10/19/2022
Bunker Hill Dragstrip
Fred Brazzle Dazzles at World Finals
By Cori McMillen
Quiet, intentional, genuine, and humble are all words used by people at the track to describe the 2022 Bunker Hill Modified Track Champion, Fred Brazzle. Brazzle, who has been married to his wife Deb going on 50 years, is also the father of two daughters, Missy and Angie. He has four grandkids, and four great grandkids. He has won a total of 12 track championships and too many races to count.
As if those accomplishments aren’t enough. Because Fred was a track champion at Bunker Hill this season, he was invited to race against the best drivers in the country at the IHRA Summit Super Series World Finals, which was held last weekend in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Showing up at the track, Fred knew the competition would be tough. He knew this was a big deal, and he knew that he had to do everything he could to make sure he was ready for the competition.
There are many events in Fred’s drag racing career that have led him to this moment, of racing at the World Finals. Fred got his start in drag racing 45 years ago. With his wife by his side, he started racing street cars at Bunker Hill Dragstrip. “My wife Deb has been with me at almost every race weekend from the first time I raced. So she deserves the most thanks for putting up with me all the time and money over the years.”
After racing street cars for a while, Fred decided to give motorcycle racing a try. Bobby Clem, who is no longer with us, showed Fred how to build a dragbike from the frame up. “If I could thank one person, it would be Bobby Clem.”
Bobby also showed him how to build a motor and how to make that motor go faster. They spent countless nights in Clem’s garage working on bikes, which paid off at the track. During his time racing drag bikes, Fred won an impressive 10 track championships. He also won the IDBA National Championship.
In 1997 Fred felt as though he had accomplished everything he wanted racing drag bikes. This is when he decided to get back behind the wheel of a car, only this time he wanted to race an actual race car and not his street car. John Nifong and John Minnick, both Bunker Hill Racers, helped Fred get started, and to this day, he still reaches out to them when he is having issues with his car.
Fred has won many races since transitioning from drag bike to race car. He has won a championship in Top Eliminator and now in Modified, but this year was his first time competing at the prestigious World Finals.
Even after racing for so many years, Fred admits that at the World Finals when he pulled up to the line in his 1976 Ford Mustang II, he still had first round jitters. Fortunately those jitters had no impact on Fred’s on track performance. He turned on one win light after another.
Racing the best Modified drivers from tracks across the country, Fred was able to make it all the way to the semi finals, leaving the event as the number 3 ranked Modified driver in the IHRA.
Fred doesn’t have anything major planned for the off season, and will be back in 2023 to race at Bunker Hill. When he shows up some things may be different like his car number, which will probably be 3X to signify his amazing finish, but for Fred personally, nothing will change. He will still be the same quiet, intentional, genuine, and humble guy that the folks at the track love and respect.
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