Sunday, August 12, 2001
Auto racing insider
Oswald goes from driver's seat to crew chief
At one time, Mark Oswald was the fastest man in the world. Today he works at helping someone else try for that title.
Oswald, the 1984 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car national champion, grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming. He is now an NHRA Funny Car crew chief for driver John Lawson.
“This is pretty much John's rookie year in the pro category,” Oswald said. “It's highly competitive out there this year.”
Oswald, 48, began his drag racing career at Edgewater Sports Park in Cleves. He moved years ago to Houma, La., but veteran area fans recall when Oswald was an NHRA hammer in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.
In 1982, Oswald broke the NHRA Top Fuel speed record held by NHRA legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. His 5.61-second run converted to a speed of 252.10 mph which, at the time, was a world speed record for NHRA. Garlits' record of 250.69 mph had stood for seven years.
“That was '82, about the time I moved to Louisiana,” Oswald said. “A lot of things have changed since then, obviously.”
Oswald competed in
NHRA into the late 1990s.
“I stopped driving about three years ago,” he said. “But I always enjoyed the mechanical part, so I really didn't miss driving too much.”
In Oswald's day, major NHRA drivers often had to work harder off the track than on it. Multi-zillion dollar corporate sponsors were not yet the norm.
“The sport's grown so much that you really can't do it all anymore, and you don't have to,” Oswald said. “You can't be the driver, find the sponsors, and tune the car yourself. And most teams have two or three crew chiefs now. I have an assistant chief myself.”
These days, most big-league NRHA drivers never have to turn a wrench.
“That's just how it is now, it's more specialized,” Oswald said. “That's good in many ways. I was always a little more hands-on, so I'm used to doing it all.”
His current driver, Lawson, is not driving the full circuit this year.
“The best we did this year was at his hometown in Joliet (Ill.),” Oswald said. “We went to the second round. There's just a lot of money we're racing against out there, a lot of technology. But I still love doing it, competing against the best.”LOCAL SCENE: The first Lunken Runway Enduro is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (Aug.18-19) at Lunken Airport.
The event, staged by the Cincinnati region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), will be run on a temporary 2.28-mile road course on Lunken's runways.
B.J. Zacharias, a Cincinnati driver who has raced internationally, is the top name entered. There will be three different races over the two days, with everything from Corvettes to Mustangs to Porsches and BMWs.
For tickets and other info, visit racelunken.com or call 1-888-295-7222.
• The Cincinnati-based Doran/Lista Racing team finished third in last week's Grand American Road Racing Association race in Trois Rivieres, Canada. The team, managed by Delhi native Kevin Doran, ranks second in the Grand Am owners' season point standings.
• Gravelrama, the annual four-wheel festival at Gravelrama Park in Cleves, is Aug.22-27. For info visit gravelrama.com.
E-mail to tgroeschen@enquirer.com.
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