Mike Sullivan has admittedly been there, done that and has the championships to prove it when it comes to Pro Stock. Sullivan, who turns 71 years old next month, is happy peddling his specialty software to Pro Stock teams.
“I try to spread it around, and sometimes they pay me,” Sullivan said with a laugh.
Sullivan doesn’t miss the grind of the grueling NHRA Full Throttle Series and it’s 23-stops in the least. The former driving force behind the Wayne County Modified and later Pro Stock teams enjoys life at a more leisurely pace.
And no matter how much his friend David Nickens tries to pull him in full bore, he’s sticking to his guns of drag racing on his own terms.
“I told him there is no way that I am coming to all of the races,” Sullivan explained. “First off, I am too old and secondly, it’s just hard. It’s a lot harder than people think.”
Mike Sullivan has admittedly been there, done that and has the championships to prove it when it comes to Pro Stock. Sullivan, who turns 71 years old next month, is happy peddling his specialty software to Pro Stock teams.
“I try to spread it around, and sometimes they pay me,” Sullivan said with a laugh.
Sullivan doesn’t miss the grind of the grueling NHRA Full Throttle Series and it’s 23-stops in the least. The former driving force behind the Wayne County Modified and later Pro Stock teams enjoys life at a more leisurely pace.
And no matter how much his friend David Nickens tries to pull him in full bore, he’s sticking to his guns of drag racing on his own terms.
“I told him there is no way that I am coming to all of the races,” Sullivan explained. “First off, I am too old and secondly, it’s just hard. It’s a lot harder than people think.”
Now don’t mistake Sullivan’s reluctance to commit to the tour with his love of drag racing. He still loves it, just knows his limits.
“I keep up with what’s going on – on the computer,” Sullivan said. “I do my best to keep up with what’s going on. I’ve really been around drag racing all of my life, went to my first one in 1957.”
Sullivan believes he’s led a full drag racing life and really has checked every item on his straight-line racing bucket list.
“I’ve won races, had the big sponsor and all of that stuff – but it’s the people which has been the most important part of the deal all along,” said Sullivan. “When you narrow it all down, that’s what it’s all about anyway. It’s the feeling you get when you walk through the pits and someone yells your name and you haven’t seen them in years. I’ve known a lot of people for a lot of years.
“It was the people on the tour that always made the grind worthwhile. The glory is one thing but the one thing people never saw was all the work which went into it.”
With the big teams in Pro Stock, unlike when the Wayne County group, Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson ruled the factory hot rod eliminator, the grind of labor is clearly evident.
“When you have to compete against someone like the Summit Boys (KB Racing) with about 15 to 20 people working all of the time, it makes it tough on the smaller teams. The secret to winning is to eliminate all of the mistakes.”
