#1 - Who is Jeremy Lookofsky? What have you done? What do you do? What have you accomplished? Jeremy Lookofsky just a normal west coast family guy with a passion for almost anything with a motor. My specialty is building record setting cars on & off the track. I consider myself blessed to be doing what I love & paying the bills. I couldn't ask for anything more at this time of my career.
#2 -- You are coming off a huge accomplishment at the recent Fall Nationals in Englishtown, NJ. What did it mean to you to get that 8 second monkey off of your back? The 8 second pass felt just like all my 9.0 passes over the past 2 years, I ask myself why did it take so long for me to realize to just shift the car a few RPM higher & you will achieve your goal. Sure enough October 6, 2012 I did it and bam 8.96@150. Great feeling for sure it actually marked (2) milestones, a world record & my personal retirement as a driver. Sticking to business development & taking the company to the next level. Stand by there will be more exciting products for everyone on every level.
#3 -- The amount of horsepower coming out of naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engines is getting crazy. Over the last 2 years what parts have you targeted to develop to continue to make the incredible horsepower you do and stay ahead of the rest of the field? The K Series motor is amazing. The more development & time spent on it @ CARTEL Headquarters the more we learn & the more HP it makes. Crazy part there is another good 20HP to be made just takes that next step of commitment & money.
#4 -- The Drag Cartel business has a great name when it comes to All Motor products and power plants. How important is it for you to continue to be at the track making passes, breaking records and showing off what your parts and knowledge are capable of? Drag Cartel Industries has been a pioneer for years & it shows as others have jumped on the band wagon trying to duplicate our business profile but at the end of the day there is only 1 JL that's "True To The Cartel". Competition on and off the track is good for business as it pushes us to be the first to set records & innovate new products. DRAG CARTEL IN FACT IS NOT GOING ANY WHERE & IS HERE TO STAY. STAY TUNED 2013 BIG THINGS GOING DOWN FOR EVERY ONE ON ANY LEVEL OF RACING,
#5 -- The Pro All Motor class has seen less than stellar fields over the last couple of years. Do you still feel there is potential for the fields to get back to the car counts that were seen during the NHRA Sport Compact days? Do the low car counts change your interest in the class at all? Car count for sure always shows a threat of a class not returning the following year. I think with a small restructure to the class we can migrate some of the Street Class cars pretty cost effectively and get that car count up to an 8+ car count at every race.
#6 -- Surprisingly you haven't fielded your own Lookofsky / Drag Cartel All Motor Street car yet to compete with the large fields that are racing. Is that something that we can expect out of you in the future? I am sure a lot of people would love to see a Lookofsky All Motor Street car running at the top of that class.... I have personally helped a ton of guys get to the Podium in the Street All Motor Class over the last 4 years. I have always contemplated building my own car & hiring the hottest girl to drive her ass off but in all honesty I don't want to go out and beat up on my own customers. I think offering track & motor support to a handful in 2013 will be enough to dominate & win a series championship. I guess only time will tell.
#7 - What do you feel are the biggest advancements in horsepower and car performance are now versus when you started out drag racing many years ago? Over time & evolution parts quality become better & design changes in the chassis & as a builder I have become wiser. Chassis setup, Electronics, & Tire Compounds all major factors of advancement.
#8 -- Aside from the drag racing aspect of Drag Cartel you keep pretty busy with a large array of other car projects. What are you currently working on? Is that aspect of Drag Cartel a growth portion of the business or do you just do it for the love of the industry? There are actually (2) separate entities to the company with 1 major word in the name CARTEL. Drag Cartel Industries -- Specializing in making reliable HP & putting people on the track world wide. ( Road Course, Drag, Time Attack, Off Road Short Course) Definitely all the hard work & efforts are for the love of the sport. It’s not as profitable as most think. This industry has become very cut throat & less enthusiasts by the day based on the state of economics. CARTEL CUSTOMS My specialty is in designing cars & building award winning marketing vehicles for top notch OEM manufactures & athletes. Right now we have a few SCION FR-S that are in the shop for SEMA & development of a CARTEL Motor & Super Charger to go on sale to the public very soon.
#9 -- What's next? What does 2013 hold in store for Drag Cartel and Jeremy Lookofsky? 2013 Drag Cartel Industries / Jeremy Lookofsky will be on the move & launching new products & programs for every level of motorsports. #10 -- Tell the world something that we don't know about you. I LOVE TO COOK IT RELAXES ME FROM MY DAILY GRIND. You time is very much appreciated Jeremy and we look forward to seeing what the CARTEL has in store for us into the future. __________________________________________________________________
