The search for speed

Palos Hills' Lawrence still on outside looking to drive his way in

June 8, 2008

BY TIM CRONIN Staff Writer

Kevin Lawrence's drag-racing career started inauspiciously.

He was a 16-year-old street racer.

That flaunting of the statutes didn't sit well with his father, a policeman.

Today, more than three decades later, Lawrence's racing is strictly legal, albeit often frustrating. The 52-year-old Palos Hills resident has been trying to qualify for the knockout finals on the NHRA's Pro Stock circuit for a decade, running about a half-dozen Midwest races a year, and has yet to make the Sweet 16 qualifiers for any Sunday.

"We've been nine-thousandths of a second away," Lawrence said Friday as his daughters packed the parachutes attached to the back of his car. "We've been 19th."

He hasn't made it. Yet. But he still tries.

"It's the thrill of doing it," Lawrence said. "I'm driven to qualify. That's my deal. I don't want to live out here. But they know I'm here now, and I have to get over the barrier."

This weekend's Route 66 Nationals in Joliet brought little good news. Lawrence placed last in the field of 26 entrants, his best run a 6.844-second effort in Saturday's first run. That was nine-hundreths of a second off the pace set by Rickie Jones of Galesburg, the 16th qualifier.

Lawrence, who works as a technician for his car sponsor, Modern Carriage Werks of Bridgeview, knows exactly what he'll feel on the Saturday when the fourth round of qualifying is complete and his 2007 Cobalt-bodied racer is still among the top 16 qualifiers.

"Relief," Lawrence said. "Relief. Let me race on Sunday. I think they'll know I'm here."

Lawrence did not attempt to run with the big boys without experience. From 1984 to '89, he was part of the legendary Chi-Town Hustler racing team that was long headquartered in Summit, whose most famous alumna may be Austin Coil, the engine tuner for John Force. But for the last decade, Lawrence has been on his own, driving his trailer, one a quarter the size of the big teams, to races and trying to make the show on a limited budget.

"It's gotten way worse," Lawrence said. "The only thing that's gotten easier is the help, because as my family's grown, they're able to do more."

That means daughters Nicole and Danielle, each aspiring drivers, not only pack the chutes but do much of the other dirty work that comes with being a part of high performance racing. Call it an unpaid apprenticeship. Nicole's already made it down the quarter-mile in 7.40 seconds, a good start to a career.

The odds are always stacked against Lawrence, or any part-time team. Rarely does one of the full-time teams, with more experience and more data from previous runs, have such a bad weekend that it can't put together one solid run.

Additionally, the Pro Stock category is the most difficult to break through in drag racing. As usual, this weekend, everyone from standout regulars such as No. 1 qualifier and points leader Jeg Coughlin to fellow hopefuls from New York to California are in the field. All but 16 will go home Saturday night. While it won't be this weekend, Lawrence still dreams of hanging around.