Lee Zane has been preparing many months for this coming weekend and the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals at historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, and he and the MZ Motorsports crew are good and ready to make their debut as a success-seeking Pro Stock team in NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Zane – a former Stock Eliminator national champion in NHRA’s premier sportsman league, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series – formed a partnership with Kevin and Mary McHugh in 2012 and began hammering out the details of making their collective vision a reality. Aiming for a limited run in 2013 in preparation for a strong future together in the extremely competitive Pro Stock category, the team will make their debut in Englishtown at a racetrack where Zane grew up and grew into a life as a racecar driver.
It’s really special to make our debut at Englishtown. I was probably two years old the first time I went to a race there, and last year at Englishtown is when we picked up our Pro Stock car.
“It’s really special to make our debut at Englishtown,” said Zane, a resident of nearby Perry Hall, Md. “I was probably two years old the first time I went to a race there, and last year at Englishtown is when we picked up our Pro Stock car. It’s been a solid year that we’ve been preparing it and getting ready for this moment, and we’re all really excited.
“Really, we just want to go out and lay down four decent runs during qualifying. If we can do that, I think we’ll be okay. Tom Martino and Bob Benza are giving us as much power as they have in their arsenal with MB Race Engines, and I truly believe that the power, along with the knowledge that they have [in this class], will help us reach our goal of being able to play on Sunday. We definitely aren’t cocky, but maybe we’ll be able to turn some heads.”
Zane has more on his side than a good engine program; his Pontiac GXP is a car previously owned by Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson and driven in competition by Johnson’s son, Kurt Johnson. A series of recent test sessions have provided a surge of confidence for Zane and the team, including crew chief and brother-in-law Brian Van Poppel. Within the past several weeks, MZ Motorsports tested their car at three different racetracks in the New England area with pleasing results.
“We got our feet wet and had a chance to work out any bugs, plus it gave me the opportunity to bring myself back up to speed,” said Zane, who has nine national event wins in the sportsman series and made his Pro Stock debut in 2008 with the help of friend and fellow competitor John Gaydosh but has not had the opportunity to compete in the category since then. Zane’s most recent participation at a national event was last fall at the event at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., in Van Poppel’s Super Stocker.
“After our most recent test session at Maryland Int’l Raceway, I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be,” said Zane. “Come Friday at 4pm, I might have a little bit of a leg shake going on, but we’re all feeling pretty good about things right now. We’re very, very pleased with how testing went, and we’ve already learned a lot. Now, we just have to put what we’ve learned into play.”
We’re very, very pleased with how testing went, and we’ve already learned a lot. Now, we just have to put what we’ve learned into play.
Racing at home means a full house of supporters, including Zane’s wife Lisa, Van Poppel’s wife Kati and her father Don Kennedy, Kevin and Mary McHugh and family, and many other family members and friends.
“Even being able to enter a race in Pro Stock means something, but to be able to do it at Englishtown just means that much more,” said Zane. “There could be a lot of distractions with family and friends being there, sure, but I wouldn’t want to do this anywhere else. We were hoping to start earlier this year, but this was the right thing to do – we’ve had more time to get everything ready, and being our home track, this is going to be really exciting. We have a lot of support from family and friends, but also from all of the sportsman racers that I’ve raced with through the years. They’re all behind us on this deal, and it means so much to us that they’ve been so supportive and have been wishing us the best.
“We’ve had a whole winter and spring of preparation, and really, years of preparing for this moment. Brian and I worked really hard over the winter, we’ve had the assistance of Martino and Benza, and everybody on the crew is really dedicated to this. I feel comfortable in the car, and I have confidence in every one of the guys. We didn’t push to make this happen – we decided that we would go when we were ready. I believe now is the time.”
Zane and MZ Motorsports make their debut with the support of Coppermine Applicators, Maryland Performance Specialties, Philadelphia Race Products, K&N, and JRI.
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