UNOH Alum Launches Top Fuel Team

Posted on Monday, August 17, 2026

Written by Contributing Columnist Melanie Barnas-Simmons, VP Alumni Affairs and Institutional Advancement

For Joe Barszcz ‘02, racing has been part of his life since childhood, and now, more than two decades after graduating from the High Performance Technology program, he is taking on one of the most ambitious challenges in motorsports: launching his own Top Fuel drag racing team.

Growing up in South Jersey, Joe spent much of his childhood at legendary tracks like Atco Dragway, Englishtown Raceway, and Maple Grove Raceway. By his teenage years, he was already wrenching on race cars and working with racing teams whenever he could.

“I grew up at the racetrack,” Joe said. “From four or five years old, that’s what we did as a family.”

Joe knew a traditional four-year college path was not what he wanted. Through connections in racing, his information was sent to what was then known as Northwestern College, and after visiting the campus with his parents, the decision was made.

“That was the only college I applied to,” Joe recalled. “The only college I ever looked at, and the one I was glad I went to.”

Once he arrived in Lima, Joe immediately immersed himself in the racing world. He worked for several race teams while attending school, eventually balancing night classes at UNOH with a full-time position at Advanced Chassis in Antwerp, Ohio, where he helped build race car chassis.

After graduation, Joe’s career accelerated quickly. He worked for some of the most respected names in drag racing, including chassis builder Murf McKinney, renowned tuner Alan Johnson, and eventually racing icon John Force. Along the way, he also launched his own chassis-building shop and later built a successful CNC machining business.

One of his most recognizable ventures came through a product line called “Deeznuts,” a humorous but wildly successful lug nut and apparel company that gained traction nationwide. “The first weekend we went to a race, we sold $11,000 in T-shirts,” Joe laughed. “Ten years later, we were selling more T-shirts than lug nuts.”

After 15 years of running his machine shop, Joe made the difficult decision to sell the business and pursue the dream that had been sitting in the back of his mind for years: owning a Top Fuel team.

Top Fuel drag racing represents the pinnacle of NHRA competition, with cars capable of producing more than 11,000 horsepower and reaching speeds exceeding 330 miles per hour in under four seconds. Building and operating a team at that level requires enormous technical expertise, financial commitment, and relentless determination.

“I’m pretty certain I’m the first UNOH graduate that can say they own a Top Fuel team,” Joe said. “It’s not an easy task to accomplish.”

Today, Joe is focused full-time on building the team, pursuing sponsorships, and growing the operation into a sustainable business. He credits many of the relationships that shaped his career back to his time at UNOH.

Joe believes every opportunity, even difficult ones, can lead to something greater. He shared how being forced to relocate his company ultimately pushed him toward the next chapter of his life. “Every interaction and every relationship you have in life affects the rest of your life,” Joe reflected. “Every little different path you go down sends you down a different path in life.”

As Joe works to bring his Top Fuel vision to life, he remains proud of where his journey started: UNOH.

To hear more, check out this episode of the Be Differential podcast Joe was featured in: https://shorturl.at/XtxXU 

Alumni interested in learning more about Joe’s Top Fuel team, JBR Nitro, or potential partnership opportunities can reach out to the alumni office: alumni@unoh.edu. YOu can also follow JBR Nitro on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587245738321

Category: Applied Technologies

Keywords: NHRA Top Fuel, Alumni, High Performance Motorsports