Topeka: Lump preview
Brian Self Racing Lump Cylinder Heads Chevy S-10 Pro Stock Truck Brian "Lump" Self - Owner/ Driver TOPEKA, Kan. (Pre-Race) - Brian "Lump" Self, driver of the Lump Cylinder Heads Chevrolet S-10 Pro Stock Truck, will arrive in Topeka, Kan. for the ...
Brian Self Racing Lump Cylinder Heads Chevy S-10 Pro Stock Truck Brian "Lump" Self - Owner/ Driver
TOPEKA, Kan. (Pre-Race) - Brian "Lump" Self, driver of the Lump Cylinder Heads Chevrolet S-10 Pro Stock Truck, will arrive in Topeka, Kan. for the running of the 13th Annual Advance Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, with a personal deadline to meet.
Self wears many hats on his race team; he is the driver, the team owner, engine builder, and the sponsor of his entry. His various roles not only stretch his time thin, but also his wallet.
Last year, Self finished eighth in the Pro Stock Truck points standings, a significant feat for this self-funded, independent team. Although he received some sponsorship help for Roof-Tec (a roofing company out of Houston, Texas) the funding of his race team became a huge financial burden for Self.
During the winter, Lump came very close to parking his truck. He and Crew Chief Chad Tigert spent the winter searching for a sponsor to help ease the financial burden. When all their prospects disappeared, Lump had to make a decision; either park his truck or run the team out of his pocket again.
"I was ready to quit racing," said Lump. "The cost of running one of these trucks is as much as a Pro Stock car. I looked at how much I spent last year and realized that I can not keep doing this out of my own pocket. But the other side of that is that we have to be at the track to attract a sponsor. So, I started the season out of my own pocket knowing that it cannot last for long.
"At the beginning of the season we were qualifying pretty well, and going rounds on Sunday. The purse money that we won was not a lot, but helped a great deal in offsetting team expenses. Then we DNQ'ed at a couple races, that really hurt us.
"Most people do not realize that it takes an incredible amount of money to field one of these trucks, and it costs the same to race, whether you qualify or not. Not having that little bit of prize money has really hurt us, and has financially put us behind the eight ball coming into this race.
"We need to do well in Topeka. We have two goals for this race. First, we need to qualify here and race on Sunday, and second, this is our last chance to make the Holley Dominator Duel. Achieving both of those goals would help us not only with the prized money to get to the next race, but will also raise our confidence level back up to where it needs to be.
"So it looks like Topeka is do or die time for us. We have nothing to lose right now. So, we are going to pull out all the stops, and race like we might not be back next week. We will go to Topeka and give it everything we have, and hopefully we will get to the winner's circle."
Pro Stock Truck qualifying at the 13th Annual Advance Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Kan. will begin on Friday May 25 and continue on Saturday May 26. Eliminations will take place on Sunday May 27 at 11:00 AM CST.
-BSR-
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