NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Last month, Aaron Brooks helped former nostalgia racer Mike McIntire make his transition to the “big show” in Norwalk with his Toyota-bodied Funny Car. Two weeks later, Brooks went to Finland, where he tuned the Top Fuel dragster of aspiring European racer Jndia Erbacher. He’s also got his hands on the up and coming nitro effort of Artie Allen and in his spare time, he can be found in Dom Lagana’s pit area. Here in Denver, Brooks is helping Greg Carillo debut an all-new Top Fuel operation. As a crew chief, consultant, or whatever you want to call him, Brooks is in heavy demand right now, and nitro racing is better for it.

“Oh, I’ve got plenty of work right now. I’m never bored,” said Brooks, who has enjoyed success in previous stints with Alan Johnson, R2B2, Morgan Lucas Racing, and more recently, Cruz Pedregon. “It’s good because I like to stay busy. This deal we’ve got this weekend with Greg Carillo. We put this car together in four days at the Lucas Fab Shop in Brownsburg. Normally, I’d like to have a week or more but we were pressed for time. It’s tough with a new car because you’re always welding tabs or brackets and trying to make everything fit where it should. Once you’ve done one, car you could put another together in half the time.”

Fortunately, Brooks’ experience goes well beyond that of a crew chief. Yes, he has a solid understanding of which knob to turn and he’s comfortable analyzing data on a computer screen, but he’s a hands-on guy who can weld and fabricate and assemble just about any component on a modern nitro car. He’s even got the ability to design his own parts, and take a new idea from drawing board to production part. That experience is invaluable to the growing number of part-time fuel racers like Carillo, McIntire, Allen and others who are anxious to dip their toes in the water of the big show, but need help to do so.

“Sometimes my brain hurts,” Brooks says. “I go from working on a Top Fuel car that has a five-disc clutch and a set of Stage 6 cylinder heads to a Funny Car with a six disc set-up and the latest components. It’s good to have experience with all different combinations because you can learn a lot, but I’d also like to have a chance to pick on tune-up and refine it.”

Brooks also has the added challenge of working with different crews, some of whom lack race-day experience. Greg’s guys are good. He’s brought along his own team and they work well together. Some of the other deals we’ve got to train new people all the time and that is hard to do. When I was with the Lucas team, we had the same guys and we had a great record. We strung together a lot of runs without a major [blank] up.”

Brooks admittedly enjoys helping new teams gain their footing in the competitive world of nitro racing, but he also admits that he wouldn’t be opposed to showcasing his talents in a full-time gig with a full-time team that is competing for the championship. He hasn’t been in that spot since working for Cruz Pedregon last August.

“Look, I don’t have to be the main guy; to be the crew chief, or whatever you want to call it,” Brooks said. “I’m down for anyplace where I feel I can contribute. I had come conversations recently with a team and for whatever reason we didn’t put a deal together but like I said earlier, I’ve got plenty to do. I’m supposed to go back to Europe again to help the Erbacher’s. I really enjoy that. And, I’ve got more races scheduled with some of these other guys. I’m not going to be hard to find.”