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If there’s an under-the-radar darkhorse in the Top Fuel race at these Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, it’s definitely Tripp Tatum. The Maryland-based racer was one of the performance stars of the NHRA Arizona Nationals, clicking off a pair of 3.6-second runs in qualifying.

Tatum’s day in Phoenix ended in round one when the parachutes deployed just off the launch, but the qualifying effort was enough to give him the comforting knowledge that they’re headed in the right direction.

Tatum, who raced intermittently for two seasons in 2016 and 2017 behind the wheel of the Lagana brothers’ Nitro Ninja dragster, spent four years saving up and building up his own operation which debuted at last year’s U.S. Nationals.

And even though he owns every piece of equipment in his pit, Tatum’s car retains the heart and soul of the Ninja as a “satellite” car in the Torrence Racing orbit. Bobby and Dom Lagana helped prepare the engines and feed crew chiefs Tony Shortall and John Stewart the tuning data gleaned from the Capco cars.

A lot of press early this season has gone to Ron Capps and Antron Brown, who have taken on the extra mantle of team ownership after years of being hired drivers, and Tatum is experiencing the same kind of pressure and learning experiences.

“It's just a lot,” he admitted. “You never stop. Just to keep the ship upright and kind of going in a direction takes a lot. But every bit of help is all from Bob as far as learning, you know, ‘Hey, this is what you got to do, and this is why.’ None of this would happen without him. They're pretty calculated over there in what they do and why they do it, so we’re happy to follow their lead.

“He does it in concert with Tony [Shortall] and ‘Stewie.’ Tony’s the perfect guy to have on the team and every time I've ever been driven a fuel car ‘Stewie’ has been around, so that's a huge comfort zone just for me.

“Being a team owner, too, makes this all way harder. I think subliminally all the [stuff] you have to worry about weighs on you. You get to turn it off a little bit when you’re in the car, but even though you're not thinking about it at the time, it's there. It's just tucked away. It's just a matter of how far away tucked away it is.

“People ask me all the time, ‘You having fun?’ I am, but I'm not. I'm just too focused. Over time, I'll learn how to process and deal with it better, but just when you think you're good, something comes right around and reminds you you’re not, and that's the way it is.

The parachute malfunction in Phoenix was a perfect example. To the best of their guessing, the parachute must have gotten inadvertently brushed somewhere along the way –- someone bumping into it or maybe when a tire cover was removed –- and put the release cable on a short leash that got pulled on the launch.

“It still went 2.12 [-seconds] to 330 [feet] with the ‘chute out, so it was trying to go quicker than it did in qualifying, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We're pecking away at it. Bobby has a very distinct plan or how they want, what they want, and things they’re trying, and our car is just a brainchild of certain things that they might implement.”

The balance of Tatum’s season is still in the air as he seeks partners to help shoulder the tremendous bills of team ownership.

“Our next race will probably be Norwalk unless I can find some help,” he said. “I'm 100% self-funded so you want to be smart and not kill yourself financially. We’re just kind of stuck a little bit until some funding comes along. As soon as we leave there, I’m headed home to find some help.”