Paul Lee has never claimed victory in the professional categories of the NHRA.

He’s been close, having visited the final round at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle just three races ago in an agonizing loss to Austin Prock. But the veteran driver has never officially hoisted a trophy in his 152 starts behind the wheel of a nitro-powered Funny Car.

That changed Sunday at the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals – sort of.

Lee made a significant mark by winning the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout, an exclusive specialty race held at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway. Though his official NHRA win column remains empty, this accomplishment in a specialty event against a top-tier field at the world’s biggest drag race is noteworthy.

“I remember growing up watching all of these specialty shootouts in the past, and to finally get to be in one and then to win it, I’m over the moon,” Lee said. “I know everyone says this at every race, but the guys and girls really worked their butts off today. They changed engines between the first and second round, and they did a flawless job. This is a team sport. It’s not just me, I’m here representing my team. It’s a true team sport, and we showed that today.”

Adding to the storybook result for Lee and his team is the fact that Lee wasn’t even supposed to be in the Callout. After John Force was sidelined in June by a crash at Virginia Motorsports Park, Lee moved up a spot to replace him in the Callout. And now, as they say, the rest is history.

“It’s even more special since we were actually No. 9,” Lee said. “Since John couldn’t make it, we slid into the No. 8 spot. So we went from No. 9 to first, and I couldn’t be more proud of my whole team.”

Lee defeated a red-hot Bob Tasca in the final round of the All-Star Callout in dramatic fashion. Having already damaged one engine in an opening-round win over Ron Capps, Lee again ran into issues during the final. Despite getting away first and leading wire-to-wire, Lee’s engine began to expire at the top end, and he was forced to shut off the car shy of the finish. While that would typically spell disaster, his opponent also ran into issues. Tasca hazed the tires of his Ford Performance Mustang and had to get out of the throttle early.

With both drivers facing issues, it was Lee crossing the finish line first in his McLeod/FTI Performance Dodge Charger with a 4.243-second pass at 234.86 mph – a run worth $80,000. Tasca took the runner-up spot in the Callout at 4.255, 222.69.

The victory concluded a full day of giant slaying for Lee, having taken out three of the titans of the sport to earn the specialty win.

“I actually didn’t really care who I raced because you have to beat everybody,” Lee said. “Look at the field. Look at the guys we had to race. These are the top cars in the country, so bring them on. You have to race them one at a time, and that’s what we did today. We just took it one race at a time.”

While specialty events like Sunday’s race usually provide a nice bonus for the larger teams in the sport, for a team like Lee’s, these events can be crucial. The potential payoff can make the difference between participating in the races and not competing at all.

“This is a self-financed team, so the $80,000 means a lot to us,” Lee said. “I finance this team 90% by myself with our companies, and this gives more opportunities to achieve our goals and give a few bonuses to my guys and girls.”

In a competition where drivers challenge each other to determine the run order, Lee was called out in the first round by three-time Funny Car champion Ron Capps.

 

 

The opening round was particularly significant due to the shared history between the competitors. Capps’ crew chief, Dean Antonelli, was once mentored by Lee’s co-crew chief, John Medlen. Adding to the intrigue, Capps is sporting a special Don “The Snake” Prudhomme paint scheme on his Toyota Funny Car this weekend, while Lee had a special connection with Prudhomme’s long-time rival, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen.

Capps smoked the tires and had to get off the throttle, while Lee managed to drive to victory despite damaging his engine in the process. Lee crossed the finish line first with a 4.014 at 291.57 mph.

After changing engines between rounds, Lee was called out by Matt Hagan in the semifinals, and the two delivered the most thrilling drag race of the day. The drivers had nearly identical reaction times, but Lee edged out the Tony Stewart Racing-backed driver with a run of 3.968 seconds at 323.35 mph. Hagan was right on his heels at 3.972, 326, with Lee’s margin of victory a microscopic 6/1,000ths of a second.

Tasca, meanwhile, made his mark by calling out and defeating Cruz Pedregon in the first round, then J.R. Todd in the semifinal. He posted impressive passes of 3.933 and 3.974 seconds, respectively.

The win provided much-needed validation for the longtime competitor as he continues to build a race team that he hopes will one day be able to compete for NHRA championships.

“I’ve been an NHRA member since 1979 and I’ve been driving Funny Cars since 1988, so I’ve been at this a long time,” Lee said. “This is a 36-year overnight success kind of thing. But that is our goal. Our goal is to build this team to be a top-five car. We want to compete for championships. We’re not just out here participating, we’re out here to learn, make laps, and we want to win races.”

The incremental gains have been felt throughout the pit area all season long.

 

 

With crew chiefs Medlen and Jonnie Lindberg calling the shots, Lee has qualified in the top half of the field at nine of his 13 starts this season, collecting a runner-up and eight total round wins. That success has turned Lee into a threat and made him a handful for many of the championship-contending drivers this season.

“We’ve known all year long that we had a good team with John Medlen and Jonnie Lindberg leading the team and teaching the guys how to service the car,” Lee said. “We knew we had what it takes and now we’re creeping up on it. It’s validating for sure because it’s proven the hard work we’ve put in this year is paying off. A lot of these teams out here, teams that we raced today, they’ve been together for four or five or six years. We’re only been together for eight months, so we’re pretty excited about the future.”

While the win is certainly a big moment for this race team, the job is far from complete.

Lee will enter Monday’s main event from the No. 11 spot in the ladder and will face Cruz Pedregon in Round One of the U.S. Nationals.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Lee said. “I don’t look at any of this as stress, I look at it as opportunity. This isn’t saving a life, this is drag racing. It’s a game. We’re the lucky ones that get to do this. So I look at it as a chance to win. Tomorrow will be the same way: I get a chance to win the U.S. Nationals.”