He’s big, he’s
imposing, he looks like, in his younger days, he could have lifted engine blocks
with one arm – but he’s a pussycat. Drag racing abounds with nice
guys. Just ask around. When you’re cruising through
the pits, stop someone in a team uniform, any team uniform, and ask them if
there are any nice guys around, and the person you question won’t know who to
turn to first, there are that many of them in drag racing. And Ken
Black ranks right up there near the top of the list.
His first real brush with national name
recognition came during his six year Pro Stock partnership with fellow Las Vegas
construction magnate George Marnell, but in recent years it’s his ownership of
the two Summit Racing-sponsored Pontiacs driven by Jason Line and Greg Anderson
that have vaulted him into the headlines. When he added the Top
Fuel car driven by Hillary Will to his stable it became obvious to everyone –
Ken Black is a “player” like few others currently competing in drag
racing.
We caught up with him Sunday morning for
a little conversation.