Having captured wins in every series he’s raced in, Chris Rini found victory to be an elusive temptress in the PDRA. Rini raced with the sanctioning body since its inception in 2014 to no avail. It finally all came together for him only recently as he picked up his first-ever win – and then earned a second back-to-back success story at the following race.

The 51-year-old New York native and entrepreneur has never been afraid of hard work and knows it can often take years for things to come to fruition. With lots of wins already under his belt behind the wheel of Bryant Marriner’s gray 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS in various classes, including Piedmont Dragway’s famous Big Dog Shootout, Rini decided to go all-in and commissioned Jerry Bickel Race Cars to build a silver clone of the Camaro.

However, when it became apparent that Rini’s ride wouldn’t be finished in time for the 2022 season due to Covid-19 supply chain difficulties, he put together a Plan B. “I talked with Bryant [Marriner] about the rules changes in Big Dog that allowed in Hemis and bigger 5.3-inch bore space engines. We were running a 5-inch bore space combination with two stages of nitrous and no-lockup, and we didn’t want to change the engine program to be competitive,” noted Rini.

Instead, the men decided to target PDRA Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous. Rini took the go-fast bits he had ready for his silver Camaro –a 959 cubic inch platform from Buck Racing Engines equipped with a hefty dose of Switzer Dynamics nitrous oxide – and placed it between the frame rails of Marriner’s ATI Performance Products-backed Chevy.

ATI has been instrumental in providing me with the latest and greatest innovations to help eliminate weak links and failure points. – Chris Rini

Over the winter, Bickel outfitted the Camaro to accept the new combination and installed the hood scoop and headers, then trimmed the front end to accommodate the larger engine. Rini, who splits his time between his new home in North Carolina and his businesses up North, didn’t have time to go testing prior to the start of the 2022 PDRA season in April, but he still went into it with a clear head.

“We didn’t have a lot of data early in the year, so we were competitive but not quite where we wanted to be,” shared the man who qualified consistently well with passes in the 3.6- and 3.7-second range, but wasn’t going rounds in eliminations as expected. “It made it tougher to get the bugs worked out. We really only got to test the day before each race, but my tuner, Brian Switzer, has been great.”

Despite less than ideal results at the first three events in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio, Rini never lost faith in his crew. “By Maryland, the fourth race, I had a car that could win. I went to the semi-finals and knew I had to be good on the tree against Jim Halsey, and I turned on the red light,” he lamented.

Finally, after years of effort, Rini’s determination was richly rewarded at Virginia Motorsports Park during the PDRA Drag965 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Graphix in July. Although he qualified seventh with a 3.777 at 201.79 mph pass, Rini went on to win the event outright and earned his first-ever “660 Man” trophy.

The following month, Rini pulled into Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway ready to race at the PDRA Summit Northern Nationals presented by Penske. This time, he improved significantly in the qualifying order and moved up to begin eliminations from the number two spot courtesy of a 3.732 at 203.25 mph hit. After having waited so long for his first PDRA victory, Rini was happily surprised to wrap up the weekend with a second winner’s circle photo session and yet another 660 Man in his hands.

With just two stops left of the 2022 PDRA season tour, Rini has moved up to second overall in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous championship points and is optimistic about closing out the year with a title to his name.

Rini credits his impressive successes, both past and present, to his talented team and the trusted partners in his corner supporting his efforts. For nearly 20 years, though, ATI Performance Products has been a key part of Rini’s program. His transmission and converter of choice, ATI not only has supplied the driveline components he needs to win, but has also worked with Rini to develop winning technology for other racers around the globe.

“I was ATI’s test car for their two-speed Powerglide lockup back around 2007, and we ran some NMCA 1/4-mile stuff with it,” recalled the racer, who started working with the company when he was running in Top Sportsman trim. “ATI has been instrumental in providing me with the latest and greatest innovations to help eliminate weak links and failure points.”

Since 2009, Rini has run a three-speed Turbo 400 in his cars. “It’s pretty damn impressive that they hold up so well with all the abuse we put ‘em through,” laughed Rini, who generally services his gearbox every 75 runs or so. “We started to see the input shaft twisting as we made more horsepower and were running .930-second 60-foot times. So, we’ve been using ATI’s larger input shafts this year and they’ve been flawless.”

In addition to his ATI Turbo 400 with its top-secret gear ratios and his ATI Outlaw lock-up drag race-focused torque converter, Rini also uses ATI’s Super F synthetic transmission fluid and has seen tremendous results with it. “Years ago, everyone was struggling for better fluid life and viscosity and to be able to withstand higher temperatures, but ATI has it ironed out,” he affirmed. “With less wear on parts and smoother shifts, the better fluid helps the clutches in the transmission last longer.”

Rini stands by ATI’s products so strongly that he not only shows up to the track armed with his own transmissions and converters, but he also keeps several extra units on hand as spares for other racers or customers who find themselves in need.

Technology has come a long way since Rini began racing decades ago, and many of those advancements in the industry have only been possible due to drivers like him working with manufacturers like ATI to develop, test, refine, and perfect the products that propel these powerful machines to the stripe.

It’s pretty damn impressive that they hold up so well with all the abuse we put ‘em [three-speed Turbo 400] through. – Chris Rini

With his long-awaited win finally secured and then some, Rini has been grinning ear-to-ear ever since. To make the triumph even sweeter, he also took ownership of his new ’69 Camaro shortly after his second win but will save its debut for PDRA Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous competition in 2023. And, of course, ATI Performance Products will be on board for the ride.