National Trail Raceway will provide 'home track' advantage for Krisher

The state of Ohio is a hotbed for NHRA Pro Stock Drag Racing with some of the most competitive drivers in the country hailing from the Buckeye State. One of them is Eagle One Chevrolet Cavalier driver/owner Ron Krisher who makes his home just two hours north of National Trail Raceway in Warren, Ohio.

Over the last three race seasons, the 54-year-old Krisher has catapulted to the top of the Pro Stock drag racing scene with one of the strongest all-around programs in the series. Essential to the team's success is a highly experienced, dedicated trackside crew and staff, a state-of the-art engine shop in Newark, Ohio, and an owner dedicated to excellence.

"I believe we have the best engine-development program out there," said Krisher. "Last year having the engine shop didn't help as much because we had to take the time to build it up. We had to put a lot of money into the program, go through a lot of parts, and make a huge investment in time and resources to get it up to where we wanted it to be.

"I feel the commitment I've made to the success of the engine program is indicative of how I can conduct all of my business affairs. Everything I do I'm either successful at it, or figure out why I'm not and fix it, or go on to something where I can be successful. That's just the approach I take to everything. But with this, I understand it takes time and a huge investment before things start coming back your way."

Currently in his seventh season on the NHRA Pro Stock tour, Krisher has accomplished a great deal in his relatively short time on the circuit. After making his Pro Stock debut at the 1996 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Krisher set out on a mission to develop the best racing program possible, and now the effort is beginning to pay off.

His breakout season was 2000 when he blasted onto the Pro Stock scene with two victories in four final rounds and five No. 1 qualifying spots. That year, Krisher's Firebird completely dominated the category giving him his first career victory in Chicago, a runner-up two weeks later at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, and then a return to the winner's circle six days later in St. Louis.

It was evident the motorsports world was taking notice when Krisher's hot streak was featured in an in-depth feature in USA Today. In addition, Krisher became the 16th and final member of the Speed-Pro 200 mph Pro Stock Club with a 200.17 mph-pass at Houston and was one of only five drivers to qualify for every race in 2000. He ended the season fourth in the NHRA Pro Stock points standings for his first top-10 finish.

"I think if you watch Pro Stock," said Krisher, "good teams will get streaky where they go through spurts, do pretty good for awhile and then enter a period where they slack off. I don't know why, although it could have something to do with the particular track you're running on or maybe you run into similar atmospheric conditions the car likes. Also, some people are more successful at certain racetracks than other drivers and that's pretty much how every summer goes. Now when we go out West, typically starting with Denver, we face a whole series of different racetracks and air conditions, and that can throw you for a loop the other way."

Last year, Krisher continued on his top-10 pace with a victory at Topeka, Kan., a runner-up at Brainerd, Minn., and 18 elimination round wins for an eighth-place finish. He qualified for every event for the second straight season and at National Trail Raceway he qualified a season-best second.

"I like racing at Columbus," said Krisher. "We ran good there last year and in 2000, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be strong there again this year. In 2000, we broke a wishbone in the finals against Pawuk and still almost won the race. I probably shouldn't have taken it down the track as far as I did, and most people with brains would've shut off, but when you're racing for the win you do things that you normally don't do."

This year, Krisher was torrid out of the starting block jumping out to four consecutive pole positions at Pomona, Calif., Phoenix, Gainesville, Fla., and Las Vegas, where he grabbed his first victory in 2002. At Bristol, Tenn., he cooled off to a No. 5 qualifying start but rallied with a runner-up performance on race day, losing to Warren Johnson in the finals. He also established new career-bests in elapsed time and top speed at Englishtown running 6.785 seconds and 203.40 mph.

"Our success this year is due to a couple of factors," said Krisher. "We've taken a new philosophy on how we run our race car and on how we crew it. We have a number of people on the team that supply us with input. The more ideas we can bounce back and forth, the better I think we are. We have a lot of experience and knowledge on this race team, so why not capitalize on it?"

With 12 eliminators remaining on the schedule Krisher feels that the keys to winning his first Pro Stock title are qualifying strong, running consistent and adapting to the changing, unpredictable conditions faced at each venue.

"I think we're going to have to win at least three or four races and go more rounds on race day," said Krisher. "We still have just as much power as we've ever had, but now we're hoping this new Jerry Bickel race car will help give us more grip down track because that's where we've struggled these last few weeks. But if this new Chevy Cavalier does what it seems it wants to do, then I'm pretty excited about racing at National Trail, and for that matter, I'm pretty excited about the rest of the season."