“It has.”
Jeff Arend didn’t hesitate when asked if the NHRA Heritage Series has become his racing home. As he heads into this weekend’s Bakersfield March Meet, there’s no debate about where he belongs.
Arend, a longtime NHRA “Big Show” Funny Car racer, now straps into a 1977 Firebird Nostalgia Funny Car for Bynum-Lucchetti Motorsports. While the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series opens in Gainesville, his focus is squarely on Bakersfield.
The choice is no longer complicated. For Arend, it hasn’t been for several years.
“Obviously I’ve raced in NHRA big show for a long time and I’ve done a few years of Nostalgia racing or Heritage Series racing,” Arend said. “And I really enjoy the Heritage stuff.”
That enjoyment turned into commitment when the Firebird proved it could contend. The first season out with Matt Bynum and Randy Lucchetti nearly resulted in a championship.
“And the first year we went out with it, we went to four races., four finals and won the California Hot Rod Reunion,” Arend said. “And I think we lost the championship by like 11 points and we missed a race, so had we just showed up, we probably could have won it.”
Consistency followed the next season. The performance numbers backed up the belief.
“Last year we didn’t do quite as much racing, but the car never ran slower than 5.69 all year, which was a pretty good testament to the team and everything,” Arend said. “This year we decided to go to at least five races and kind of run for the championship because I think we have a really good car and an excellent crew.”
For Arend, the appeal goes beyond elapsed times. The Heritage Series environment reminds him why he started racing in the first place.
“I would say just that the camaraderie between all the teams,” Arend said. “It’s kind of like when I first started racing NHRA back in the ’90s.”
He described a pit area built on accessibility rather than isolation. That dynamic matters to him.
“You can go to anybody’s pit, you can have a beer with them,” Arend said. “If you need a part, you can get that. If you see a team struggling, there’s no problem to go over there and give them a couple of pointers on what to do.”
The structure of the series continues to improve, he added. Organization and efficiency have caught up with the laid-back feel.
“It’s just a really nice vibe there,” Arend said. “It’s not as much stress, way more laid back. And every year the series seems to get a little bit better with the race running right on time and things like that. We have run order sheets now most of the time, which eliminates a lot of some of the confusion. It’s just a great place to race.”
The cars themselves deliver a different kind of challenge. Nostalgia Funny Cars demand attention without relying on modern aids.
“The cars are super fun to drive,” Arend said. “I’m not going to say they’re harder to drive than a big show car because that’s not really true.”
What makes them engaging is how they respond mid-track. The two-speed transmission and absence of downforce change the feel of every run.
“But I think I’ve probably almost crashed a Nostalgia car more than ever in a big show car because big show cars, if they start to spin the tires, there’s smoke like two-tenths of a second later and your run’s done,”
Arend said. “But in Nostalgia cars, because they have a two-speed transmission, they kind of rev up and then maybe like 300, 400 feet out before they start to rev up when you shift it, they could start to spin there and if you plug it into high gear and it keeps spinning, they have no wing, no downforce.”
The engine combination mirrors contemporary nitro power. The finish line numbers tell the story.
“And we’re running like a 500-inch big show engine basically,” Arend said. “And at the finish line, if you go 262mph like we have, it’s almost 10,000 RPM, which is hard to believe, with no downforce.”
The Firebird itself is a throwback in the best sense. Once campaigned by Chad Head, it evolved into what Arend calls a true driver’s car.
“When Randy and Matt first got the car they didn’t really have a whole bunch of success with it, but it’s like a real driver’s car,” Arend said. “I mean, I think Del [Worsham] did a lot of work on it. It’s got no burnout stop, no throttle stop, no shift light, no TACH, no nothing. And you just go in there and drive it.”
That simplicity forces feel and discipline. It also keeps it fun.
“And you do burnouts with no burnout stop,” Arend said. “It’s so much fun. And I think in the end it makes you a better driver for things like throttle control and everything.”
The numbers remain competitive. The enjoyment remains obvious.
“And they’re still pretty fast,” Arend said. “I mean, they go, I think we’ve gone 5.58, 262mph, which is still ripping along pretty good. Not nearly as fast as the bigger cars, but certainly a lot more fun to drive. And the whole race and everything, it’s just a lot more laid back and, to me, a lot more fun.”
Arend credited the Bynum-Lucchetti team, including Jodi Todd, along with sponsor Red Line Oil. He also pointed to Kyle, Brian and Steve at Transportation Services for the fresh paint and graphics on the Firebird, trailer and team transporter.
As Bakersfield approaches, Arend isn’t looking back at what he used to do. He’s focused on where he is now.
And for a veteran who has seen every level of the sport, that place is exactly where he wants to be.
“It’s just a great place to race,” Arend said.
