The Driver Suit Blog

Editor’s Note: I have another project to attend to this week, so I’m going to repost a TJ Zizzo feature from last year.

By David G. Firestone

TJ Zizzo is the driver, he’s based in Lincolnshire Illinois, I’m based in Evanston, I’ve purchased a number of items from him.

One of the things that I got was a visor. When I purchased it back in 2014, I’d been wanting to get an NHRA visor from some time, and I got one that had the modification I’ve been seeing. The visor shows some light use. I asked TJ why he had this modification, and he said that he wants to focus on the task at hand. He said that drag racing drivers can notice things, birds, scoreboards, women in the crowd, etc in the car in the moments leading up to the race, and this modification helps the driver by giving him tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is seen by the majority of people as a bad thing, but in something like drag racing, where intense focus for a brief period of time is a mandate, tunnel vision is a good thing. Top fuel dragsters have 10,000 horsepower and can go from 0 to 325 mph in less than 3 seconds. When you are behind the wheel of a car with that much power, you need to focus on the race as much as possible. TJ wears this style of visor because, the less he can see out of the helmet, the more he can focus on the race. TJ even said that this visor is much less covered than his current version, which looks something like this…In 2014, at the U.S. Nationals, TJ suffered a major engine explosion. He still has the blower drive seen flying in the video. I was amazed how heavy it was. He has one shelf in his new shop that has the pieces of the engine, and the damage suffered, from a fan’s stand point. The manifold that blew was made of solid magnesium and was heavy duty. The crankshaft in question was not only broken, but was slightly bent near the break. I wound up getting one of the rear tires from that race. Rear tires from top fuel dragsters are 3 feet tall by 17 inches wide. I’m planning on getting a glass to and making a coffee table at some point. The level of wear on the tires is amazing, with large patches of damage from the explosion. TJ also signed it and personalized it to me! I also got a front tire, which is 22 inches tall, by 3 inches wide. I’m not sure when it was raced, but it does show wear and it has ZIZZO written on the tread. To give an idea the size difference between the two, here are the two of them together in my office…One of my big gets was a TJ Zizzo Peak parachute. Zizzo ran two of these chutes on the back of his dragster from 2010 to 2013., and this example is 12 feet by 12 feet. It shows a decent amount of wear, with stains and holes. There is a hole in the center that allows the chute to be deployed, and there is an inventory tag placed here as well. On the cables connecting the chute to the car, there is some extra protection. This is necessary because on top fuel dragsters, the engine is very close to the parachute attachment, and in the event of a fire, the chute will still be able to function. TJ’s example shows some wear on the silver layer. One thing that a lot of non drag racing fans don’t realize is that many drivers pack their own chutes. Race car drivers are control freaks, and so this makes sense. The logic a few drivers use is that if I mess it up, I don’t have anyone to blame for it except myself.

The pilot chute is attached here as well. Pilot chutes are universally used to deploy parachutes. When the cords are pulled, and the chute is released, the pilot chute deploys, which catches air and pulls the primary chute behind it. The chutes are strapped to a bar at the back of the car, the straps pre-covered in Nomex to prevent fire damage, then packed into a bag, before the race. I’ve discussed the importance of spark plugs, and their prevalence in the auto racing memorabilia market before, so I won’t go into that again. I will show one of TJ Zizzo’s race-used spark plugs, which he managed to autograph. Given the size of the plug, that isn’t easy to sign.Next week, I will discuss autographed die casts.

Editor’s Note: I have another project to attend to this week, so I’m going to repost a TJ Zizzo feature from last year.

By David G. Firestone

TJ Zizzo is the driver, he’s based in Lincolnshire Illinois, I’m based in Evanston, I’ve purchased a number of items from him.

