Bob and Ronda Locke pose with the 1957 Corvette that Bob has competed in for the past eight years.
Submitted photos
A quarter mile of asphalt would seem a sufficient distance in order for someone to make the decisions necessary to achieve success.
Bob Locke has fewer than 10 seconds to accomplish this.
Locke, a Whiteland resident who has competed in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series the past 14 years, will look back at 2022 with mostly fond memories considering it’s been his most successful year of competition to date.
He clinched the Super Gas national championship in November, Locke’s total of 665 points narrowly eclipsing that of Kansas native Phil Unruh, who finished with 654.
“To win the world championship, I mean, that’s what everyone aspires to do,” said Locke, 53, a 1987 Center Grove graduate. “We never chased a national title before, but we did so well through the first two-thirds of the year that we thought we would finish the season and try to win a championship.”
The objective in the Super Gas division is to run the quarter mile (1,320 feet) in as close as the class standard of 9.90 seconds without going under while competing against another driver.
Locke attempts to do so in his 1957 blue Corvette while moving at a top speed of 160 miles per hour.
Contrary to popular theory, there is much more to do than simply go fast.
Locke has to make sure his start is good, sense — or feel — when there are or might be mechanical issues with his car and have better reaction time than the opponent over those 9.9 (or so) seconds.
“The one word you have to use is consistency. That’s the key,” said Locke, who works full-time as an accountant and owns Custom Business & Tax Solutions in Greenwood. “The car is capable of about an 8.20, but we slow it down to run a 9.90. All of it takes some time to learn and adjust to.
“It’s not as easy some days as others. A lot of things have to go right.”
Nationally, there a total of seven divisions. Locke mostly competes in Division 3, which features drivers from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. Beginning in April, eight of Locke’s competitions in 2022 were divisional, with six more being national.
Growing up the youngest of Gerald and Pauline Locke’s five children, Bob was surrounded by one family member or another doing whatever was needed to improve the performance of some mode of transportation.
“My dad and my brothers were pretty mechanically-minded,” Locke said. “Working on cars. Working on motorcycles. Whatever needed to be done.
“My first car was a blue 1969 Camaro. I was 16 when I got it.”
Locke still owns the Camaro, occasionally taking it out for Sunday drives.
If given a preference, however, he would much rather be challenging himself on a quarter-mile strip, be it at Indianapolis Raceway Park or somewhere else.
Locke had already established momentum in 2021, accruing the third-most points in his division. The goal in 2023 is to put himself in a position to bring home a second consecutive Super Gas championship.
“You don’t do it to make money,” Locke said. “But it’s a hobby. Heck, people have expensive boats they only take out two or three times a year. It’s all about what you like to do.
“Life is too short to be working all of the time.”
