DI Q&A: Rob Flynn|
NHRA nitro mega-team Kalitta Motorsports announced merely weeks into the 2015/xvi offseason that multi-talented tuner Rob Flynn signed on as co-coiffure principal with squad possessor Connie Kalitta on J.R. Todd's Top Fuel dragster. It's a homecoming of sorts for Flynn, who worked on the tardily Scott Kalitta's Acme Fuel entry in 1987 and Connie'southward dragster the side by side twelvemonth.
"When I first came to Kalitta's Rob worked here and was an early mentor of mine," Kalitta Motorsports Vice President of Operations Jim Oberhofer said. "Not only is he going to add to make J.R.'due south team more solid just he will add in making Kalitta Motorsports better as a whole."
Rob Flynn
Flynn brings a wealth of feel to the Kalitta shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Since his fourth dimension there in the late-'80s, he has worked with drivers in Top Fuel and Funny Automobile, including Darrell Gwynn, Rod Fuller, Bob Vandergriff, Jack Beckman and electric current Kalitta Funny Machine driver and reigning NHRA world champion, Del Worsham. This past season, Flynn led the part-time Dote Racing Superlative Fuel team with driver Leah Pritchett to career-best performances beyond the board.
Just hours afterward the announcement, Flynn shared with DRAG ILLUSTRATED his thoughts on reuniting with Kalitta Motorsports, his past experience with Todd, and why he'due south so excited to become started on the 2022 NHRA national-outcome trail.
What is information technology like to return to Kalitta Motorsports at present that yous've been a respected tuner on the excursion for many years?
I think it's great. Jim O wanted me to come upward here and bank check it out first. You come in the door hither and it'southward like, wow. There are guys here that have worked for me before; guys that I've worked with in the by. It but felt like coming habitation, so to speak. It felt expert.
You previously tuned for J.R. Todd when he collection the Al-Anabi Racing Pro Extreme car. How did yous two Top Fuel guys stop upwards back together?
It'south kind of funny. J.R. and I spent a lot of fourth dimension together with the Pro Mod and we used to say, 'Human being, it certain would be
JR Todd
prissy if we could do Top Fuel once again quondam.' That basically got started when some of the other rides that he had went away and Sheikh Khalid (bin Hamad al Thani) decided to put him in a Pro Mod automobile.
1 day J.R. and Sheikh Khalid called me and asked if I wanted to run this Pro Mod machine. I said I guess then, since I didn't really have a job at that point. We built the car and took information technology to the Center E. We hadn't even started it over hither yet. It was adequately successful. We won a couple races and actually finished beginning in the points. The championship over at that place was the Battle for the Belts, and nosotros lost in the semifinals.
When it all fell apart midway through the twelvemonth when we came back over hither, I went over to Vandergriff'due south and afterwards J.R. came over to Vandergriff'southward and drove part-time at that place, so we however worked together a footling flake. I concluded up leaving Vandergriff's and now nosotros're dorsum together again. It'due south all a footling circle.
Do you think that familiarity with Kalitta Motorsports and J.R. will help you lot adjust to your new part?
For me, having worked with Connie before, you get used to how he is. The same with J.R.; I think he'due south ane of the best drivers out there so I accept a lot of respect for what he does, besides. The whole thing should exist a existent good packet.
Does it help yous as a crew chief to know yous'll be working on a car that'south going out for all 24 races and contending for a title?
Definitely. When Dote Racing had to have a breather or whatever the situation is going to be, my goal was to be with a title-quotient team. At that place weren't a lot of opportunities like that available. I'm real excited about that office considering if you lot're going to go racing full time, that's really what you want—the chance to be in the championship chase and to ultimately win a championship.
You've worked with several full-time teams over the years. Does this situation feel at all different?
Information technology's actually too soon to tell, truthfully. They obviously have all of the resource here; a lot of interesting projects going on all the time, a lot of in-house stuff getting done, and certainly a lot of very intelligent people running these cars.
At that place are similar situations to when I was at DSR (Don Schumacher Racing) with all of the people they take there, too. I meet information technology's a similar situation that they take here. These guys produced a title with Del Worsham this yr and they had two Superlative Fuel cars in the Countdown. There are a lot of parallels in that location, I would say.
This story originally appeared in Drag Illustrated Issue No. 105, the Champions Event, in November of 2015.
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