Tucker regroups for better battle against his Yankee counterparts
DALLAS, TX – Popular driver Shane Tucker wants to experience sustained success at the highest level of drag racing — the NHRA Mello Yello 
Drag Racing Series — and he has a firm plan in place to reach that goal.
The 29-year-old native of Gold Coast, Australia, whet his appetite in 2014 with a part-time slate of 10 Pro Stock races, highlighted by a semifinal finish in Chicago. Racking up thousands of frequent-flyer miles along the way, Tucker’s toe dip in the shark tank that is the factory hot rod class made him realize very quickly that NHRA drag racing is serious business.
“It had been a dream of our family for a long time to come to the United States and race against the best drivers in the world,” said Tucker, an accomplished driver in Australia. “A few years ago we thought it was going to happen but nothing came to fruition, which turned out to be OK because there was still a little bit of unfinished business back home with our ANDRA efforts.
“In the end we made it here, and we’re glad we did. Drag racing is such a big production in the U.S. In Australia, we had maybe 10,000 people in the stands at tracks much smaller than these NHRA facilities. Coming here and racing at places like Charlotte or Vegas, it’s clear how important fans are to this sport and to attracting sponsors. It makes us glad to be a part of something so unique yet so competitive.”
The Tuckers quickly realized that being competitive in this day and age requires much more than a deep-seated desire to race. A successful team needs financial support, top-notch equipment, and the ability to dedicate the necessary amount of time to winning.
“We hooked up with Richard Freeman and began using his Elite Performance horsepower,” Tucker said. “That put us on level ground, at least as far as the engine department. But even having great stuff, it’s tough to just show up once in a while and race well against teams that are running 24 national events and testing during the week. You have to give it 100 percent to have a chance.”
To that end, the Pro Stock upstart will take a step back from competing to concentrate on his successful commercial wall cladding business, Auzmet Architectural, and to prepare for a return some time during the 2015 season. The break from racing will allow him to open a Dallas-based branch of Auzmet Architectural, another move towards having a more permanent presence in the U.S.
“We’ll be back and forth as we expand Auzmet Architectural into Texas but probably won’t race until the second half of 2015,” Tucker said. “Obviously, all this could change if the sponsorship opportunities we are working on come to fruition, but this is the plan for now.
“Aside from growing our business, which supports the race team to a certain extent, waiting to race on a more full-time basis will help my driving. I was a bit unreliable and I don’t want to race like that. I want to be 100 percent ready when I get behind the wheel. We owe that to ourselves and our sponsors. I think we did OK but not as good as we could have, so that needs to change. When we do race, we want to be spot on.”
Tuckers’ team, Rob Tucker Racing, will stay busy in the interim with Shane’s sister Kristen racing in Australia in a Pro Stock Cobalt formerly driven by Erica Enders-Stevens.
