Joe Teuton

Over the years and throughout the history of drag racing there have been a wide variety of cars, engines and combinations. Everyone has their favorite, of course, but there is one thing that seems to be universal and that’s the love or the appreciation for the famous Chrysler hemi. From the early days of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits to the current Hemi-Shootouts, the hemi engine has been as much a part of drag racing as just about anything that I can think of. And yet, as popular as they are, and for all the people who have raced them, most didn’t start with a hemi. But I must say that for all the people that I have spoken with over the years not many started with a Model A Ford with an Oldsmobile engine in it, either. But one guy did and he has done rather well for himself both on and off the track since that modest beginning and that man is Joe Teuton.

Joe has been a familiar figure at the races since the late 1950’s. “I raced at the Nationals in Oklahoma City in 1958,” Joe said. “I had a Model A with an Oldsmobile engine in it and we ran it in the A/G class.” When Joe told me that during a break at the recent Sportsnationals in Belle Rose, Louisiana, I had to look at him to make sure that he wasn’t joking. He wasn’t, and from that early endeavor has come one of the most successful racers and businessmen in the history of the sport. “I love everything about this sport. The people, the competition and the friendships that we have made over the years mean a lot to me. In fact, since our business is going well, I intend to cut back a little on work and go to more races this year.” The business that he talked about is a trucking company that includes Kenworth and International dealerships in Houma, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana. “We have about 200 people working for us and we have around 1,800 lease trucks. As you can imagine, it keeps me pretty busy.” Keeping busy runs in the Teuton family, since Joe’s younger brother, Jeff, who also races, owns several Chrysler dealerships in Louisiana. “We’ve been very fortunate and business is good and that has enabled us to do what we really like and that’s drag race all these years,” Joe said.

A stroll through the Teuton pit area at almost any race will show you that they are very serious about their racing, and everything they do is first class. At the Sportsnationals, for example, they had three, count ’em, three SS/AH Barracudas in their pit area. “We’re only running two of them here, but when we get to Indy for the Shootout we’ll have all three of them in action.” The two in Belle Rose were being driven by Joe’s son, Joe Jr., and Tim Hebert. At Indy they’ll be joined by J. Allen Sherman who will drive the third car. “We think we can run with just about anybody in the class and we love the challenge of trying to go fast.” Joe admits to the fact that, at first, it was a challenge to compete at the top of the Super Stock food chain. “We ran for a while and then Joe went to college to play baseball, and when he did that I quit racing for four years.” When “Little Joe,” as he is called, graduated from college, he and his dad decided to get back to their first love, racing. “Joe was a very good baseball player and he could really hit,” said a proud father. “In fact, in his spare time today he still teaches hitting to a lot of the kids around home.” Still, as good as Joe was on the diamond, he really wanted to excel on the race track, but after a four year layoff the Teuton’s found out that if you stay still in this sport the world will pass you by. “We were a little down on power and weren’t as fast as we wanted to be and that’s not like us,” Joe said. So, being the good businessman that he is, Joe decided to look for help from someone who was doing better than he was and that man was Ray Barton. “I talked to Ray at Houston a few years ago and I told him I thought I knew where the problem was. He helped us out and we got back in the groove.” From that point on the Teuton hemi cars have been as competitive as any in the class.
Never one to stand still, in business or on the track, the elder Teuton made a decision a few years ago that has altered the look of their cars. “We decided to open our own race shop and build our own engines. Like everything, it was a struggle at first but we’re doing pretty well right now.” All of the Cuda’s that they are racing now have power from their own shop, but it doesn’t stop there. The family is expanding their racing operation to include a couple of dragsters which, believe it or not, don’t have hemi engines, at least right now they don’t. “We have one car that’s a weekly bracket racer but the other is going to run in the A/DA class. Right now it has one of Jeg’s old Pro Stock motors in it. ‘Little Joe’ and Jeggie are good friends and they made a deal. To be honest, I never saw any money change hands so I don’t know what they worked out.” Looks like “Little Joe” may have learned to drive and to deal from his father, and the Jeg’s connection also comes from the fact that Joe and Jeg Coughlin Sr. used to race against each other back in the ’60’s. Anyway, in true Teuton fashion, the car will soon be sporting a hemi engine. “We have a deal with Pro Stock Allen Johnson to get one of his older engines. It’ll have about 1,400 horsepower and that should make us competitive in Comp, don’t you think?” Oh yeah.

Joe Teuton is one of those people who epitomizes what the sport is all about. He loves drag racing, thoroughly enjoys the people and thrives on the competition. “I’ve been very blessed over the years to be able to do this,” he said. “I like watching ‘Little Joe’ run and we always like to have the fastest cars in our class, regardless of what class that is.” He also likes to watch his brother, Jeff race. “It must be something in the water down here in Louisiana that brings out the best in us and a lot of racers. I’ve been fortunate to know most of the racers from this area, and there have been a lot of great ones, and that goes back to the old Shreve Automotive dragsters, some of the great Comp cars and others. More importantly, I’m glad to be able to call a lot of them my friends.” And we’re glad that we have been able to watch Joe and his family and his fleet of cars race over the years and I can’t wait to see the new Comp car in action. It’s hard to believe it all started with a Model A Ford, isn’t it?
(April 2, 2009 Drag Race Central.com)