In the annals of drag racing, there have been many colorful characters. From John Force in funny car, to "Big Daddy" Don Garlits in top fuel, and Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins in pro stock. Each of these legends of the sport has left an indelible mark on the landscape of drag racing, but for one individual in Doug Herbert; the one moment many fans remember him for is the infamous burndown with good friend Clay Millican back in 2003. Doug, the last top fueler to win at 1/4 mile before the NHRA switched to 1000ft has been trying hard to return to the sport that has shown him so much love. In an interview with Doug, I asked him what has been upto lately as it pertains to his business "We ran just one Top fuel race at Zmax this year, the 4 wide nationals and did not really have much luck but sometimes no matter how hard you try the luck just doesn’t come around."Said Doug "My performance parts business is doing good. We moved the business last year to our new location that is less than a mile from Zmax Dragway and Charlotte motor speedway and this has been a great place to be" Doug Continued "The track has events several times a week and we are right in the middle of everything. My new racing web site is up and going and I invite all fans to go and sign up for updates at DougHerbert.com In the face of tragedy, what one does in the aftermath tends to define that which we become. After the loss of Doug's two sons Jon and James in 2008, Doug along with the help of many of his NHRA brethren put together the Organization PutOnTheBrakes. He talked about the impact this campaign has had on safe driving: BRAKES has really taken off. This year we will train over 3,000 teens from 19 states on how to be better drivers and more responsible behind the steering wheel . With support from the entire racing community and the huge need to train teens with real world driving situations I think BRAKES will continue to grow." Doug Said 'We are always looking for supporters and volunteers. Please go to the web site for more info www.putonthebrakes.org Before my two sons Jon & James were killed in a car accident in 2008 I really didn’t know how big of a problem teen driving accidents were." He then added "Auto accidents are actually the number one killer of teens and every year auto accidents claim the lives of between 5,000 to 6,000 teens. BRAKES is working hard to make a difference and reduce this number." The health of every american is of great importance. Help from a loved one can certainly go a long way. Being married to a well known fitness expert and green juicer, Doug himself has seen the benefits first hand: Ginger has really pushed on me to eat healthy and take care of my body. After all we only have one body and it has to last for our entire life!" Doug Exclaimed "She is actually a wellness expert and has devoted her life to healthy eating and nutrition. Im really thankful for Ginger and proud of all her accomplishments Doug added how his fans can up on the latest from his wife: She was also the 1st runner up in last years Mrs. North Carolina pageant. People can keep up with Ginger on her web site www.drginger.com or on Twitter @Thedrginger Having been a big name in Top Fuel racing, doug has seen his fair share of the happenings in top fuel this year, and so I asked him his perspective on what has happened so far this 2012 season: This really is an incredible year in NHRA Top fuel. Who would have believed that Alan Johnsons cars would not have won a single race so far in 2012?" The Top Fuel Pilot stated "The speeds are going up and the ET’s keep getting better. The top 10 is tough this year, there are more than 10 good cars so just being in the top 10 this year will be a feat." And whom he thinks is the favorite in top fuel for the title this year: "Oh boy this is a tough one! I have to say how impressed I was with the way that Morgan Lucas’s car ran at Gainesville and some of the other really good tracks." The North Carolina Businessman told me "Several other teams are also very impressive; to pick a favorite right now would be really difficult. Once the countdown starts and the fall weather comes in it just might play right into the hands of the Lucas team but who knows. So many good cars, good teams and great drivers. One thing I know for sure is who ever wins will not have it easy!" And his opinion on the biggest surprise so far this season: I would say that Steve Torrence has been a pleasant surprise of the season. He started out last year wanting to put a team, together and with the help of Richard Hogan they have won races and just done great. The weird surprise would be that the Al Anabi team has struggled so much. Since twitter has been at the forefront of social media, many nhra teams and drivers have reached their fans in so many ways. Since Doug Herbert races only at ZMax Dragway since it's near his performance parts headquarters, his chance to reach his fans means more to him than ever before: I think social media is huge! Since I have not been able to race at all the races I figure that now is a great time to be building up a fan base through social media." Herbert esthetically stated "I actually know of quite a few new fans that came to the Zmax drag way for the 4 wide nationals just because of me talking up the races on Twitter and the interest in NHRA drag racing that I have been able to build up through social media has been really incredible." He also told me that he likes to tweet about everyday things and not always about drag racing "I just try to tweet about interesting things and it may not all be drag racing, I think this lets fans know that I am just a normal guy that happens to run a high performance auto parts business and drive a NHRA top fuel dragster." Many of "Dougzilla's" have been waiting for the day for his to return full time to NHRA Drag Racing, but he is a very patient person and is asking his fans to be the same along with him and expect good things for 2012 and beyond: "We are really close. Just Prior to this season we had an agreement in place and were ready to start the 2012 season with a full time effort. Unfortunately the sponsor had funding issues and was not able to fulfill the agreement in time to get out this year." The 4-times in a row winner at Bristol Dragway stated "Right now I have several sponsor deals on the table that should be coming through soon for possibly a few races to finish out 2012 and full time NHRA top fuel in 2013." Doug finished the interview by saying: "I am a drag racer. I love NHRA top fuel racing and we are really working hard to get back out there full time. I would also like to thank all the great NHRA fans for supporting my team on social media and for getting behind my charity BRAKES. We have the greatest fans in the world!"
