Race Reports
Global Electronic Technology will join Paul Lee Racing for the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season on his Funny Car. Lee will adorn the blue of Global Electronic Technology as the major marketing partner for 12 selected races. Lee currently plans to run 15 total races in 2020 with his “friends and family” Funny Car team.
Lee, a survivor of a widow-maker heart attack in late 2016, will continue his journey to return to the seat of a nitro Funny Car. 2019 was his “Comeback Tour” and the car competed in eight races with the Jim Oberhofer-led team. In 2020 Lee plans to grow his program and compete at the highest level of NHRA and continue as a part of Straightline Strategy Group.
“I’m extremely excited for the 2020 NHRA season. If you’re racing at this level and as competitive as Jim O, the team, and I are, the goal is to grow with the personnel and resources that it takes to put us in a position to compete for race wins and hopefully, championships. That has always been my goal in racing,” said Lee. “When I returned to this sport after my heart recovery, I made it a point to build a competitive team, race hard, and most importantly, to have fun racing with my friends and family.”
“As a bonus, Steve and Samantha Bryson, owners of Global Electronic Technology, have become family over the years after implementing their credit card processing technology in both McLeod and FTI Performance, which by the way, has far exceeded our expectations,” said Lee.
“I have had the pleasure of getting to know Paul Lee and Jim O over the course of the last few years,” says Steve Bryson, owner of Global Electronic Technology. “The relationship rapidly ascended from friends to family. Paul Lee and his companies were one of the first to stand up for Global Electronic Technology allowing us the opportunity to show them what we can do. It’s an honor to be an associate sponsor on Paul’s Funny Car. Anyone with the will to come back to life and get behind the wheel of a Funny Car is a champion and we’re excited to go racing with him.”
With a successful 2019, Jim Oberhofer has the crew and the resources to make 2020 a great season. Oberhofer has been an integral part of the team since its inception and carries the same beliefs of Lee and the Bryson’s for 2020.
“Last season was a learning year for us and we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time,” says crew chief Jim Oberhofer. “I’m very proud of the team, of Paul and his great driving ability, and the performance of the car. 2020 is looking to be great with Global Electronic Technology as a sponsor which will give us the ability to compete to win. I’m fortunate for the relationship with the Bryson’s and Pat Galvin over the years. And now I have a business relationship with the Bryson’s as we use the processors at the Victory Lane Plano, Texas, store. A quick and fast car to match with the quick and fast processors.”
The Global Electronic Technology team will be making appearances at the first four races and will continue to be at select events for the remainder of the year. In addition to Global Electronic Technology, the team also receives support from Red Line Oil, Gates, and Justice Brothers to the roster, joining Weld Wheels, Mac Tools, TMS Titanium, and ARP as important product suppliers.
“All of our partners are part of the reason we have been so successful,” said Lee, who went his career best of 3.88 at 332 mph in 2019. “We are still a small team, but we have the opportunity to compete with the best of the class with the support of our partners.”
The team plans on testing in Las Vegas for the PRO pre-season session and will begin the 2020 season in Pomona.
Funny Car veteran Paul Lee had two crews last weekend at the AAA Texas FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, south of Dallas. He has the one he usually works with for his McLeod Dodge Charger and a film crew from WebMD.com, which is spotlighting the Orange, Calif., businessman in a documentary.
“They found out that I was a heart-attack survivor and not just a heart attack survivor. They saw my story online somewhere and contacted NHRA, and [National Dragster editor] Phil Burgess gave them my contact information. They contacted me and asked me if I'd be interested in being in a documentary about heart-attack survival and life after a heart attack,” Lee said.
“A lot of people apparently get depressed after a heart attack and they feel like their life is over. I never felt that way after my heart attack. All I wanted to do is get back in good condition and live my life,” he said. “Honestly, I didn't think about racing. I mean, I was lucky to be alive. I had a massive heart attack. I didn't have just a little heart attack. I had what's called a Widowmaker heart attack. That's one that less than 10 percent of people survive. And I happened to survive it. Racing was not even anywhere in my mind. I was just lucky to be here, live the rest of my life.
