TF DRIVER FOLEY LAUNCHES NEW DRAG RACING-THEMED INITIATIVE

Fri, 2021-05-14 11:02

 

The only Top Fuel team based in North Carolina will unveil a new look at zMAX Dragway this weekend and owner-driver Doug Foley hopes carrying the colors of WhyNotDragRacing.com will help grow his team and others in the sport.

“My goal is to get this team to compete at the highest level with a full schedule,” said Foley, whose team is headquartered in Mooresville, roughly 20 miles from this weekend’s stop for NHRA major league drag racing.  “I believe this new, innovative platform to bring awareness to our sport is going to benefit us and eventually many others.”

While searching for marketing partners, Foley said he and others on his team noticed “drag racing isn’t being looked at as a serious marketing asset by many in the business world.  This is why the idea for WhyNotDragRacing.com came about.  We wanted a platform to expose the product of drag racing to more people, especially business owners and those in charge of growing companies.”

Foley and team partner Tim Lewis raced together for 11 years and re-kindled their desire to tackle the top echelon of the sport in 2019.  The two men personally funded the infrastructure to house the first NHRA Top Fuel team in a town known for being the stock car racing center of the universe.  “We have everything necessary to be a top contender,” said Foley, a veteran of four decades in the sport.  “We just need a few partners in place where we can expand our schedule to 12 to 15 races a year.”

He added: “I don’t want people to be intimidated by what they think the cost is to be involved in drag racing.  The numbers thrown around in the media are often millions of dollars.  It’s not necessarily that kind of money to make a big impact with a team like ours.  We have opportunities available for virtually any business owner or even a car enthusiast with the means to participate.  We want the chance to talk to those folks, invite them down to our shop and see what we are all about.”

The WhyNotDragRacing.com site will serve as a platform to highlight business to business opportunities and other marketing opportunities in the sport of drag racing.  Foley said he hopes to grow the idea where it will “not only help us get where we want to go, but allow us to help some other teams.  I have been in this sport a long time and I want to leave it better than I found it.”

Foley noted that many team owners, drivers and even crew members are also small to medium-size business owners.  “There is a great passion for running a business, just like there is for drag racing,” he said.  “I believe many business owners will get hooked on this sport just like us once they are aware of what we have to offer.”

The fan engagement at the highest levels of drag racing is much different than other forms of motorsports Foley said.  “I live in Mooresville, NC, in the heart of stock car racing country.  I am just a few miles from one of the most famous tracks in the country.  When the fans arrive at a big-time stock car race, most of them know the chances are very slim they will get to meet their favorite driver.  It’s unfortunate, but true.”

He continued: “In our sport, when a fan goes to an NHRA event, they know the chances are pretty good they can watch a champion like Steve Torrence zip down the track and then go to his pits a few minutes later and actually see them.  Obviously, the drivers have things going on between runs, but if a fan is patient enough, chances are really good they can get an autograph and a personal moment with a driver.  You just don’t get that in any other major league sport.”

The NGK NTK Four-Wide Nationals for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series runs May 14-16 at the zMAXX Dragway in Concord, NC.  Foley-Lewis Racing is among 18 entries expected to vie for 16 starting positions at the fourth event of the season for the series.

 

 

 

 
Categories: 
:::::: News ::::::