(NOTE: This story was written for The Racing Journal in 2008.)
DRAGGIN' THE LINE
By
Tom Gillispie
TRJ
Editor
JULIAN
— Todd Tutterow was expected to be one of the big dogs at a packed
Piedmont Dragway on Thursday, April 10.
But
Tutterow, of Yadkinville, was making his first start of the season,
and even he didn't know if his '41 Willy's was ready for the Big Dog
Shootout. He'd done all he could, though, and it was time to qualify.
"If
it is, it is, and if it ain't, it ain't," he said resignedly.
"We should be ready."
He
had taken a strong resume to Julian. He was the Farmington Dragway
track champion in 1987 and the Sportsman Class Racers Association
champion in 1989. He finished fourth in IHRA Pro Stock in 1991, and
he won the Mountain Motor Shootout in 1993. He was the Quick 8 Racers
Association champion seven times, most recently in 2005. He won the
Big Dog four times, most recently in 2006. He was the North vs. South
$50,000 winner in '04 and the Mean 16 champion from 2004 to '06.
He's
run in the ADRL, the Big Dog, the Mean 16, the Mad Dawg, the Top Dawg
and selected Outlaw Pro Mod races.
"I'm
a big draw at that track (Piedmont Dragway)," Tutterow said. "A
lot of fans pull for us to get beat. My wife has stated that I'm the
Dale Earnhardt of Big Dog. Most of the time, I'm the big contender
here. And 85 percent of the time, I'm the No. 1 qualifier. I've had
the most rules changes against my car."
In
the end, things worked out. Tutterow qualified first and made the
finals in his blower-powered Willy's, losing to Ronnie Gardner of
Greensboro in a nitrous-powered '68 Camaro. Gardner ran a
4.26-second, 170-mph final to Tutterow's 4.83-second, 152-mph final.
Tutterow,
always looking for a victory, was thrilled with second.
"We
lost in the finals. We had troubles in the finals, but we done good,"
Tutterow said. "I'm pleased. We done good considering the ways
things were going. You can't win every race."
Tutterow
says he didn't tune for the track on the last run.
"I
didn't shake the tires, and the car overpowered the track; that's
what we call it," he explained. "My car makes more power
the cooler it gets, and the track gets slicker. I didn't adjust."
Tutterow
says he works on his cars in the evening after working at his
business, West Bend Grading. After 10 to 12 hours of grading
subdivisions and such, he'll eat supper, then head to the shop for
work on the Willy's and the Mustang, which he says is the world's
fastest blown small block with street tires and mufflers.
He
says his right-hand man is Neal Gordon, his crew chief. They do
everything themselves, he added, except machining parts.
"We
work during the day and race at night," he said.
Actually,
he does more than that. He's also the crew chief this year for Randy
Weatherford's cars and also helps Brian Williams, Andy Beal and
others. He says that he won't lie to them, although sometimes he says
nothing at all.
This
all started 27 years ago when Tutterow started racing street cars in
high school; then he worked his way up through the classes. But why
would someone devote his life to racing?
"Speed,
I guess," he said with a shrug.
"It's
an obsession," interjected Denise, his wife.
"Competition,"
Tutterow added to the mix.
The
Tutterows' two children, Ty, 13, and Tia, 10, both race junior
dragsters. No surprise there.
"When
you grow up in it and get involved, one thing leads to another,"
he said. "With my daughter, I was surprised (that she raced).
"She was a dress-wearing girl."
Now
she dresses to race, and her dad is pleased.
"I
know where they're at," Tutterow said. "They're not at the
mall."
He
says he has several sponsors but is always looking for more. He used
to race all over the country. Other than a trip to Tulsa coming up,
he's staying mostly local this year because of fuel prices. He wanted
to race Saturday at Dunn-Benson Dragstrip in Dunn. His goal?
"To
win; that's what we go for," he said.
Tutterow
probably had a few disappointed fans, though, since Dunn-Benson was
rained out.
After
his first run at Piedmont Dragway, fans milled around the car,
talking with Denise and watching Tutterow. One man used a cell phone
to take photos of Tutterow and the orange car with the hood off.
"A
lot of fans love us, and a lot hate us," Tutterow said Friday,
the day after the Big Dog. "We struggled a bit last night. I was
busy, but I tried to talk to people the best I can. Without fans,
they can't pay the purses they pay."
He
says that he gets email everyday, and sometimes it's unusual. His
favorite fan story involves a man from Roanoke, Va., who was in
Strabane, Ireland, on business. The man was visiting a glass shop,
and two teenagers approached him to ask about the Todd Tutterow shirt
he was wearing.
The
man said he was trying to figure out how there could be Tutterow fans
in Ireland. They told him they'd seen several videos of Tutterow's
Willy's on YouTube.com, and they mentioned some of Tutterow's races
by name. The three discussed the drag-racing culture in Ireland.
Then
the man went into a store, bought a shirt and gave them the Tutterow
shirt off his back.
"So
you now have recognition across the waters," the man wrote in
his email.
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