Victory is Close for The Dream Team
MARSTONS MILLS, Massachusetts (September 19, 2022)
Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it’s the courage to continue that counts.” That quote certainly resonates with Jay Blake and the Follow A Dream Team after this past weekend’s Pep Boy’s NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
It’s no secret that Maple Grove is Jay’s favorite track, and the reason is simple, its where Jay first dreamed up the crazy idea to start a race team despite becoming totally blind. After over 20+ years at the helm of his Top Alcohol Funny Car team, that is the one Wally that has eluded the Dream Team.
“I can’t really put into words what it would mean to me to win there, I’ve been chasing it for so long, and I guess it would feel like finally conquering the mountain.” said Blake of the continued pursuit.
The team did briefly taste victory after a few rounds of Qualifiers that didn’t quite go as planned. The first qualifier was a shut down due to an ignition problem that was solved by Q2. The second round of Qualifiers earned a 5.72 at 261 mph. The racecar shook the tires for several feet leaving heavy wheelie bar marks behind it. Tuner Anthony Terenzio and Team Consultant Rich Bozzelli had the kinks worked out by Q3 and the team was satisfied with the 5.51 at 266 mph that the final round of qualifiers yielded.
Saturday’s first round of eliminations brought early victory and stoked the team’s enthusiasm as Burkart screamed past Gawlik Sgro in the
Permatextraining.com funny car with a winning 5.54 at 264 mph to Brian Gawlik’s 5.63 at 258 mph.
Unfortunately, the momentum didn’t continue, and The Dream Team was bested in an incredibly close second round loss by DJ Cox’ s 5.47 at 267 mph to Phil Burkart’s 5.51 at 264 mph.
Now its on to Virginia for the teams last race of the year and one more chance to clinch The Eastern Region Championship!
Jay Blakes’s speaking program continues to flourish with Blake and some of his crew heading out for a presentation at Reading Muhlenberg Vocational Technical School before the races this past weekend. Blake smiled as the freightliner rolled out of the school heading for the track, “The racing is great, I mean really fantastic, who doesn’t love to win, but it’s the lives that we change that really makes this dream worth dreaming!” Well said, Jay!
For more information about Follow A Dream’s speaking program please reach out to Jay at FollowADream.org
