No one can say Spencer Massey is afraid to take chances.
The veteran Top Fuel driver recently became a Top Fuel team owner when he purchased the Top Fuel dragster operation owned by Dom and his brother Bobby Lagana.
“Yeah, we bought all that stuff, minus truck and trailer. I’m going to use my old A-Fuel trailer, and I bought another support trailer, and we’re keeping it all in Dayton, Ohio,” Massey told CompetitionPlus.com. “We bought every spare part, every tool, every toolbox, every bit that they had left over, minus truck and trailer. We are using Pat Dakin’s shop since he misses racing and all that stuff, and that way I can keep the car up north so it’s closer to all the crew members and the crew chief.”
Massey, who won the 2009 Auto Club Road to the Future Award while driving in Top Fuel for NHRA legend Don Prudhomme, went on to win 18 national events while driving for “The Snake” and later Don Schumacher Racing from 2011–15 before leaving the class after the Brainerd (Minn.) event in August 2015, when he was released from the DSR team.
Massey’s last Top Fuel national event victory came at the Gatornationals on March 15, 2015, in Gainesville.
Massey took off a couple of years in 2016 and 2017 and began driving on a limited basis in the Top Fuel ranks starting in 2018.
Now he is ready to increase his schedule with his new team.
“We have everything to go to a bunch of races, and we are already ready to go right now,” Massey said. “We didn’t get it until a few weeks ago. So our goal was trying to make something toward the end of the year, and possibly even trying to make that one IHRA race just because there would be a test-and-tune in Galot. But we didn’t get the trailers down from T&E until the week of, or the week after.”
Massey acknowledged his new venture became a reality only after some deep thought.
“Well, whenever racing throughout the season and so forth, and heard through the grapevine that Bobby and Dom were selling it,” Massey said. “I’ve known Bobby and Dom for 20 years now through IHRA racing and working on cars with (Scott) Palmer back in the early 2000s. And they’re a good group of guys, and I always stay close with them, and whenever this stuff came up for sale, I thought about it, and then I started thinking about it more and I’m like, ‘Well, what the heck?’ So I got with Bobby and it all worked out.”
Massey said Scott Graham will be his crew chief.
“Graham has been tuning Pat Dakin’s car whenever he had it, then Krista (Baldwin’s) car,” Massey said. “He wanted to be back in Dayton, Ohio, and keep the car there so he can stay at home. Then possibly get a crew guy that actually lives in Dayton that can be full-time, that can drive the rig, that can service the car, that can take care of everything, and possibly hire another one. But use the exact same crew that we have been for the last, well, 7 or 8 years or whatever it’s been. So the same guys that Dakin had and so forth.”
Massey is planning on competing at plenty of NHRA and IHRA events in 2026.
“We will start in Gainesville, try and do a little of the testing days the few days before the race. And then after that, for NHRA I plan racing in Charlotte (N.C.), and Bristol (Tenn.), and Norwalk (Ohio). It will be the same race schedule that we used to always do with that team (Pat Dakin’s team) in the past. Maybe around 10 races.
“I mean, the new tracks that they put on schedule now will be in South Georgia, if they’re still going to do that, then obviously that’d be an easy one to get to and so forth. And who knows, even a Budds Creek deal (in Maryland) or… I’m not afraid to ease out a little bit farther if we need to. And obviously do Dallas at the end of the season because it’s my hometown here.”
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He will then incorporate some IHRA events as well.
“I think they’re going to put out a new schedule starting… I’ve heard they’re probably going to say that at the PRI show next week. But once we find out exactly what dates and whatnot, then we’re going to see if that’ll sprinkle in the middle of the NHRA races,” Massey said. “Then we will just try and hit something up once a month, or if it turns out, twice a month, and that is what it is. And just try and have fun at it, that’s the most important thing.”
As of right now, Massey is funding his team out of his back pocket.
“But at the same time, I got some friends that might be interested in not throwing a big-money sponsor at it, not a full-time deal, but just something I can put on the car. Every little bit helps at this point. I’ve thought about it, and I decided, well, as of today, I guess I’m going to the PRI show next week (Dec. 11–13 in Indianapolis), because I might as well go and try and figure out if we can get little side deals, or make a spark plug deal, or a fire suit deal. Because I’m going to need to get a new fire suit. I just need to work on some deals, little small things, and get our name out there again and let them know what we’re doing.”
Massey has simple expectations for his upcoming slate.
“Well, for starter-wise, I would say in Gainesville, I’d just be happy to get the car to go down the track and perform like we’re wanting it to, or at least telling it to. Because this car hasn’t been down the track in about a year or so, or maybe a little bit more,” Massey said. “But obviously the car ran very well with the Lagana Brothers behind it, and so forth.
“So, with (Graham) and my same team, our goal would be to go out and go low 70s like we always have and then see how much more we can get after it and see what we can do on race day. And obviously if we qualify well and possibly go a few rounds, that’d be amazing. And that would be our goal because anything on top of that’s gravy.”
Massey also said he will continue bracket racing with his two dragsters and 1971 Nova.
“I’m just having fun with that. But at the same time, I’m going to try and just have fun whether it be Top Fuel racing or my bracket cars and just try and win.”
