Race Reports
Drag racing is a sport not just won on the track.
It is not just won in the pit area or back home at the shop. Success in drag racing starts behind closed doors with handshakes, signed agreements, and mutual understanding.
The fact of the matter is the best racers in the world don’t get where they are on skill alone. It takes savvy marketing men and women, successful public relations and relationships with the right people and businesses to turn driver skill into actual round wins.
Paul Lee knows that fact perhaps better than most.
A longtime racer and savvy businessman himself, who owns his own Paul Lee Racing operation alongside a trio of companies under the Wharton Automotive Group, which includes McLeod Racing, FTI Performance and Silver Sport Transmissions, Lee knows that to take his operation
to the next level, he needs the right people by his side.
“I am passionate for this sport,” a confident Lee said. “I’ve loved it since I was a little kid and I am still that little kid today almost 50 years later. This has not been an overnight thing. I’ve been working toward this since I was 13 years old. The lifetime commitment that I’ve made to doing what we are doing is something I am proud of, but I hope for more and that is what we are out here doing now.”
Lee recently paired with industry executive Steven Cole and added savvy marketing person, Top Fuel driver and team owner Krista Baldwin to the Paul Lee Racing team. Baldwin, who not only drives the McLeod-sponsored dragster, but is also the Creative Director for the Wharton Automotive Group, helps take this race team from a single-car operation to a hopeful megateam in the making. Lee hopes marketing a pair of cars from each of the premier nitro categories within the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is the next step in the team’s progression.
Competition Plus - Few racers have traveled a path like Paul Lee’s.
Lee was a teen-aged spectator at Old Bridge Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, when a TV camera captured him in the pits observing driver/tuner Dale Armstrong servicing the “Speed Racer” Funny Car between rounds.
A year later, Lee was turning wrenches on a nitro-burning Funny Car driven by Al Segrini.
Almost 50 years down the road, Lee is a highly successful businessman who believes he’s on the cusp of his best season yet as a Funny Car owner and driver. Lee enters this week’s NHRA season-opening Gatornationals with newer Dodge bodies, a new clutch package, and his first full season with Dustin Heim and Jason Bunker serving as co-crew chiefs.
A native of Ewan, New Jersey, Lee is living his dream as a Funny Car competitor.
“Funny Cars have always been my favorite since I saw “Jungle” Jim (Lieberman) and I was 13 years old at Atco Dragway,” said Lee, who now calls Orange, California, home. “I went to Atco Dragway with some friends to watch the nitro Funny Car show. ‘Jungle Jim’ was the first one up, and he did this full-track burnout. Backed up 50, 70 miles an hour — who knows how much? Went off into the grass, because there was no wall at Atco Driveway back in those days, it was just grass. He went off into the grass. Flames were high. It was at nighttime, and he never lifted. Got back on the track, and beat the guy in the other lane.
“I just remember the crowd just going nuts. Right then, when I saw ‘Jungle Jim,’ he was my all-time hero. And it was like when I saw that — first time I ever saw a nitro Funny Car — I was like, ‘That's what I want to do.’ I knew, from that moment, my whole life would be dedicated to being a Funny Car driver. That's all I've ever wanted to do since that moment, when I was 13 years old at Atco Dragway.”
Read more: PAUL LEE'S DRAG RACING CAREER IS A SERIES OF DREAMS COME TRUE
As an entrepreneur, Paul Lee knows what it takes for a business to be successful. With the proper strategy and the right people on the team, the start of the season will be the step in the right direction for contention in the Funny Car class.
Over the offseason, Lee and his Dustin Heim and Jason Bunker-led team have made major improvements in the clutch. The team welcomes a new alliance with John Force Racing with the upgrade to their six-disc clutch made entirely of TMS Titanium.
“Everyone at TMS Titanium is excited to be working with Paul Lee as he makes the move to the six-disc clutch system and battles arguably one of the toughest Funny Car fields in recent history," said Todd Harrison, CEO/President TMS Titanium. "Paul is an amazing competitor and more importantly a great friend and person. We are excited to be supplying titanium and support as Paul continues to chase his dream.”
The team has already made a big leap in turning around this car from last year’s not-so-desirable season. With a recent test session in Gainesville, the crew chiefs were able to have a hands-on experience with the new clutch technology.
“Testing was exciting and a very positive move forward for our racing program,” says Paul Lee. “We added a lot of improvements in the offseason, such as a new front-half chassis, two late-model Dodge Charger bodies, and, most importantly, an all brand-new six-disc TMS Titanium clutch units from JFR. Like any business needing investment to be successful, our team needed major investments, and that’s what we’ve done. Our goal is always to compete for wins. I’m more excited than ever to get this season started.”
Paul Lee Racing welcomes many new companies such as Denso Spark Plugs and Powerbuilt Tools to the roster. And with the continued help of his current partners like TMS Titanium, Red Line Oil, and Mainline Sales and IGTG, the FTI Performance Funny Car team is ready for the NHRA Gatornationals.
“We are excited to extend our involvement within the NHRA by partnering with Paul Lee Racing as their official spark plug sponsor for the 2023 season,” said Steve Corey, Director, Aftermarket Sales. “We welcome Paul and the entire crew to the Denso family.”
Powerbuilt Tools is excited to be partnered with PLR - our neighbor down the street in SoCal. We were excited when they reached out and asked us to outfit the team with Powerbuilt Tools. We are looking forward to the 2023 season!” remarked Powerbuilt Tools Marketing Director Desiree Martinez.
For the season opener this week, Lee will debut a fresh take of his FTI Performance Funny Car. With FTI Performance manufacturing facility just an hour away in DeLand, Fla., Lee will be hosting all of his employees and their families for a fun weekend at the track.
With the heavy influence of FTI Performance in the region, Lee has invited Donkmaster Sage Thomas to hang out with his team on Friday of the Gators. Thomas will be showcasing one of his donks as the tow vehicle for the Funny Car during the second qualifying round Friday night.
The NHRA Pro Mod category will be hosting a FTI Performance Pro Mod Showdown through the qualifying rounds and first round of eliminations. The team with the best combined reaction time and elapsed average will win the big check of $7,500.
