On the eve of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, over a soft drink and a plate
of nachos in the lobby of their St. Louis hotel, Jim Brissette, Doug Herbert's
longtime sidekick and team consultant, took a enjoyable jaunt down memory lane
with an on-track rival from long ago.
John Muldowney is back on the scene.
Muldowney, fabricator extraordinaire who helped his famous mother Shirley
win four Top Fuel championships (three in NHRA, one in AHRA), is attending this
seventh stop on the Powerade Drag Racing Series tour as part of Herbert's
Snap-On Top Fuel Dragster team.
"I'm going to enjoy the races. I'm going to do what Doug Herbert asks me to
do," John Muldowney said.
After a Full House of bad luck -- three first-round losses and a pair of
DNQs -- Herbert rebounded with a runner-up finish at Atlanta last week. And he
said he's committed to chasing an NHRA championship trophy that would complement
the four he won in IHRA in the 1990s. He said Muldowney might end up being a
pivotal player down the stretch.
"Whether it's a basketball team or a drag-racing team, the teams that are
the best out here have a deep bench," Herbert said. "We've been working hard for
a year or more to fit all the right pegs into the right holes. Maybe John will
be a key piece in the puzzle."
