Photos courtesy of David Smith, Steve Fuhrman, and Kon Rodz Racing
One of the original goals of TAN was to highlight anyone and everyone from the alcohol pits - drivers, crew chiefs, crew members, sponsors, etc. In a new series of articles, we'll feature some of the younger personalities that can be found in the alcohol pits. Thirty alcohol insiders under the age of 30. If you have a suggestion for a Thirty Under 30 feature, email us, post on our Facebook page, or tweet it to @TopAlcoholNews.
Age: 21
Hometown: Lowell, IN
Residence: Indianapolis
Occupation: College Student
Racing Job: Clutch Tech on the Cassie
Simonton-driven Kon Rodz Racing TAFC
Personal race car: Ex-Brandon Booher Super Comp
Dragster
Best ET/MPH: 8.2s at 165
Favorite Sports (outside of racing): Wrestling and
football
First Race Car: 1983 Firebird
What’s on your iPod? All different types of music,
but mostly punk rock and hip hop
What’s in your fridge/pantry? Cookies, junk food,
Dunkin Donuts coffee, Gatorade, Monster, cereal
Favorite Pro drivers: Leah Pruett, Matt Hagan, Jeg
Coughlin, and Michael Phillips
Where do you go to celebrate a win? Home to hang out
with friends – nothing too crazy
Proudest Accomplishment? Becoming a NCAA D2
All-American wrestler this year
Goals: Winning the D2 wrestling national
championship, winning Wallys with Kon Rodz
At just twenty one years old, Cam Brady has already
put in multiple seasons doing the clutch on two of the strongest alcohol cars
in the Midwest. The lifelong Indiana resident can currently be found in the Kon
Rodz Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car pits, working with respected tuner and former
driver Randy Anderson and driver Cassie Simonton.
Before going to work for the Spiro Kontos-owned Kon
Rodz team at the beginning of the 2013 season, Cam serviced the clutch on Dave
Hirata’s A/Fuel Dragster. He was just fourteen when he attended his first race
with the Hirata family team. Brady would walk around the pits and watch the
races while his dad, Pete, did the bottom end on what was at the time one of
the most feared A/Fuel cars in the country. As he got older and gained more
experience, Cam picked up more tasks in the pit.
“I remember the first time he asked me to slide the
Pro Jack under the car – I thought that was a big deal. Things progressed from
there. I started working on the bottom end with my dad and made it to the point
where Dave was showing me the clutch. I want to thank Dave for what he did. He
was the one who made me start living the dream. Spending time and learning from
him is a big reason why I’m doing what I’m doing now.”
Cam also credits his early start as a critical part
of his path towards working on top-notch race teams.
“Starting young and getting that hands-on experience
was a big advantage,” Cam claimed. “Instead of coming in and having to learn
that stuff in my twenties, I already know half of the deal. Like I said, I’m
still young and I still have a lot to learn about the cars. There are other
jobs on the car that I need to learn. I’ve been hands-on with the clutch and
I’ve watched as the motor is serviced but there’s still so much there that I
want to learn.”
Cam was given the opportunity to join Kon Rodz over
the winter. Though hesitant about leaving his team of seven years, he jumped at
the chance to work with a rising star driver and a veteran tuner. Learning from
Anderson, the 1993 and 1994 Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion, has been one
of Cam’s favorite parts of his new gig.
“It’s so cool. I knew who Randy Anderson was but I
didn’t know much because he was racing before I was really into the sport.
Starting to talk to him at the races and hearing about everything that he’s
done…it’s amazing. He’s a role model to me. He shows me a lot and we get along
well. We have our fun but when we’re serious, we’re serious. He’s a great guy.”
Working under storied personalities of the sport is
nothing new to Brady. During his time at Hirata’s, he spent time with the
patriarch of the Hirata racing family, Kenny, whose Bobby Vodnik-driven Top
Eliminator entry beat Don Garlits in the 1963 U.S. Nationals finals.
“Working with Kenny Hirata was great as well. I
learned a lot about from Kenny and Dave. It’s a privilege to work with such
great people – people who have done great things in our sport.”
On top of the challenge of leaving the people he
worked with for the first seven years of his racing career, Cam had to learn a
completely different set-up. Hirata’s nitro-injected A/Fuel Dragster used a
direct drive system while Simonton’s blown alcohol funny car uses a three-speed
transmission, among other differences. It was a smooth transition, though.
“I knew and loved the dragsters after working with
Hiratas for so long so I thought I would be lost. I thought it would be helpful
in the future to understand both cars. Going from doing the clutch in Dave’s
car to doing the clutch in the Kon Rodz alcohol funny car was a little
different. I’ve gotten used to it after doing the same job every weekend,” said
Brady, who took over the full clutch duties at just his second race with the
Canadian team. His other duties include strapping Simonton in the car, starting
the car, guiding it back from the burnout and into the pre-stage beams.
After a long season of crewing on the Kon Rodz
Racing TAFC and driving his own Super Comp dragster on off-weekends, Cam Brady
will spend this winter wrestling for the University of Indianapolis. He’ll take
his competitive drive from the drag strip to the wrestling mat for his final
season in college wrestling. His last season resulted in a trip to the NCAA
Division 2 finals where he captured All-American honors for the first time. His
next goal – the national championship.
As Cam explains, his time wrestling has led to his
positive demeanor in drag racing.
“Wrestling is a hard sport. People who aren’t into
it don’t realize the time and effort that it takes. I think being in wrestling
gives me my attitude towards racing. I have the sport of wrestling to thank for
showing me that putting in hard work and time will pay off down the road. When
I’m at the race track, I have that mindset.”
His goals carry over into drag racing. A dedicated
fan of the sport since a young age, Brady wants to make a serious career out of
his passion.
“I love the sport so much so I’m just trying to make
a career out of it. Hopefully I can take the next step up to a Pro team in the
next few years; more races, making it everyday life, and working at the shop
every day. I still have a lot to learn, though. There’s so much more I want to
do with Cassie and the Kon Rodz team. Obviously I want to make another step up
in my driving career, too. It probably won’t be a Pro car but I want to get in
an alcohol seat someday. Hopefully after a few years of working with a team
I’ll be able to have a little fun in the driver’s seat on my own,” Cam said of
his plans for the coming years.
When asked about his favorite personalities in the
sport, Brady didn’t hesitate when he said, “I’m a big fan of the alcohol drivers
after being around them for so many years and making friends in the pits. I’d
rather sit down and talk to an alcohol driver than any other Pro guy. I like
Marty Thacker, Dave Hirata and his team, Brandon Booher, and Cassie. Seeing her
put in the hard work and the late nights drives me as a crew member. They’ve
all done so much for me; taking the time to talk and teach me things. They’re
all role models to me.”
Brady helped Thacker at the 2012 Columbus race,
a Division 3 event that Hirata hasn’t attended for years. He’ll also help
Booher’s team when Kon Rodz isn’t racing, joining Pete
Brady, who has been doing the bottom end on Brandon’s torque converter-equipped
dragster since the 2011 season.
As one could imagine, Cam was proud of his former
team when Dave Hirata won his first race in thirteen years at the recent Summit
Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk.
“Congratulations to Dave and his team on their
success last weekend. Working with them for seven years, I saw how hard they
worked. Their drive to stick with it after struggling the past couple years is
impressive. I want to congratulate them and thank Dave for everything he’s taught
me over the past seven years,” Brady said.
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