Mike
“Zippy” Neff figured he’d better accept a driving offer from John Force Racing
because opportunities like that only come once in a lifetime. The current Don
Schumacher Racing crew chief had earlier mentioned to his employer that he had
an interest in filling the opening left in 2008 by the non-retiring,
sabbatical-invoking Gary Scelzi.
Schumacher
admitted in an interview with Torco’s ComptitionPlus.com that he didn’t know if
he could fill the vacancy with a driver who had no nitro experience, much less
alcohol racing credentials.
John
Force took that chance and made the offer. The crew chief, who answers to the
nickname of Zippy, accepted. Force committed to doing what it took to bring
Neff into the JFR fold.
Neff
now has his lifetime opportunity.
“It wasn’t like I always
thought about being a driver,” said Neff, who tuned Gary Scelzi to the 2005
Funny Car title. “I had an interest in driving and making some runs. When I was
offered the deal from John Force Racing, it interested me. It was an exciting
thing. It was hard for me to leave Don Schumacher Racing because it was such a
good place to work. I’ve always been happy and I have had no complaints. I
really like all of the people I work with and Don has always been really good
to me.
Mike
“Zippy” Neff figured he’d better accept a driving offer from John Force Racing
because opportunities like that only come once in a lifetime. The current Don
Schumacher Racing crew chief had earlier mentioned to his employer that he had
an interest in filling the opening left in 2008 by the non-retiring,
sabbatical-invoking Gary Scelzi.
Schumacher
admitted in an interview with Torco’s ComptitionPlus.com that he didn’t know if
he could fill the vacancy with a driver who had no nitro experience, much less
alcohol racing credentials.
John
Force took that chance and made the offer. The crew chief, who answers to the
nickname of Zippy, accepted. Force committed to doing what it took to bring
Neff into the JFR fold.
Neff
now has his lifetime opportunity.
“It wasn’t like I always
thought about being a driver,” said Neff, who tuned Gary Scelzi to the 2005
Funny Car title. “I had an interest in driving and making some runs. When I was
offered the deal from John Force Racing, it interested me. It was an exciting
thing. It was hard for me to leave Don Schumacher Racing because it was such a
good place to work. I’ve always been happy and I have had no complaints. I
really like all of the people I work with and Don has always been really good
to me.
“Driving a Funny Car is
something I would love to do,” Neff said. “I just couldn’t say no. I always
felt that if I had turned down the opportunity that it would be something I’d
always regret for not taking that challenge.”
While Schumacher expressed
a gut feeling that Neff is going to become another crew chief at JFR, Neff said
the driving gig is the only reason he’s departing. Otherwise, he’d stay put.
“It’s why I took the
deal,” Neff said. “I am not going over there to be a crew chief. Later on if I
decide that I don’t want to drive, then I will deal with it then. I’m going
over there to drive and not be a crew chief.
Neff said if he became a
crew chief it would be on his terms. But that’s only after he’s given the
driving a shot.
Neff isn’t naïve. He knows
his tuning talents are squarely tied into the mix.
The biggest thing I think
they [JFR] were looking for was somebody who would fit in with the people they
have and also remain someone that John Medlen wanted to work with,” Neff said.
“I would be honored to work with that talented staff. I really didn’t have any
driving experience to be a draw for them. Whenever they talked to me they just
wanted to give me the chance to do that.
“Tuning? I’m sure that had
something to do with it. I’m sure that I have something that can add to the
team and make that program a little better.”
It’s the potential of that
addition that could make some uneasy in the mix – especially Schumacher.
Schumacher has said that he’s committed to keeping Neff in the loop until the
program expires.
Schumacher also said the
same thing about Bazemore just weeks before he released him in favor of Jack
Beckman.
“The best thing for me to
get a leg up on next year is to start testing but my focus and priority is
finishing out this season with Schumacher and Scelzi,” Neff said. “I want to
win another championship. That is my commitment now. I have no intentions of
leaving right now. I want to give it a 100% effort for the rest of the year. I
don’t know what Don wants to do because I haven’t really talked to him since
all of this was made public. As far as I know, I am planning on finishing the
rest of the year.”
Neff hasn’t talked with
Schumacher since the news broke and doesn’t anticipate any uneasiness going
forward until the completion of his verbal agreement with DSR. The verbal
agreement is all that legally binds the parties involved.
“I guess it could be an
uncomfortable situation to work in but I don’t know,” Neff said. “Don has
always been a good guy and doesn’t seem like the type that would let things
like this anger him. He’ll be looking out for the best interests of the team
like I am. I think the best interest for all would be for me to stay the rest
of the year and continue on. I hope it isn’t an uncomfortable situation. I
didn’t feel uncomfortable talking to him about the chance to go drive for JFR.”
