NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

“I probably worked from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. and I was on the phone the entire day,” said Blake Alexander, about as matter of fact as he says everything else. “Now, some of that was (my wife), Leah, but every time I hung up the phone it rang again.”

Maybe that doesn’t sound like much of a burden if it comes with owning a Funny Car. And, to Alexander’s credit, he wasn’t really complaining. But the sponsorship calls that used to be the main focus of the North Carolina-based racer are now just a piece of the pie. 

He will compete at the next three races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule – that includes Atlanta, Richmond and Chicago. That’s the longest stretch of races Alexander’s Pronto Auto Service team has been on the road this season after making his 2019 debut in Phoenix and following it up in Houston. 

Those two races were rain-shortened, and Alexander suffered through a costly explosion in Houston that came with a fine. He’s behind where he wants to be in terms of runs completed but still expects to qualify in the top half of the field in his Ford Mustang, tuned by Daniel Wilkerson with a little help from veteran racer Tim Wilkerson (father to Daniel). 

“I had a 3-second run thrown out and we were going 280 mph at the eighth-mile on another run that eventually smoked the tires, so I think we’re showing signs of what the car is capable of,” said Alexander. 

The car, formerly owned by Brian Stewart, has run quick in the past, albeit before new track prep procedures were put into place in 2018. Alexander has made eight runs and is averaging an elapsed time of 4.016 seconds (small sample size warning). His 60-foot time is perhaps the most encouraging sign: 0.889. That’s just .003 second behind the class average and gives a sign that the team is hitting the tires well. 

Alexander made a few big parts orders to prepare for this three-race stretch, something that’s commonplace for … well, everyone that regularly competes on tour. It was a first for him and is one of the many extra pressures that comes with becoming a team owner. That doesn’t compare to managing people, though. Alexander is running with two fill in members this weekend (two of his crew members are full time) and managing that on the run can at times be more stressful than going more than 300 mph. 

“It’s been a long week and none of that has anything to do with this,” he said, gesturing towards the car. 

If everything goes to plan, and the weather cooperates, he’ll get to spend a little under half a minute inside of his Funny Car before Monday rolls around.