John Hale is one of the good guys. You know, one of the guys you love to hang out with, even though he gets to drive a Fuel Funny Car and you don’t. Part of that could be his penchant for putting on parties like none other, but the biggest reason is because he’s a real racer just like us and he’s just plain good people. And since we’re fond of saying that good things happen to good people, it’s no surprise that we are seeing John Hale realize a dream this weekend as he steps out of his Nostalgia Funny Car and into Steve Plueger’s NHRA “Big ShoW” Fuel Funny Car for the NHRA Fall Nationals in Ennis Texas. Making this weekend even more special is the fact that John lives less than an hour away from the famed Texas Motorplex, so this is hometown fun at it’s finest. We sat down with John earlier this week and asked him some questions about this great opportunity, and he had some very interesting things to tell us.

John Hale: “Hey Chad, I figured I would call and fill you in on some of the stuff that is going on this weekend in Ennis. I’m so excited, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Chad Reynolds: “I’m glad you did dude, I have some questions I want to ask you about driving the “Big Show” car versus the Nostalgia Funny Car. But first tell me how all this got started. I know you drove this car in Seattle earlier this year, but I never got to hear the specifics.”

JH: “Getting to drive Plueger’s Impala Funny Car this weekend in Ennis is a dream come true. I’ve been waiting and dreaming about this moment since 1989! I’m really lucky to have K&N Engineering and RCD Engineering on board with us this weekend to help me make my dream a reality. I licensed in this car in April of this year in Houston, and was excited because it only took me the required three runs to get my licensing requirements all in. Then we went to Seattle for the National Event there and ended up getting rained out of two qualifying sessions and breaking on our third. That meant we only had one shot at getting down the track before eliminations, and luckily we put together the 4.539 second pass to be in the show. Of course that meant we were up against Robert Hight in the first round, and I got nervous and double stepped the thing and lost it right there.”

CR: “How many passes have you made in the car, and what is your quickest?”

JH: “I’ve only made 4 complete passes in the car, and my best has been 4.34 at only 285mph.”

CR: “I know that isn’t as quick and fast as you and the team ultimately want to run, but in comparison to your Nostalgia Funny Car it’s a pretty big jump in performance. How do the two compare as far as driving and acceleration go?”

JH: “My Nostalgia car and Plueger’s Impala Funny Car both have centrifugal clutch setups, so they are very similar to drive from that standpoint, but the acceleration down track is significantly different in Plueger’s car. The biggest difference is getting it into the groove and keeping it there so that when the clutch comes in it doesn’t smoke the tires. The groove keeps the tires planted, and the engine loaded correctly, which is key to making the clutch lockup how and when it is supposed to. The drivers biggest job in one of these NHRA Mello Yello Funny Cars is getting it into the groove after the hit. The Nostalgia car is a little more forgiving since it makes less power and has less clutch.”

CR: “But does the big show car leave a lot harder than the Nostalgia car?”

JH: “No, not as much as you’d think. The big show car leaves a little harder, but the biggest difference is that when the clutch starts coming in you can feel it pulling harder and harder. Much harder in fact when the clutch starts coming in around 100 feet down track. And when it (the clutch), goes 1:1 the big show car pulls like it’s leaving the starting line AGAIN!”

CR: “Can you see out of both cars the same? Or is one better than the other?”

JH: “Surprisingly, the big show car is easy to see out of both at the tree and looking down track toward the top end. Sometimes it’s hard to stage my Nostalgia car without someone getting me into the top bulb because I can’t see it. Plueger’s car isn’t like that. I can see really well and feel really comfortable in it.”

CR: “So are any of your guys helping out on Plueger’s car for the National Event in Ennis?”

JH: “One of my guys, Kent Carley, will be helping out this weekend, but the rest of the crew will consist of Steve’s regular guys. Steve Plueger and Paul Trabue will be the crew chiefs for the weekend. Oh, and there is one interesting twist too, and that is the fact that I have hired one of Steve’s crew to work with us for the rest of the year on our Nostalgia Car. Rhianna Humason, who’s the bottom end girl for Plueger, is going to come work for us on the Nostalgia Funny Car as well.”

CR: “Wow, the nastiest job in the pits, and you and Plueger have some poor girl doing it?!”

JH: “Rhianna is really good and hangs right there with the boys, and we are glad to have her as part of the team. We want the best, and she is.”
CR NOTE: When was the last time you heard of a NASCAR or Indy Team that had a woman as part of the pit crew? And in a position as critical as the bottom end rebuilding of the engine each pass? It’s just another sign of drag racing’s willingness to include anyone and everyone that can do the job or drive the car, regardless of gender, race, or age. Very cool.

CR: “So what is the plan for this weekend in Ennis? Are you going to make all four qualifying passes?”

JH: “Yes, we are going to make all 4 qualifying passes this weekend. With 18 cars that are supposed to be there going for 16 spots, we will need to be on our game. In Seattle we really only got one pass because of weather and then parts failure, but I am looking forward to all 4 rounds this weekend so I can get more comfortable in the car. Remember, I’m not just out here doing this for fun.”

CR: “With that said, what are your plans for the future? Are you trying to get a ride full time in an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car?”

JH: Laughs…”It sets a hook, driving one of these for the first time. You want to figure out how to do it more, even though you know you can’t do it out of your own pocket. It makes you look at everything wondering if it could be a potential sponsorship, because all you want to do is race.”

CR: “So you DO want to drive an NHRA Funny Car full time.”

JH: “I don’t want to just do this occasionally. I want this to be a stepping stone towards a full time ride, because I believe that with the right guys, some seat time, and the right sponsors I can hang with the other guys in this class. NHRA drag racing has some incredibly talented drivers who have done incredible things, and I want to be a part of that.”

CR: “Spoken like a real racer. If you are just out here for a joy ride, knock yourself out, but real racers, real drivers, know what they can do. And clearly this Funny Car field at an NHRA National Event is full of very well funded teams, talented drivers, and talented crews, but I think there is room out there for someone new. You could be that new guy. How does that make you feel?”

JH: “It’s amazing to be driving a car for Steve Plueger. His first driver was Gary Densham! And in Seattle when we only had one shot to get in, Densham told me everything would be fine. He had all the confidence in the world! After getting that kind of encouragement from Densham and Plueger, I had all the confidence in the world too.”

CR: “Well you know that we will be rooting for you this weekend, and keep us posted so we can put up your qualifying results here on the site. And when you get that big sponsorship and have to miss a Nostalgia race or two, don’t worry I’ll fill in for you anytime. It’s the least I can do. HA!”

JH: “Thanks Chad, I’ll keep that in mind!” Laughing at me of course…”We appreciate the support. I couldn’t do this without K&N and RCD this weekend, so I owe them a huge thanks as well. When companies like K&N and RCD step up to help you realize a dream, it’s something you won’t ever forget. They are top notch companies made up of really good people and I can’t thank them enough. I want to thank all the BangShifters out there for supporting us too, it’s always great to have you guys behind us. I’ll keep you posted as we go through the weekend.”

The first round of qualifying for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing’s AAA Fall Nationals will be Friday at 3pm, and be followed up by Friday evening’s 6pm session. The teams will then get two more sessions to qualify on Saturday.

With weather looking questionable for Friday, the Plueger/Hale team could be in for another weekend without many shots at qualifying, but we’ve got faith they can pull it off. We’ll keep you posted here as qualifying rounds are completed.