Get that Monkey off my Back!
Written by David Lamm · May 31, 2005
“Aussie” Dave Grubnic would probably never say that but I am sure he was thinking it in Topeka, Kan. After years of toiling with shoestring budgets and leaking cars he finally was able to sip the victory POWERade in the winner’s circle while celebrating his own win at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals. That win could not have come at a better time. Grubnic has been dogged lately (some of that criticism coming from me) regarding taking dives for his teammate, Doug Kalitta. I hate to rain on Grubnic’s parade and do not want to dilute the impact of this win. I live in reality and I can’t help but ask, “what if?”.
Dragracecentral.com: Grubnic Becomes First Non-North American To Win An NHRA Top Fuel Event
I do not mean to sound like a skeptic but in light of Grubnic’s recent history of red lights when facing Doug Kalita, this victory might be a bit tainted. It is not tainted like Kalitta’s victories have been when Grubnic has “mysteriously” fouled at the starting line but this victory does come with some raised eyebrows. Since Kalitta was upset in the first round after qualifying No. 1 that opened the door for Grubnic to not have to worry about following team orders if he did face Kalitta in later rounds. When watching the race on ESPN2 I said to myself, “Well that allows Dave Grubnic to actually compete at this race.” I am sorry for being so negative but I can’t help myself wondering how the day might have gone had Kalitta not exited so early. We’ll never know for sure and it is my job to speculate on what would have happened. Grubnic and Kalitta were both on the same side of the ladder and would have met each other in semifinal round had Kalitta not been upset in the first round. I hate to say it but I think had Kalitta been around by that time, Grubnic would be still waiting to get that elusive win. Say what you will, but I only have his past track record to go off of.
All speculation aside, congratulations go out to Aussie Dave. A win is a win, no matter what path a driver takes. Grubnic is one of the nicest guys in the pits of the NHRA and he deserves to be rewarded with a national event win. With this win will come comparisons to Gary Densham. Densham struggled for years to make it to races with a lack of sponsorship dollars and had to wait until he joined John Force Racing before he earned his first win. Same story for Grubnic. Grubnic started drag racing professionally in the NHRA in 1995 and had visited the final round seven times but no wins until Sunday. He certainly has paid his dues and it is nice to see him hooked up with a great team that can now give him the parts and a crew that make his car capable of winning. Now that we know Dave and his crew are capable of winning a race, let’s see some more heads up racing when the driver in the other lane has the last name of Kalitta. Until then, everyone will continue to wonder might have been then next time Grubnic visits victory lane.
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“Team Orders”? What, are we talking about F1 here? How does Tony Schumacher deal with all his competing cars? Not that knowledgeable about the drags, serious question on my part. If you have a team mate and run into him in competition, you have to expect the best from him, or else risk losing the sponsor, no?
Tony’s dad Don Schumacher is the team owner. They only run one top fuel car which Tony drives. No issues there. Don’s “team orders” come into play when any of his three funny cars come up against each other.