s first session when the oil pump shaft twisted during warmup in the pits and their second run Saturday was compromised when the throttle stuck on the burnout, perhaps overheating the clutch as the car was up in smoke at the Christmas Tree. The car also smoked the tires in Sunday's first pass, leaving him down to one shot.

“We couldn't get couldn't quite make the call for that first run and we were scrambling by the second one to get that figured, then the throttle stuck open on the burnout,” he said. “Once we refine all that stuff, we'll be in good shape. I think it’ll run 3.95 and get in there.”

It’s been a long road back to racing for Schriefer, who suffered a major loss after qualifying at last year’s U.S. Nationals when his support trailer caught fire and burned up on the highway heading home to Illinois.

“We lost a lot of things, like golf carts and belt grinders, or [supercharger] rotor cutter, a brand-new valve grinder, toolboxes, and all of the pit flooring,” he said. “The pit flooring along was $6,500. All of that is a pretty big hit for a team like ours.

Schriefer doesn’t have a big corporate sponsor like many of his opponents but receives valuable backing from Westside Tractors and Local 150 International Union of Operating Engineers. The rest of the operating expenses – probably 95% of it – is funded by his union-contracted businesses, Renzo Excavating out of Grant Park, Ill., and the family bar, Sollitt Tap, in Beecher, Ill.