As the years pass by, things change.

In the olden days, it was not uncommon to walk through the pits and see the drivers working right alongside their crews, rebuilding motors, making adjustments and preparing the car prior to each run.

While you can still see that in a modern nitro pit, it is far less often as drivers as ushered from PR appearances to interviews to autograph sessions, all while the task of preparing the car falls solely on the crew. But for some of the smaller teams, that old school, throwback pit atmosphere still exists.

And one of those teams is that of Funny Car driver Justin Schriefer.

Schriefer, who got his start scrubbing and washing parts for other teams and is now driving a Funny Car at the Big Go this weekend in Indianapolis, remembers well how he got to this point.

“This is our dream just to be out here with these teams,” Schriefer said. “I was a bracket racer starting out, then I got into Top Sportsman. My brother and I were looking for a Hemi motor for our Challenger and I ran into Dale Creasy Sr. and we went racing with him. Next thing we know, we are addicted. I started out cleaning the body and scrubbing and washing parts and stuck with it until one day they are letting me touch the motor.

“I worked my way up from there. One day, Dale just said, ‘I’ll put you in the car.’”

When walking through the pits, you will see Schriefer still working right alongside his crew preparing the car, just like the throwback days of drag racing lore.

“I have good help here, but being around it so long, I still want to have my hands on things,” Schriefer said. “The clutch, the pedal, you get used to, when you are driving, mechanically working on the car and setting things the way you like for comfort. It is hard to let that part go.”

And if you are thinking about trying to drag Schriefer away from his duties working on the car, watch out - Schriefer is also a bodybuilder with years of karate experience.

“I started bodybuilding when I was 16,” Schriefer said. “I don’t know how much it helps out on the racetrack, but let’s just say if the car tries to get out of hand, I will do my best to make sure it doesn’t out wrestle me.”