The challenge was enough to lure Tim Richards out of retirement.
The veteran nitro tuner, who has won championships as a nitro crew chief, received a call from Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani asking for assistance with his Pro Extreme doorslammer. He was needed to fill in as the lead tuner on the weekends when crew chief Frank Manzo was racing his Al-Anabi Racing alky flopper at NHRA national and divisional races.
Richards, who was joined by his wife Kim in the eight-race endeavor, knew there was going to be a learning curve when they entered their first race weekend with the team last April in Valdosta, Ga.
“The last time I messed around with any kind of car that had a suspension on it was in Super Stock,” said Richards with a smile. “That’s a lot of years ago; probably 1971. In 1972, I started working for [former Top Fuel racer Joe] Amato and we always had funny cars and dragsters.
Tim and Kim Richards Complete Their Assignment With Al-Anabi Racing …
The challenge was enough to lure Tim Richards out of retirement.
The veteran nitro tuner, who has won championships as a nitro crew chief, received a call from Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani asking for assistance with his Pro Extreme doorslammer. He was needed to fill in as the lead tuner on the weekends when crew chief Frank Manzo was racing his Al-Anabi Racing alky flopper at NHRA national and divisional races.
Richards, who was joined by his wife Kim in the eight-race endeavor, knew there was going to be a learning curve when they entered their first race weekend with the team last April in Valdosta, Ga.
“The last time I messed around with any kind of car that had a suspension on it was in Super Stock,” said Richards with a smile. “That’s a lot of years ago; probably 1971. In 1972, I started working for [former Top Fuel racer Joe] Amato and we always had funny cars and dragsters.
“We didn’t have suspensions. We didn’t have a driver off to one side. We didn’t have a lot of the problems that these cars have. These cars make a lot of horsepower. It’s a pretty powerful motor in these cars. They’re pretty quick. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble real quick if you’re not careful. You have to take that into consideration always – safety.”
Richards understood fully his role on the flagship Al-Anabi Pro Extreme car and was perfectly content serving in a supporting role. Together he and Manzo tuned Al-Thani to his first U.S. win during the ADRL Independence Drags in May.
“Frank is his crew chief,” explained Richards. “He is the brains behind this operation. How the car runs is out of his head. Frank’s goal is to try to win 100 national events. That’s his goal. That is what’s important to him. Khalid wants him to attain his dream before he hangs it up and says, ‘that’s enough’. Basically they were looking for somebody who could come in and take Frank’s place, to some degree, when he’s not available.
“If it wasn’t Frank I probably just wouldn’t do it. He and I have been friends for many, many years. When he first started out I was the guy who built his engines and advised him how you do things. At one point I was his teacher. I’m sure he has way surpassed me and anyone else who has run one of these blown alcohol cars as to the best way to get them from A to B. Basically it’s my friendship with Frank. I agreed to do the eight races this year. That’s basically all I agreed to.”
Sometimes the transference of leadership can bring about new challenges. The lack of weekly events can sometimes create a measure of continuity issues.
“It’s kind of a challenge because sometimes you’re the crew chief and sometimes you’re not,” Richards admits. “That’s the way it is. I am just trying to be in the support area; when he’s not here we run the car. You’re switching people as to who does what, so you don’t get into a regular, consistent thing that you always do. It’s kind of difficult with these cars, especially with a new driver, because you’re only running once every three of four weeks. When you stop for a couple weeks, when you come back, it’s different. You don’t get the every week racing like you do with the fuel cars.”
Richards remembers the nitro days when continuity could make or break a team.
“I remember when we would go testing in January out in Phoenix, it was more about getting the crews working again and getting comfortable with the car than it was about testing the car,” Richards explained. “It took five or six runs before everybody would start working and they weren’t up to speed even then. It’s difficult to do it this way; but it affords Frank the chance to chase his dream of trying to win a hundred.”
Seeing his friend attain the impressive goal means a lot to Richards. But, his appointment with the team may have had a further reaching impact, he was having fun again.
“This is more like what it used to be back in the day than NHRA is (today),” Richard said. “I don’t know if you could ever go completely back there, but this is a lot closer to it than that is. Obviously, the money that gets spent of these cars today is way beyond what use to be (spent) back in the day. The money always corrupts the racing to some degree. The guys that do have it are racing against the guys who don’t have it. Most of the time, the guy that does have it is going to win out most of the time. Not always.
“There are guys out here who don’t have anywhere near the budget that goes with a car like this or several of the cars that are sponsored. But, they still do really well. I guess Frankie Taylor and a couple more are really good examples. They are just hard racers. They race a lot and they are really smart about how they spend their money and it shows. He’s the fastest car out here. I’m sure he hasn’t got the budget anywhere near anybody around here.”
Prior to his ADRL experience, Richards admittedly watched the Pro Modifieds on a casual basis as exhibition cars on the NHRA Full Throttle tour. He now sees them in a different light. The Pro Modified style cars are the foundation for the ADRL series.
“I never dreamed there were 200 in the whole world, never mind that could show up at one race in one state,” Richards said, referring to the ADRL’s Drag Stock event in Rockingham, NC, last month. “I had no idea it was this large. Everybody always enjoyed watching the Pro Mod cars run. In the early days they would come to selected NHRA races. Everybody always enjoyed watching them run because they are kinda neat to watch run. But, I was really surprised at how fast these cars really are now. They’re really fast and it’s pretty competitive. You take the first eight to ten cars, they’re really tight. There’s a lot of good talent out here. They do it a little bit different but they enjoy what they do out here. I can see that. They have a good time doing it.
“That is something that is somewhat missing from NHRA, I believe. It’s become too much dog eat dog. They have some real problems. Everybody can see it; including the people that run the cars. They know that. It’s kind of difficult to make a case for spending four or five million dollars a year when you’re chasing a prize that, even if you win a lot of races and the championship, might amount to a million and a half dollars. It makes no business sense whatsoever unless you have a big sponsor. Well, the big sponsors are disappearing. Either you find a way to make it more available to more people or you die.”
And with his profound statement, Richards awaits his next opportunity to help a friend all the while having fun..
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