The “us” Scruggs refers to encompasses his team, but specifically refers to
he and his dad, Mitchell, as the two work closely on all racing aspects. “He was
a hot rodder, a car guy growing up. He got me into racing. It’s something we’ve
always done together. It’s a stress reliever for me to get away once a month or
so and go to a race. It’s good to go away and get a different outlook and come
back, which helps our business. Dad and I enjoy doing this together, and we meet
a lot of good friends doing it. The PDRA is perfect for us because you can race
once a month or every few weeks. You have time in between races to get settled
back in. Everybody in the PDRA is one big family. It’s enjoyable to go race,
have a good time on a good track and try to make your stuff go faster.”
Although the 2015 season started out a little rocky for Scruggs and the
Mississippi Missile team as they worked out new car bugs, they quickly got a
handle on things and began winning race after race. “The car was untested,”
Scruggs explained. “We came out and struggled at the first race or so, but after
that, once we got going, we had a great year. We won five out of nine races.
We’re ecstatic about it all coming together. Last year we struggled some. We had
a good car last year and we couldn’t ever get luck to go our way. It doesn’t
matter how good you run you gotta have a little bit of luck. Racing’s got to go
your way.
“At one point we won three races in a row and five out of six. You run good
enough at times, and then when you do mess up you catch a break. That’s what we
had this year. We were really fortunate. We ran good and the car did great, but
we had a little luck when we needed it. That made some of the difference between
this year and last year. Last year we qualified number one a lot and had a good
car, but we couldn’t put it together.”
Scruggs thanked
ScruggsFarm.com, as well as “all the guys at Jerry Bickel for a great race
car this year. It’s been great all
year long; Steve and Ferrin at Hoosier Race
Tires have been with us for a long time and I really want to thank them. MVM and
Flatout Gaskets help us. Brad and Brad Anderson Enterprises have always been
good about getting us motor stuff as we need it. He’s always been a good
supporter, as has Snyder Lenco Drive - Mick and Larry Snyder. I want thank my
crew. My crew chief, my dad, Mitchell Scruggs. I want to thank him and Ricky,
Rhett, Dennis, and Wesley for all their help this year and in the past. And,
last but not least, my wife Alice and my girls who always support me in
everything I do.”
Scruggs went on to thank NAS Racing for sponsoring the Pro Extreme class this
season. NAS Racing team members Badir Ahli and Mustafa Buhumaid fought neck and
neck with Scruggs for the championship this season, as well as sponsoring the
class.”They’re a tough team and we appreciate their support in the PDRA.”
“This level of competition now in the PDRA, it’s tough just to win a race,”
Scruggs continued. “Every race is so tough that when you’ve won a race, you feel
like you’ve done something. It’s the best competition in the world that races
PDRA. You’ve really got a sense of accomplishment in being able to outlast
everybody throughout the season. Not that competition wasn’t good back when I
last won championships in ‘07 and ‘08, but torque converters and everything that
everybody is doing in Pro Extreme has got everybody equal. It’s almost like NHRA
Pro Stock or something, where every car in the top 10 is within a couple numbers
of each other. Nowadays it’s tough to win. In ‘07-’08 you could have a little
bit of performance advantage, because everybody had clutches and it was harder
to make the car go down the race track consistently. Now’s just a different
time.”
Scruggs says he has mixed emotions on the rise, and now domination, of torque
converters. “Torque converters are a lot cleaner and a lot less work. That part
of me loves a torque converter but, at the same time, the driver part of me
misses driving a car with a clutch in it. Overall I don’t know that I would want
to go back to a clutch now that I’ve got spoiled with torque converters.”
With the tight competition in Pro Extreme, Scruggs is continually looking for
that next edge. With that in mind, he has a new RJ Race Cars Camaro on order and
is tweaking engine and torque converter setups. “We’re just always trying to go
forward,” Scruggs explained. “Rick and Rickie and I have been friends for a long
time. We’ve talked about doing something for a while now and it’s just all come
together at this time. We’re looking to go to the next level. With the level of
competition this year and going into 2016, you’re looking for a number or two.
Even a hundredth is an advantage just because everybody’s so tight. And with the
turbo cars coming on the last few races - they’re running 228, 230 mile per hour
and they’ve got lots of potential. Us blower guys realize we’ve got to step up
to the plate. That’s what my goal is now: try to take our program to the next
level between now and 2016.”
