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Zizzo to Face Bernstein Sunday in NHRA Finals

Topics: Auto Club NHRA World Finals

Zizzo to Face Bernstein Sunday in NHRA Finals

Brandon Mudd
High Side Media
Zizzo Racing
November 12, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Zizzo Racing
Brandon W. Mudd
BWMudd@ZizzoRacing.com
636-219-9676

Zizzo to Face Bernstein Sunday in NHRA Finals

POMONA, Calif. – On the day after 11-11-11, PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel driver TJ Zizzo qualified, you guessed it, 11^th after laying down a smooth 3.888 second ET in the third round of qualifying for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Q3 was also the last round of the weekend for the nitro classes due to inclement weather. The NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Stock classes were able to get all four rounds in.

A year that has seen the Chicago-based Zizzo Racing make numerous positive strides has also gone by very quickly for the second-generation racer. Sunday’s first round of eliminations will see him face another driver from a racing family, Brandon Bernstein. Bernstein barely edged the Zizzo Racing rail for the round win at Indy in September and the team is looking forward to the matchup tomorrow.

“Man, it feels like just yesterday that we started the season here at the Winternationals,” Zizzo said. “We’re facing Bernstein. We last faced him at Indy and gave him a great run. We were awfully close to nipping him so we’ll try to do our best tomorrow and see where we go.”

One of the strengths for the team in the 2011 season has been in qualifying and tuning the dragster to match the track and weather conditions. The final weekend of the year has been no different.

“Today we qualified well, the car runs good,” Zizzo said. “This team has a very good grasp of the tuneup on our PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner dragster. (Crew chief) Mike Kern does a great job, all the guys on this team are like no other. I’m very proud of them. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Del Worsham earned top qualifier honors Saturday with a final ET of 3.773 seconds at 320.05 mph, knocking Tony Schumacher off the top of the leaderboard with that Q3 run. Worsham is in a three-way battle for the season title with Don Schumacher Racing’s Spencer Massey and Antron Brown, who didn’t make the field of 16 until the final round of qualifying.

Zizzo Racing is racing in the Auto Club NHRA World Finals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway. Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies begin at 9:45 a.m. with first round of eliminations running at 11. For tickets, click HERE.

Get Zizzo Stuff: Want some great race-used items from an NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel team? Have a friend or relative who’s impossible to shop for? Look no more! Head over to the Zizzo Racing page on eBay by clicking HERE!

Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.

-ZR-

About Zizzo Racing:
Zizzo Racing has been involved in drag racing at the top levels for more than 30 years. Based in Lincolnshire, Ill. and owned by Tony Zizzo, the team started racing in 1980 in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, moving to nitro with TJ in 2004 after earning his class license. In 2007, TJ Zizzo finished second in the final IHRA standings and now competes on a part-time basis in the NHRA Full Throttle Series.

About PEAK/Old World Industries:
PEAK® Performance Products are marketed and distributed by Old World Industries, which is among the largest privately held companies competing in the automotive aftermarket. The Northbrook, Illinois based company enjoys a presence in the automotive product markets, energy exploration, and chemical manufacturing in more than 50 countries worldwide. Old World's Product offering includes PEAK® Antifreeze; PEAK® Windshield Wash and Wiper Blades; PEAK® Performance Motor Oil; a full line of PEAK® Electronics; HERCULINER® Truck Bed Liner Kits; and SIERRA®, the safer antifreeze. For more information, please visit www.peakauto.com.

TJ Zizzo
TJ Zizzo is the driver of the PEAK/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel dragster and his family-owned team is based in Lincolnshire, Ill. TJ has raced his entire life and runs Zizzo Enterprises, Inc., when he's not racing. He and his wife, Jen, have two children -- Maddie and Nick -- and spends what little free time he has golfing and riding motorcycles. Follow TJ on Twitter at Twitter.com/TJZizzo and on Facebook at Facebook.com/TJZizzo.
Team:
Owner: Tony Zizzo
Crew Chief: Mike Kern
Clutch Specialist: Tony Smith
Utilities/Tires: Mike Adams
Event Coordinator: Cathie Gallo
Cylinder Heads: Rick Dale
Car Chief: Rick Messmore
Bottom End/Motor Assembly: Ryan Ramos
Clutch/Car Assembly: Chris Schneider
Cylinder Head (right): Joe Cluts
Utility: Matt Blager
Utility: Doug Wikell
Public/Media Relations: Brandon W. Mudd

Our mailing address is:
Zizzo Racing, Inc.
23275 North Olsen Court
Prairie View, IL 60069
Copyright (C) 2011 Zizzo Racing, Inc.

The Zizzo Racing logo and TJ Zizzo are trademarks of Zizzo Racing, Inc.