Jerry Toliver remembers his 2004 Pomona victory as if it were yesterday.

He’s won Pomona thrice, twice at the Winternationals and once at the World Finals. However, the 2004 conquest was special. After spending nearly 20 months procuring a sponsor, Toliver drove Schick Razors to victory in their maiden outing.

Toliver, the nephew of Funny Car legends Art and Jack Chrisman, beat the likes of the rookie Eric Medlen, Cory Lee, Del Worsham and Gary Densham for the victory.

AN INCREDIBLE 2004 VICTORY IN POMONA IS THE STUFF LEGENDS ARE BUILT ON

Jerry Toliver remembers his 2004 Pomona victory as if it were yesterday.

He’s won Pomona thrice, twice at the Winternationals and once at the World Finals. However, the 2004 conquest was special. After spending nearly 20 months procuring a sponsor, Toliver drove Schick Razors to victory in their maiden outing.

Toliver, the nephew of Funny Car legends Art and Jack Chrisman, beat the likes of the rookie Eric Medlen, Cory Lee, Del Worsham and Gary Densham for the victory.

The instant success caught Toliver off-guard as he said in a February 2004 interview, “I sat at home for the last year-and-a-half watching NHRA drag racing on ESPN wondering if I would ever get back out there. It got to a point where I began to think that there was a good possibility that I wouldn't race again. But I wasn't through yet and I knew I would really miss it if I didn't find a way to get back out here. I thought to myself, if I do get back out there I know how fleeting and difficult it is to win a national event.

“I said if I ever do win another race, which now luckily we have, that I would really think about it and feel the special experience that it is. I went back to the pit and celebrated with the team, went out to dinner and we enjoyed it, laughed and talked about the race. I woke up the next morning and couldn't believe that it actually happened and just thought what a great feeling it was. I am much more appreciative of the experience now than I was in the past.” 

If Toliver and tradition are on the same page, he could be due another victory.

“If we play the numerology game then every 4 years it's my game and we're coming up on 2008,” said Toliver. “Hopefully that will go as we're planning it but in reality, as a professional racer, I think you want to go into every race thinking that you could win it.  I've had great success at Pomona and great luck at Pomona.  It's my home track and I'm extremely excited to go in there but anything is possible.”

While the 2007 tour was a complex struggle to say the least, the 2008 approach makes Toliver smile in much the same manner as he did after winning in 2004.

“If we ever had a fighting chance of going in there with the ability to win this thing, now's the time,” Toliver said.  “I think we have a better ability, the knowledge and the experience and if a little luck can come on my side in this game plan then you might see us in the winners circle but who knows, anything can happen.”

The Rockstar Energy Drink sponsorship remains the same for Toliver, but the scenery is distinctly different. Gone is the team ownership and pressure surrounding such a complex position.

Toliver’s Rockstar Energy drink sponsorship has been morphed into Don Schumacher Racing for 2008 and beyond. He’s a hired gun, a position that is not exactly familiar to him. In an ego-driven world, one might think that was a tough pill to swallow.
 
“You've got to look at the big picture,” Toliver explained. “It was difficult because it was my baby and I've been nursing my baby for a long time but it was a big move and it was a smart move.  It gave us the ability to combine our resources with all Schumacher's resources and with all the support stuff that he has there at the shop.  It was the right choice to make. 

“My sponsor Rockstar wanted to expand their footprints in the NHRA and this allowed them to do that with all the other Schumacher cars, which gives them a total of 4 Funny Cars, two Top Fuel dragsters, and the Pro Stock Motorcycle.  It was the right move to make for my sponsor, it was the right move to make technical wise, it just gave us a lot more resources and we're a better team for it.  It's always hard giving up something that you've done yourself but this was a good move, for everyone involved, it was certainly good for NHRA and I think it will make us a lot more competitive.”

Folding his operation in Schumacher actually creates a better environment for Toliver as a driver and allows him more time to better represent his sponsor both off and on the track. 
“It's less pressure on Jerry Toliver because I don't have to run the team during the week,” he explained. “Take me out of that equation and it gives me more time to focus on my personal things, being prepared physically and mentally for the races it allows me to do that.  As far as the pressure with driving, I always drive for winning and I put a lot of pressure on myself to do that so that won't change. 

“I'll be the same guy out there and I'll still be racing.  That part didn't change and I don't feel any added pressure by driving under the Schumacher umbrella because I have that dedication every time I climb into the cockpit.  I've always had that dedication so that won't change.”