Success in racing can be measured by wins, championships, records, and by personal achievements. Achievement can be big or small, as everyone is driven towards goals and milestones. For Anthony Bongiovanni, founder, and CEO of Micro Strategies in New Jersey, entering the sport of drag racing some 15 years ago was a fun and competitive way to spend time with his daughters, Genna and Michelle.
The girls, who are graduates of the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League and Penn State University, have made their mark in business and on the track. And what began as a weekend hobby, has evolved into shop full of Cobra Jet Ford Mustangs built for Stock and Super Stock competition and a room full of trophies and awards.
“I’ve always loved muscle cars,” said Anthony Bongiovanni, “but organized drag racing offers the thrill of unmatched acceleration, speed, and the opportunity to consistently refine and make the race cars go faster in a safe and competitive environment.
“But it’s more than just the speed,” Bongiovanni added, “I’m in the technology business, so I enjoy gathering data on the dyno and implementing the knowledge at the track. I really enjoy the tuning aspect. We don’t always go quicker or win for that matter, but we learn something every time we run the cars.”
Bongiovanni is a regular on the NHRA Division 1 circuit, but he travels outside of his home division to Indiana, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan while competing in both NHRA and NMCA events.
His daughters don’t race as often as he’d like, but they are still involved in the race team. In fact, Michelle recently competed in the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire.
“I started Micro Strategies over 30 years ago to write custom software for businesses,” said Bongiovanni. “We wrote small applications, such as accounting or inventory control systems to enable customers to gain efficiency within their organizations and become more profitable and responsive. As our client needs began to outgrow what we could provide, we became an IBM business partner. Today, we integrate IBM technology solutions with our own intellectual property to provide additional business benefit to our customers. IBM has been a great partner and with its strong technology portfolio, we’ve had the ability to grow our business by a factor of 20 over 15 years.”
He continued, “Just like in business, we’ve put a big effort into NHRA, NMCA and NMRA sportsman racing, especially in Stock and Super Stock. We race supercharged Ford Mustang Cobra Jets, which are a big hit with fans, friends, and customers who we host at the track. The Mustangs make over 1,000 horsepower and run solid 8s at 160-plus mph,” he added.
In addition to Micro Strategies, the team is backed by Resource 1, IPDigital, DragInsights and Optima Batteries.
“We’ve scored a few wins with different drivers and I’m proud of that,” stated Bongiovanni, who is a three-time NHRA winner himself. “And we participated in a TV show a few years back called Burndown Battle, where former Funny Car driver Jack Beckman competed head-to-head with a sportsman driver in two of our cars. We got both Mustangs running within thousandths of a second and it produced a great episode,” he said.
The team has also received exposure on The Ford Motor Company YouTube Channel, when Michelle was hand-selected to show off the drag racing capabilities of the 2015 Mustang.
From a technology standpoint, Bongiovanni’s Cobra Jets use Holley EFI, Racepak software, and he relies on Crew Chief Pro software for weather prediction.
“I’m comfortable around computers, which is one reason I love the modern EFI cars. I also use DragInsights.com, a new application to help with statistical data on the competition and on myself. We’re constantly upgrading the cars and we rely on Summit Racing for parts, pieces, lubricants and all types of shop tools,” he added.
“Most importantly, there’s a people element to drag racing that’s unlike any other sport. There’s non-stop excitement for fans, customers and clients who see everything up close, whether it’s in the pits or on track. I often have conversations with customers where racing is the main topic. It’s just a great way to help introduce people to Micro Strategies and it’s been rewarding to do something we enjoy as a family that has a solid business purpose. The analytics that goes into the cars, competition, track conditions and weather, is similar to things we do technology-wise for our customers,” Bongiovanni said.
In a decade and a half of racing, his team, which includes world champion driver Dan Fletcher, has amassed numerous wins in NHRA, NMCA, NMRA and in Bracket competition. A huge supporter of the sport, his Micro Strategies company is a proud sponsor of NMCA’s Stock and Super Stock categories, and he’s previously sponsored NHRA’s Division 1 Open Series along with two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon.
“I really enjoyed my time in the Jr. Dragster series,” said Michelle Bongiovanni. My sister Genna and I did well, but it’s nothing like driving my Super Stocker. Work prevents me from competing as often as I’d like, but I still get out there with my dad a few times per season.”
To Anthony’s credit, he’s scored wins in a National Open, a Divisional and the aforementioned New England Nationals. Michelle has won in NMRA competition and they’ve won dozens of Class trophies. His 2014 Cobra Jet was also selected for the NHRA “Best Engineered” award a few years ago at Maple Grove Raceway.
“Drag racing is a humbling sport,” said Anthony. “You can be on top of your game, have the cars prepared perfectly, drive a great race and still lose by the smallest margin. We try to enjoy all the time we get at the track. And it’s extra special when my daughters and wife Bev are there. There’s nothing like the thrill of turning on win lights, especially when it’s late on Sunday,” he said with a smile.
“It’s a great feeling when our team gets a round win or an event win. We’re constantly striving to learn and improve. That’s something all the Bongiovanni drivers take with them whether it’s on the race track or in the board room.”
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