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Gotelli has racing in his blood Mail Tribune/Drew Fleming Larry Gotelli sits patiently at the starting line as he waits for his turn at Southern Oregon Dragway. Family roots help drive him to the top in dragster series By Don Hunt WHITE CITY � Longtime drag racing fans can�t help from feeling nostalgic every time Larry Gotelli rolls his top fuel dragster to the track. Thirty years ago Gotelli�s grandfather, Ted Gotelli, was one of the top drag racers in the country. He was the first to top 210 mph, accomplishing that feat in 1965 while operating his top fuel dragster, and was later inducted into the National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame. The car that Larry Gotelli drives is a vintage model similar to the one his grandfather drove until his retirement in 1974. The younger Gotelli, 30, was one of the featured drivers at Nitro Tuesday at the Southern Oregon Dragway on Tuesday night. "I was 3 years old when my grandfather retired so I really don�t remember him racing," Larry Gotelli said. "But he definitely had an impact on me getting started. I�ve been around racing my whole life." The younger Gottelli works on his car at his father�s huge shop and car parts store in south San Francisco. His grandfather, now 83, attends most of the races close to home. Gotelli�s dragster can�t match the speeds and times of today�s top fuel models � he�s reached 240 mph and 6.01 seconds compared to the 300 mph and sub-five second passes achieved by current NHRA stars. But just the fact that Gotelli�s engine sits directly in front of him adds to the excitement. Due to safety reasons, front-engine dragsters haven�t been on the regular NHRA circuit since 1972. "The engine�s are like a timebomb waiting to go off," said Gotelli, noting that flames feather out more than seven feet from each side. "If something happens you definitely would rather have the engine in back of you." Gotelli competes on the Good Guy circuit, a five-race series for vintage dragsters in California. He has won twice this summer � at the Goodguys Indy Nationals and the Fremont Reunion race in Sacramento � and was runner-up at a race in Pomona, Calif., last weekend. He got off to a slow start Tuesday. Running unopposed in the first round, he reached 148.12 mph with an elapsed time of 6.93 seconds while shutting his car down early. Gotelli admits he doesn�t make any money at his sport. "I could win every race and it would cut maybe half the expenses," he said. "This is a hobby for me. I love the thrill of going down the track at 240 mph. The adrenaline rush is incredible. "Plus, racing keeps me out of trouble." Gotelli would love to someday compete on the NHRA circuit but would need a major sponsor to even consider it. It takes roughly $2 million to run a top fuel dragster on the big circuit these days, compared to Gotelli�s budget of $100,000. A single trip down the strip costs him between $1,500 and $2,000. Brendan Murry of San Jose, Calif., gave Tuesday night�s crowd of 1,500 an extra thrill when his car crashed along the right guardrail during his opening run. The mishap occurred when Murry�s steering failed. Murry, a six-time champion on the Nostalia Eliminator circuit, was not injured. Tuesday�s attendance was considerably less than the "Top Fuel Tuesdays" of past years when NHRA funny cars and top fuel dragsters roared down the White City track. And this year�s admission was only $10, or $15 less than a year ago. "I thought these guys put on a good show but I guess when you give people T-bone steak they don�t want to settle for ground round," dragway manager Wayne Selden said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA