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Chris Rini Readies for Battle
with ‘Black Magic’ Camaro
PITTSBORO, N.C. (February 3, 2016): PDRA Pro Nitrous has been a hotbed of big
talk this offseason. The class has risen to elite status in recent years. Just
qualifying for an event deserves ample accolade, which at times, has given birth
to ample ego among competitors, as well. Not all Pro Nitrous drivers are alike,
however. Chris Rini isn’t one for all the talk, but that doesn’t mean he’s not
more than ready to prove himself on the track. In 2016 he’ll follow the entire
PDRA Pro Nitrous circuit for the first time, and the competition can be sure
that while his mouth may not be hard at work, his racing program certainly is.
Rini is debuting a brand new ‘69 Chevy Camaro built by Jerry Bickel Race Cars
this season. The slick looking car will pay tribute to the late founder of ATI,
Jim Beattie, by copying the Funny Car ‘Black Magic’ paint scheme he made famous
in the ‘70s.
Along with the trick new car, Rini has upgraded to the latest and greatest Buck
Racing Engines 941ci BBC, as well as a new lockup torque converter design by
ATI. The ‘Black Magic’ Camaro is ready to go and Rini had
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hoped to be
testing already, preparing for the
season opener in Tulsa, March 10-12,
but
a recent accident has him a few weeks
behind schedule.
“My focus this off season was to get
this new car finished and get out
testing,” explained Rini. “At the end
of December I was involved in an
accident. I own a towing company in
New York. I went out to assist a
driver. I got underneath to hook it
up, and the customer’s truck slid on
top of me. I broke my shoulder, five
ribs, punctured a lung, and, in trying
to get out from underneath the truck,
dislocated my wrist.
“We were supposed to be in Bradenton,
but this obviously put me behind. It’s
not where I wanted to be, but the flip
side of it is, I guess my accident
could have been a lot worse. The
racing can wait. We’re going to test
in February if I feel good enough to
get in the car and not worry about
tire shake or anything that would stir
up any problems medically with me.
Ribs take 8 to 10 weeks to heal. I’ve
gone over and above to in follow ups
to ensure that everything is moving in
the right direction. The doctors have
cleared me and I feel good now. I’ve
got all my movement back and I'm
getting my strength back, but I just
wouldn’t want to go out there and take
a chance. These cars make a lot of
power. You’re strapped in a seat with
a seven-point harness and no cushion.
“So we’re going to do a private test
session in February. ATI has a brand
new, trick, lockup torque converter.
I’m really excited to test that. And
I’m real excited to test the new 941
that Charlie built me. I added some
tricks to the new chassis. We’re
looking forward to running the whole
tour. Hopefully we get a couple of
wins and have some fun.”
Rini has had a great deal of success
in his racing career, including four
championships and numerous high
profile wins. Many of these came from
Top Sportsman, Rini’s training ground
for Pro Nitrous.
“Nitrous was something that I began
learning through Top Sportsman,” he
elaborated. “The transition into Pro
Nitrous was a more natural transition
than me going into Pro Extreme or Pro
Boost. The nitrous cars have always
been, in my opinion, the coolest cars
to watch race, especially at night
when you can see the flames coming
from the headers. They are more
realistic to production type cars than
something with a big screw blower
coming out of it.
“I really enjoy the class. It’s really
nice to have one type of power adder
in the class,” continued Rini, who
also used to compete in Pro Street.
“Nobody is complaining about parity or
who has better rules. It just makes it
so that everybody has a clean slate to
base off of. The only way you can do
better is to do better. There’s no
advantage to a power adder or cubic
inch. In Pro Nitrous you can go out
there and compare yourself to the best
of the best in the country.
“The Pro Nitrous game has become so
competitive that to be up-to-date with
every part of your race car is
becoming more and more critical.
Unless you keep evolving you’re going
to get left behind. There’s nothing
wrong with my old chassis, but in the
world of trying to improve you would
hope that a brand new car with new
tubes and all the latest and greatest
updates will hold some reward on the
flip side of performance. The top
eight people all have cars that are
within a couple years old. They cycle
them out every couple years just for
that reason. It’s the same with
motors. Any little update or
innovation that happens provides more
of a chance to possibly have a couple
thousandths on the competition.
“The fields are separated by less than
a tenth from the number 1 car to the
number 16 car. People are making their
career best runs and going home not
qualified. It is a battle, and a
battle that’s not getting any easier.
There’s not a lot of room for error in
an eighth mile run in under four
seconds. It’ll take a little bit of
luck and a lot of hard work.”
Going to battle with Rini at each
event is a team of volunteers, who,
Rini says, he absolutely could not do
this without.
“I can’t say enough for the guys on my
team,” thanked Rini. “We’re a
volunteer team. These guys take off of
work and drive across the country to
do this with me. They work hard and
love racing. I can’t say enough about
these guys who pretty much volunteer
all their time. I’m thankful their
families are supportive. If they
weren’t, we’d all be divorced or
single. Dave Campbell is my Crew
Chief. Tim Davis helps Crew Chief.
Drew Amitrano helps do anything and
everything. Ken Moser drives the truck
and helps do everything in between
races. Todd Kessler is another guy
that jumps in wherever we need him.
And then I can’t say enough about
Charlie and Robin Buck. Charlie lets
me keep my truck and trailer there. He
helps service the car in between
races. It’s like a home away from
home. My fiancee, Emily Martin, is
supportive. She helps out and comes to
the races.”
Rini is also backed by a great team of
sponsors: ATI Performance Products,
Buck Racing Engines, Chris’ Automotive
Center, PRO FABrication, CV Products,
Miller Electric Welders, Moroso
Performance Products, Switzer
Dynamics, CollectorTethers.com,
Braille Battery, GRP Connecting Rods,
Stef’s Fabrication Specialties, VP
Racing Fuel.
The PDRA would like to extend Chris
Rini prayers for a speedy recovery.
We’ll see you in Tulsa!
ABOUT THE PDRA
Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina,
the Professional Drag Racers
Association is the top sanctioning
body in the United States for the
sport of eighth-mile drag racing. The
PDRA’s professional categories include
Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost,
and Pro Extreme Motorcycle along with
Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Pro Jr.
Dragster, and Top Jr. Dragster. The
2016 PDRA schedule consists of nine
national events. For more on the
world’s premier eighth mile drag
racing organization visit
www.pdra660.com.
Follow the PDRA:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
YouTube.
PRESS CONTACT: Lisa Collier
Professional Drag Racers
Association
lisa@pdra660.com
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