One of the things that I got was a visor. When I purchased it back in 2014, I’d been wanting to get an NHRA visor from some time, and I got one that had the modification I’ve been seeing. The visor shows some light use. I asked TJ why he had this modification, and he said that he wants to focus on the task at hand. He said that drag racing drivers can notice things, birds, scoreboards, women in the crowd, etc in the car in the moments leading up to the race, and this modification helps the driver by giving him tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is seen by the majority of people as a bad thing, but in something like drag racing, where intense focus for a brief period of time is a mandate, tunnel vision is a good thing. Top fuel dragsters have 10,000 horsepower and can go from 0 to 325 mph in less than 3 seconds. When you are behind the wheel of a car with that much power, you need to focus on the race as much as possible. TJ wears this style of visor because, the less he can see out of the helmet, the more he can focus on the race. TJ even said that this visor is much less covered than his current version, which looks something like this…In 2014, at the U.S. Nationals, TJ suffered a major engine explosion. He still has the blower drive seen flying in the video. I was amazed how heavy it was. He has one shelf in his new shop that has the pieces of the engine, and the damage suffered, from a fan’s stand point. The manifold that blew was made of solid magnesium and was heavy duty. The crankshaft in question was not only broken, but was slightly bent near the break. I wound up getting one of the rear tires from that race. Rear tires from top fuel dragsters are 3 feet tall by 17 inches wide. I’m planning on getting a glass to and making a coffee table at some point. The level of wear on the tires is amazing, with large patches of damage from the explosion. TJ also signed it and personalized it to me! I also got a front tire, which is 22 inches tall, by 3 inches wide. I’m not sure when it was raced, but it does show wear and it has ZIZZO written on the tread. To give an idea the size difference between the two, here are the two of them together in my office…One of my big gets was a TJ Zizzo Peak parachute. Zizzo ran two of these chutes on the back of his dragster from 2010 to 2013., and this example is 12 feet by 12 feet. It shows a decent amount of wear, with stains and holes. There is a hole in the center that allows the chute to be deployed, and there is an inventory tag placed here as well. On the cables connecting the chute to the car, there is some extra protection. This is necessary because on top fuel dragsters, the engine is very close to the parachute attachment, and in the event of a fire, the chute will still be able to function. TJ’s example shows some wear on the silver layer. One thing that a lot of non drag racing fans don’t realize is that many drivers pack their own chutes. Race car drivers are control freaks, and so this makes sense. The logic a few drivers use is that if I mess it up, I don’t have anyone to blame for it except myself.

The pilot chute is attached here as well. Pilot chutes are universally used to deploy parachutes. When the cords are pulled, and the chute is released, the pilot chute deploys, which catches air and pulls the primary chute behind it. The chutes are strapped to a bar at the back of the car, the straps pre-covered in Nomex to prevent fire damage, then packed into a bag, before the race. I’ve discussed the importance of spark plugs, and their prevalence in the auto racing memorabilia market before, so I won’t go into that again. I will show one of TJ Zizzo’s race-used spark plugs, which he managed to autograph. Given the size of the plug, that isn’t easy to sign.Next week, I will discuss autographed die casts.

By David G. Firestone

Hailing from Chesapeake, Virginia, Ashton Lewis Jr. was an American driver with a lot of success on road courses. He raced in the Barber Saab Pro Series in 1992, before getting a scholarship in the British Formula Ford Championship. He made his Xfinity Series debut in 1993, and raced until 2006.

In 2004, Ashton raced for Lewis Motorsports, owned by his family. He had a decent season, scoring 3 top 5’s and 8 top 10’s in 34 races. He also finished 6499 of 6684 laps for a lap completed percentage of 97.2%. During that season, one of his crew members wore this Simpson helmet. The helmet is in decent condition, with the radio removed.  The left side shows some scratches.Near the front on the left side is where the microphone was. There are some small holes where it was removed.The front doesn’t have a face shield, but it does have a visor to keep the sun out of the wearer’s eyes.The right side does show some scratches as well.The back has a lot of scratches, and one very large black scuff mark.The top shows some minor scratches.The inside has fire resistant padding, and the radio equipment has been removed. Next week, a Driver Suit Blog favorite returns!

By David G. Firestone

Getting autographs in person, be it at races, conventions, or other signings is fun. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years. I’ve met a lot of athletes in this fashion. For some, autographs are a hobby, for others, they are a business. I personally love collecting autographs.

It’s not uncommon for people to bring items to sports events to sign. Fans bring baseballs to batting practice to get autographs. I’ve done this myself on several occasions. I’ve also brought items to car shows and conventions to get signed. A few years ago, I brought this motorcycle helmet to the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. It was signed by Robby Gordon when I bought it, I still have it and it’s in great condition.The left side is signed by Clay Millican,Tony Schumacher, Tommy Johnson Jr, and Ron Capps. There are no signatures on the front.The right side is signed by Terry McMillian.There are no signatures on the back.It was signed by Robby Gordon when I bought it, and his signature is on the back of the top. At the front of the top is the signature of Shirley Muldowney. The inside of the helmet doesn’t show wear. Ok…with that out of the way, let’s move on to…

TAILGATING TIME!

If you want a delicious, filling recipe that will always go with watching racing, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one than…

Lasagna

8 Servings

Instructions:

1 large finely chopped onions

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 lb ground beef

Black pepper

Oregano

1 28 ounce can Italian-style tomatoes

6 ounces salt-free ketchup

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 lb ricotta cheese

1 8 ounce package lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions

1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced.

1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Instructions:

1-Cook onion and garlic in oil until soft and yellow.

2-Add meat and continue cooking until meat is thoroughly browned

3-Add seasonings, tomatoes, ketchup, and water, and simmer until thickened, about 2 hours.

4-Arrange 1/3 of the cooked noodles in a 13 by 9 1/2 inch baking pan.

5-Top with 1/3 each, mozzarella, ricotta, and meat sauce.

6-Repeat procedure twice.

7-Sprinkle Romano or Parmesan over top layer.

8-Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, cut into squares, and serve.

We’ll stay with the helmet theme for next week.