IHRA: 'Win, lose or draw,' Rupert happiest at the track

Why does Jason Rupert travel from his California home to run the full IHRA Drag Racing Series AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car schedule?

"We just enjoy the people and the atmosphere so much," says the driver of the Littlefield & Rupert Rolling Thunder 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. "It's like a family. Everybody watches out for each other."

It doesn't hurt that Rupert and his team run consistently at the top of the charts. At the season-opening AMSOIL Nitro Nationals at Orlando SpeedWorld Dragway, Rupert lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Shawn Bowen, but Rupert had low ET (5.559) and top speed (a blistering 261.93mph).

Rupert came back at the Good Vibrations Texas Nationals at San Antonio, defeating Bowen in one of the best races of the weekend, and again setting top speed and low ET. Bowen holds a narrow lead in the points, but Rupert is close behind as he goes for his fifth IHRA title.

He and his team made it look easy, but he insists it wasn't – far from it. "The end of last season was devastating," Rupert said. They raced at Bakersfield, California, "and we pretty much destroyed everything we had. Parts-wise we're still not back to where we'd like to be, in terms of what we have in the trailer." Sponsors like Lucas Oil help out, but basically, Rupert says, "We're low-buck guys."

Luckily, "The new car is working really well, and the last couple of races we didn't hurt anything."

Rupert's father, Frank, was one of the top touring racers in the 1970s, "and I guess I just got addicted to it," says Jason, a welder by trade. "If you had told me five years ago I'd be touring with a Nitro Funny Car, I would have said you were crazy. We're having a blast – the IHRA is keeping it real, enforcing the rules the way they should. I really feel good about being part of a professional class.

"Win, lose or draw," Rupert says, "I'm just happy to be able to do what we do."