Route 66, the original “Mother Road” of America, was opened in 1926, starting in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles. Funny Car driver Jeff Arend, who will be piloting the Murray’s Discount Auto Impala at this weekend’s Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 Nationals, lives in San Dimas, Calif., no more than a mile from the historic piece of roadway, near its western terminus.
Route 66, the race track, was opened in 1998, in Joliet, Ill., not more than a few miles from the original path of the famous road. It still represents the pinnacle in drag racing venues, with its massive grandstands enclosing the front half of the quarter-mile drag strip like a football stadium. Arend, who can easily walk from his home in California to stand upon Foothill Blvd. (the original piece of Route 66 in that area, ) now aims to take his bright yellow “Madman Murray” Funny Car and add its presence to the history and lore of America’s highway, near the eastern end of the legendary road.
“A lot of people, probably including a lot of people who live in Southern California, don’t know they’re driving on Route 66 when they’re sitting at a light on Foothill, ” Arend said. “I didn’t grow up here, I’m from Canada, but I still knew all about Route 66, the songs, the TV shows, and all the history of it. It’s pretty cool to live right off one end of it, and this weekend we’ll be racing near the other end. Having my name etched onto the list of people who have won the race at Route 66 Raceway would be a kick. No pun intended.
“And, doing it this weekend in the Murray’s car would make it even better. I love driving the blue Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen car, and I love representing that great company, but I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for the Madman. Without the Madman, I probably wouldn’t be here today. “
The time was one year ago, and Jeff Arend was trying to figure out how to keep his haphazardly burning Funny Car career lit. His prospects were dim for the rest of 2006, until Del Worsham called. As it turned out, Worsham had been running three cars on the NHRA tour, but when Mike Ashley decided to switch teams prior to the St. Louis race in June, Worsham figured he still owned the team, still had the car, and still had a crew. Why not race?
“Del called me up and said he wanted to run the third car one more time, before the crew left to go with Mike, ” Arend said. “He asked me if I wanted to drive it, and I took approximately a half-second to say yes. When Del asks you to drive one of his cars, you don’t hesitate.
“We could have run it as another red or blue CSK car, but the Murray’s body was also available, since the blue team was running it in the midwestern markets to promote the Murray’s chain of stores CSK had just acquired. We decided to put that body on the car, I flew in for the race, and we made the show. That chance to drive put me on the Worsham’s radar screen, I think, for when they made a change with the blue car over the winter. The old Madman helped make me what I am today. “
What Arend is today is a fine Funny Car driver, who has made a mark on the class through the first eight races of the 2007 season. Though the round wins haven’t been as plentiful as he’d like, he still stands in the No. 9 spot on the points sheet, trailing his teammate by only 27 points.
“Sometimes you can get better results than your performance would warrant, ” Arend said. “We’ve all had those days, when you don’t run that well but people run worse, or foul out, or do something else in the other lane. You take those days, because you’re also going to have days like we’ve had, when we’ve run really well but been edged out in the lights. You should never be too proud to take a win with a 5.15, because there are times you’re going to have to take a loss with a 4.80, believe me.
“For us, the key is to just keep qualifying and keep at it with our approach. If you’re consistent in this sport, good things will happen. There’s a reason we’re in 9th place, even though we’ve only won three rounds so far. That’s because we’ve made every show, and only Gary Scelzi can also say that. Each one of those DNQs for the other guys was like a round win for us, because we instantly picked up 20 points on them. When we start getting the results our performance warrants, we’ll shoot up the charts. As far as I’m concerned, doing that with the Madman Murray car, at Route 66, would be just perfect. “
A great way to “get your kicks” at the eastern end of America’s highway. And after the race, rather than pile his suitcases atop the family station wagon, Arend can simply fly home to San Dimas, at the other end of the “Mother Road. ”
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