Nobile primed and ready for second season

(Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

As he prepares to begin second season behind the wheel of the Mountain View Racing Pro Stock Dodge at this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, Vincent Nobile has just one goal in mind; to be better in 2012 that he was in 2011. Given that his impressive rookie season included three victories and a fifth-place finish, Nobile realizes that it won’t be easy, but he also believes that he’s just scratched the surface of his potential.

“When I look back at last season, I think about all the great things that our team was able to accomplish like the three wins and the five final rounds, but I also think about a few of the rookie mistakes I made,” said Nobile. “I’ve been telling myself that if I can just lean from those mistakes, and eliminate them in the future, our whole team will be even better this season. That’s what I’m focused on doing right now.

“Drag racing might look pretty easy on television but it’s actually a pretty complex sport, and the Pro Stock class is one of the most challenging,” Nobile continued. “No matter who you are or how long you’ve been racing, you can never stop learning. When I think back to the start of the 2011 season, my first race with the Mountain View team, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned since then. Now that we’re in our second year together, I think we all expect a lot from ourselves.”

Nobile, who at the age of 20 remains one of NHRA’s youngest professional racers, helped prepare for the upcoming season with an extended test session in Florida, last December. During that test, the Nick Mitsos-owned Mountain View Dodge Avenger recorded a best run of 6.49-seconds, the quickest pass of Nobile’s career. This season, Nobile and the Mountain View team will once again be using Mopar Hemi engines supplied by J&J Racing.

“Normally, we don’t get too excited about the numbers from testing because there are so many variables that can affect performance,” said Nobile. “However, when you compare our performance against other teams that were there, I believe we stack up very well against them. It was also important for me to drive the car again and make sure that I’m comfortable when we get to Pomona. I’ve been counting the days since the last race of 2011 so I’m more than ready to get going again.”

A year ago, Nobile made his debut with the Mountain View team at the traditional season-opener in Pomona and qualified No. 14 in the tough Pro Stock field. He went on to claim the first round win of his career when he defeated engine builder Allen Johnson in round one. Following the Pomona race, Nobile was ranked in the top ten and maintained that status for the duration of the season.