John Nobile is noted for being pretty wound up at the racetrack.
 
But the veteran Pro Stock racer and IHRA champion said he’s “really excited” about watching his 18-year-old son navigate the minefield that is the factory hot rod class.

Vincent Nobile took his father’s new Ford Mustang out for a spin this weekend at the Lucas Oil Nationals. And the newcomer from Dix Hills, N.Y., was impressive even with a DNQ on the Brainerd quarter-mile.

John Nobile is noted for being pretty wound up at the racetrack.
 
But the veteran Pro Stock racer and IHRA champion said he’s “really excited” about watching his 18-year-old son navigate the minefield that is the factory hot rod class.

Vincent Nobile took his father’s new Ford Mustang out for a spin this weekend at the Lucas Oil Nationals. And the newcomer from Dix Hills, N.Y., was impressive even with a DNQ on the Brainerd quarter-mile.
 
Young Vincent will have to wait to give a performance to compare to his father’s animated style, for the younger Nobile said he didn’t think he would be quite as rambunctious as his dad “but if I qualify, I might get pretty excited like him.”
 
He was 21st of 22 entrants, with a 6.761-second elapsed time at 204.11. He was .069 of a second slower than Rodger Brogdon, who took the 16th and final spot in the order (at 6.692 / 205.41) in his effort to clinch Pro Stock’s final spot for the Countdown.
 
Nevertheless, Vincent Nobile's father gave him high marks for his NHRA debut.
 
“He does a good job driving,” John Nobile said. “As green as he is, he’s out there driving as well as anybody I know. He shifts on time. He’s awesome on the tree - he’s absolutely phenomenal on the tree. If we can get him qualified, I think he’d be a threat. I really do.”
 
Vincent Nobile, who has some Top Sportsman passes under his belt, made his Pro Stock debut July 9 at a Mountain Motor Pro Stock Association event at Martin, Mich.
 
“That was a good experience,” he said. “I got to qualify. I got to run one round of competition. I knew I wasn’t going to win first round. But it was fun.”
 
Hardest, he said, is “overcoming my nerves.” Other than that, he said, he’s fine. “My dad taught me well, I guess.”
 
At Brainerd International Raceway, the nerves acted up a bit.
 
“I was pretty nervous. Right before the burnout box, I had so many butterflies in my stomach. But once I did the burnout it was all good,” he said.
 
He settled down fast because he knew all the procedures and had a really good idea what to expect. Like Kurt Johnson and Billy Glidden and Rickie Jones and Shane Gray, Nobile learned his craft  at home.
 
“I watched my dad for 18 years, for my whole life. I learned everything from him and followed in his footsteps. I was born at the racetrack. I grew up at the racetrack.

“Since the beginning I always asked questions. I was always curious. I always wanted to learn. Every race I learned something new.”
 
The idea of bringing Vincent to the Lucas Oil Nationals was “both of our ideas,” the teenager said. Both he and his dad said this doesn’t at all mean that John Nobile is ready to hang up his fire suit.
 
A two-car team, Vincent said, is a possibility “if we get a sponsor. We need a sponsor.”
 
Said his father, “It’s all about the money. I’d eventually love to run a two-car team. That’s juts about the money. For right now, I’m having more fun watching him.”
 
The younger Nobile also didn’t rule out someday having to arm-wrestle his dad for the race car. “I don’t know. Maybe. We might,” he said jokingly.