SIGNATURE PROFILES
© 1999 - 2001 Dwight Drum
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PRO MODS… IT'S FERVOR WHEN YOU RACE, IT'S FEVER WHEN YOU WATCH….
© 2001 Dwight Drum
SIGNATURE PROFILES
© 1999 - 2001 Dwight Drum
JOHNNY ROCCA
OWNER/CREW CHIEF
Story by Dwight Drum
Photos by Gary Larsen and Dwight Drum
When the Pro Mod IRONHORSE rolls into line at the staging lanes, it's not as if the moon has set, and the sun has risen, but matched against any horizon, the striking 51 Mercury appears to have swiped its colors from both the moon and sun. I've seen many racing motorcycles, cars, and dragsters and I know that everything in drag racing is based on fast. When I saw the Pro Mod car Mohegan Sun with owner and driver dressed in Native American attire, I was lifted and drawn to the orange and yellow car with sunshine reflecting its brilliance. Something told me when this horse takes flight, expect the colors to blur, but also expect the heritage to go forward.
According to my grandmother I'm at least twenty per cent Native American, Iroquois and Cherokee, so the attraction to the IRON HORSE Mohegan Sun was natural. Owner/crew chief Johnny Rocca, and driver Paul Athey are Native Americans who deliver a Pro Mod phenomenon. If you like fast with a blast, watch the Mohegan Sun inch to the starting line and thunder down the track. If you want to know what makes the sun shine for Johnny Rocca, park your pony and read beyond this point.
DWIGHT CHATS WITH JOHNNY ROCCA:DOB: Dec 4, 1941
Home Town: Leesburg, Virginia
"Everything…broken fingers, the car, the work, the fans, the dent in my checking account. Guys like Paul Athey keep me coming back."
What do you like least about your job?"Losing."
You have to put up with many egos...many people pulling you in different directions. How do you deal with these twisting forces?"Egos, can cause a problem. Some are stronger then others. When that situation arises I always try to find a compromise that will allow some of each to surface, that I can appease the people involved and give them a sense that they have contributed."
The racing task, if you could control anything totally...what would that be?"The Fans and how they are treated from the time they park their cars to the time they exit the grounds... I would do what ever it takes to see that they have a hassle-free good time at the races, that none of the staff would ever use the word 'no' ...that the facilities are clean and neat and a diaper board was installed in every restroom."
What ethic, what plan do you stress to your employees to get the most out of your organization?"That we can do this ....together...."
What's most important?"All of the above."
Johnny took over the question podium with…"We answered yes."
Can you name the team they always played and beat?"We couldn't."
Johnny answered for us…"The Washington Generals. Years ago I was the Washington Generals for K.S. Pittman. Whenever the drag racing show came into town, I raced them and lost. He got paid five hundred bucks, I got a hundred."
Gary said. "That was back when Stone, Woods and Cook were drag racing."
Johnny added, "You have been around, I have one of their cars in my barn."
"Six Nations."
Do you go more by your computer or by your gut feelings?"Computer always. I'm a pilot. Believe in your instruments. Believe in your instruments. Believe in your instruments. Never trust your mind. Your mind will play tricks on you."
Do you use your weather data or do you taste the air? "Refer to the above answer." Johnny thought and added…"Anybody can poke a stick through a fence and hit a running pig in the butt, once in a while."
Are you happy?"You betcha Red Rider."
"Winning the championship this year."
How do get up when your performance gets down?"Go back to rethink my position."
What personal attribute that you know you possess, would you want to pass on to others?"My ability to think fast on my feet"
Do you have time for a hobby?"Oh yeah, I'm a coin collector."
What do you miss the most when you are not at home?"My kids."
What's your biggest success so far…your finest moment?"The day K.S. Pittman called and said, "Congrats Johnny, you did a great job."
"In a sweat lodge."
In a few words, how would you sum up…yourself?"Road hard and left out wet. (Johnny laughs) One who enjoys life."
Additional Comments?"You can't write that fast. I don't know whether you {Zoomsters} expect money now or later, but you are promoting drag racing. I have a Web site www.usaracing.com, and I know what it costs to keep a Web site running. (Thanks Johnny) Drag racing is a great sport. I've been in it forty-one years. It's a clean sport that brings fame and it's drug-free. It has no bad things to clamp onto young people. I owe my drug-free life to drag racing. When I was young every dime I got, I spent at the speed shop. As long as we keep young people coming along to our sport, it will remain a great sport. "
FINAL WORDJohnny Rocca zipped through my questions like his Pro Mod IRONHORSE rips down the track. Before the sun sets on a final word, I'd like to say that interviewing Johnny Rocca was more entertainment than work. I can think of many words that might describe Johnny, and most of them point to a real character. Johnny has a magnetic personality, one that matches the colorful attraction of his pro mod Mohegan Sun. Choosing a final word for a multi-faceted person like him is difficult, but Gary and I searched for a word, and found one that equals Johnny's wisdom and skills. Johnny Rocca is the …
This interview is dedicated to my grandmother, Rosella Johnson (1899?-1996)
