Having a two-car NHRA Top Fuel operation is business for Rick Ware. His latest move into drag-and-drive competition appears to be fueled by the same instincts that pushed him into NASCAR, NHRA and nearly every other form of motorsports he’s touched.
Ware revealed during a Facebook Live teleconference that he has purchased Jeff Lutz’s famed Mad Max Camaro and signed the drag-and-drive veteran to a multi-year agreement to campaign the car in major events across the country.
The move gives Ware a foothold in one of drag racing’s fastest-growing segments. It also places one of the category’s most successful cars under the banner of one of motorsports’ most aggressive team owners.
Ware said he wasn’t interested in building a program from scratch. Instead, he chose a path built on experience, proven performance and a driver who has spent years establishing himself as one of the sport’s premier drag-and-drive competitors.
“I make a lot of mistakes in my racing life. I want to make that very clear, but I’m smart enough to know you go to anybody’s backyard, you’re going to get your ass handed to you,” Ware said.
That mindset drove the decision.
“I’m not going to try to reinvent the wheel,” Ware said. “I’m going to try to go maybe get a proven commodity with somebody that I know.”
The deal didn’t materialize overnight.
Lutz became a familiar face around Ware’s NHRA operation after helping the team during major events and spending time with the organization at races across the country. Conversations that started around race cars eventually evolved into discussions about drag-and-drive competition.
“Rick has allowed Jeff to come hang out with us at the Top Fuel races and then with Jeff wanting to get away from the Street Outlaws deal, he’s started coming to actually working on the Top Fuel car full time,” Clay Millican explained. “Rick’s a huge fan of your cars and one thing led to another. The next thing you know we’re calling you to tell you there’s something big fixing to happen.”
Long before Mad Max became available, Ware already had an appreciation for the category.
He said his fascination with Pro Mod racing dates back decades, when doorslammer racing represented some of the toughest competition in the sport.
“I’ve always loved Pro Mod stuff,” Ware said. “They’re kind of a generic across-the-board every man’s kind of racing.”
The attraction goes back even further.
“What kid in high school doesn’t dream about having the fastest street car around?” Ware said. “I remember my little town outside of Houston, so I wanted to be fast. But I’m like, what would it take to be really fast and be the world’s fastest something?”
Ware also sees drag-and-drive as more than another logo placement opportunity.
“It’s my responsibility to have new things for sponsors outside of just putting logos on cars,” Ware said. “That only works so much. You’ve got to have storylines behind the scenes.”
For Lutz, the arrangement keeps one of drag-and-drive racing’s most recognizable combinations together while opening the door to larger opportunities. Mad Max arrives with a record few cars can match.
Built by Jerry Bickel in 2012, the Camaro has collected championships, event victories and records while becoming one of the benchmark cars in drag-and-drive competition.
“I had Jerry Bickel build me that car back in 2012 and I’ve won NMCA championship with it,” Lutz said. “I got three or four Wallys racing it when we did the aerospace NHRA deal with NSCA or NMCA, I’m sorry.”
Its reputation was built on more than trophies.
“And I broke a lot of world records with it and I won, I can’t remember what year. I think it was ’14 or ’15 I won Drag Week with it,” Lutz said. “Lowered the average for, oh hell, I think it was 15 years or something like that and they just finally beat it this past year.”
Lutz isn’t interested in preserving history.
“My goal is to break that record again and lower it, really low and Rick wants to be a part of that and he offered to buy Mad Max and we’re going to make it crazy,” Lutz said.
The Camaro remains equipped for that mission.
“It’s got a Noonan 521 Hemi. That’s brand new this year,” Lutz said. “It’s got a Rossler transmission, SunCoast torque converter. It’s a Pro Mod, baby. It’s a Pro Mod. Twin 98 Precision Turbos.”
Ware made it clear the purchase isn’t a one-event experiment.
“But the gist of it is, I’ve acquired Mad Max,” Ware said. “We got some big plans. Jeff is on a multi-year deal, just like Clay is, to drive for me.”
The learning curve, Ware believes, will be steep.
“And I’m not going to reinvent the wheel,” Ware said. “I’m going to lean on a lot of people that can help us get to that next step as quick as possible. It is not going to be easy because we’re not the only people out there with the same idea.”
