Sweet Home Chicago for Zizzo Racing, PEAK

There's something about a home game.

This weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, TJ Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel team will be front and center at their home track for the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals. The majority of the team, along with primary sponsor PEAK and newly-signed marketing partner INDAK, are natives of the area and looking forward to winning rounds in front of their friends and families.

"We're so stoked to be racing so close to home at Route 66 Raceway," Zizzo said. "They've been great to us and have really made the track feel like our house. With all the friends and family we're going to have there, it's going to be a party!"

Also supporting Zizzo Racing this weekend is legendary drag racing artist Kenny Youngblood, who designed the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner paint scheme on TJ's rail this year. Each race, Youngblood features some of his legendary paintings that honor some of the biggest names in the history of drag racing. In Joliet, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits receives that privilege.

"Kenny knows a lot of people in Chicago and we're looking forward to entertaining him and his friends," Zizzo said. "Plus, he and 'Big Daddy' are going to sign the car before we launch. With that kind of help, how can we possibly lose?"

The team pulled out all the stops for the event with a recent test session at the track and was able to learn a ton of information about the car. "Thanks to our amazing crew chief, Mike Kern, we discovered some valuable facts about the car and what we need to do to get from Point A to Point B," Zizzo said. "We're going with a newer fuel system that should definitely improve our performance on the track.

"Considering almost all of our marketing partners are from the Chicagoland area, we want to make this proud this weekend."

TJ in the Media: TJ, along with 2007 NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Matt Smith, joined Greg Damon on KMOX in St. Louis Saturday afternoon. The audio from The Auto Show can be heard HERE. Zizzo and the PEAK Motor Oil/Herculiner team was also featured on FOX Chicago Monday evening. For more information, visit MyFOXChicago.com.

Meet TJ: The pilot of the PEAK/Herculiner NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel dragster will be at the O'Reilly Auto Parts locations Wednesday at 2200 W. Jefferson St. from 11 a.m.-12:15 and 312 Collins St. from 1-2:15 p.m.

Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.

Zizzo will race his PEAK/Herculiner rail in the 14th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. The stars of the NHRA will race under the stars this weekend, with the first round of qualifying starting at 5 p.m. local time and the second scheduled to run at 8 with Saturday's two rounds of nitro qualifying set to run at the same times. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday. For ticket information, call Route 66 Raceway at 888-629-RACE or visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com.

Zizzo Racing Fast Facts:

• Zizzo has piloted the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA Full Throttle Series since 2003.
• Zizzo's career-best ET is 3.851 (1000 ft.) achieved in 2010 at the U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind. His career-best speed is 314.24 mph (1000 ft.) which also came in last year's U.S. Nationals.
• The highest qualifying effort for TJ and Zizzo Racing was sixth, earned last season at the second race at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
• Zizzo attempted to make his NHRA Full Throttle Series debut at Route 66 Raceway in 2003, but DNQed. He was able to make his first career start the following year against fellow Chicago native Tony Schumacher after qualifying tenth.
• Route 66 Raceway has been a tricky track for Zizzo. He has attempted to make the show here eight times, DNQing four of those times. His best qualifying effort in Joliet was ninth, achieved last year (3.87 sec. ET/311 mph)
• Zizzo fell to Antron Brown in E1 of this event last year.