During the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, drivers are making a push to win a world championship.

T.J. Zizzo, a veteran part-time racer, is making a push to steal their spotlight.

After rain washed out Friday’s racing at the Midwest Nationals near St. Louis, Zizzo was more than ready for Saturday. He logged a day’s best of 3.714 seconds, 327.66 mph, to earn the No. 1 position for Sunday’s eliminations.

“First of all, that rain saved my dad a plethora of money,” Zizzo said. “It cost you dinner last night for $400 versus $40,000 – all good there,” Zizzo said. “To come out here and do what we did … off the trailer we were No. 6 qualifier, and we haven’t raced since Indy” on Sept. 2.

“We had some time off, but we worked really hard to get to this point. Then, to go out there and blast a 3.71 with a 4 – I wish it was a 71 with a 1; it would have been a record.

“This is spectacular. Remember we do this because we want to do it. We don’t do this because we are paid to do it. My dad is not paid to do it. My dad is not paid to do this, our crew chief is not, and the team members are not. We do this because we love the sport. We love the sport of NHRA Championship Drag Racing, and we come out here and we have qualified No. 1 twice. We should have been the No. 1 qualifier at the U.S. Nationals as well. We had a blower belt come off. We were far ahead of Brittany Force before that happened. We switched blower belts and went to a different manufacturer, and here we are No. 1 qualifier again.”

This is Zizzo’s second career No. 1 qualifier and his second this season as he was also No. 1 in Chicago. He is scheduled to face No. 16 qualifier Billy Torrence in Round One on Sunday.

Zizzo took a moment to talk about what a No. 1 qualifier means to him during his long drag racing journey.

“Here’s the deal: It was this race three years ago that my dad chose to go a different direction,” Zizzo said. “We were using a 1999 McKinney car, and we came here, and I think we were No. 16 qualifier. We knew we had the knowledge to go faster, but we just couldn’t go any faster. That was it. Then we saw Brittany Force go up there and run, like, a 64 against us. We weren’t competing at that same level as everyone else.

“My dad made the choice to step up all our equipment, and then Don Schumacher got involved and said, ‘Yes, this is what we are doing for you.’ So, now when we stage our car, I have the same equipment as the person next to us. As far as a mindset for a driver, it puts more pressure on you, doesn’t it? That’s what a good race car does. I can’t go up there and lollygag it. I have to get after it.”

Zizzo, who lives outside of Chicago, also knows nothing comes easy in this Top Fuel class anymore.

“There were 18 good cars that deserved to qualify (for this race),” Zizzo said. “So, the 16 who are qualified for this show, no joke, anyone could win – any one of us. It is always important to go rounds. Our goal is to win every time we leave our shop. Most teams say that, but here’s the deal: My dad and I have been chasing this dream to win a Wally for 44 years. Do you know how long 44 years is? All I want to do is present my dad with a Wally. The negative is all our volunteer team members said after we win a Wally they are going to quit because that’s why they are doing it as well. Maybe we haven’t won for that reason. I hope to hoist that Wally.”

Zizzo considers the World Wide Technology track to be his home away from home, and he hopes it will be the site where he can improve upon his career-best lone runner-up finish.

“To be able to come out and qualify No. 1 and go four rounds would be great, but I also know that will be a tough feat because of this tough field,” Zizzo said. “I’m going to get good rest. I’m going to breathe. I’m going to eat well, and I’m going to make sure I take care of myself and make sure (Sunday) presents itself as it should with a win.”

In other first-round duels of note:

Points leader and No. 10 qualifier Antron Brown, who won the first two races of the Countdown at Reading and Charlotte the past two Sundays, will square off against Jasmine Salinas;

The No. 2 driver in the Countdown standings, Justin Ashley, only qualified 13th and will face a tough foe in Clay Millican, who is fifth;

Teammates Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta are third and fourth, respectively, in the points – and only one of them will reach the second round since they are paired against each other.

The 2023 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster champion, Julie Nataas, made the field as the No. 15 qualifier, and will line up against the second-quickest driver, Tony Schumacher (3.718 seconds).

The 16-car eliminator includes four women. In addition to Salinas and Nataas, also making the cut were two-time world champ Brittany Force (3.722) at No. 3 and Ida Zetterstrom at No. 9 (3.760).