Speaking of media tidbits, here's a quick word about Number Two, that he races on Toyo Proxes street tires. In a sport where tuners and drivers are willing to give up their first born for a tenth of second, that may sound outrageous, but with Bello, running street tires is sort of in keeping with the history of the car. "It started out basically as a street car," he says. "I didn't even care about running it at the dragstrip. I was doing some work to the car and just wanted to see what it could do. I saw the new twin turbos running 12.20s, so I cranked up the boost a little, went to the track, and the car ran an 11.90. Everybody was shocked and surprised that a street car could do that on street tires, so I said let's go a little further with this, let's do a little more work." A little turned into a lot. And now the car cranks out nearly 1,000 hp, and his sights are now set on 8s.
Eddie Bello was born on December 10, 1965, and grew up in the Bronx. Where his biography differs from many of the top racers is that he never had a garage relationship with his father. His father, an electrical engineer, pushed him toward a career similar to his own and steered him away from any profession resembling a hobby. Even now, Bello says that his father finds what he's doing to be a waste of time. But don't feel sorry for him. His mother, an in-home caretaker for the elderly, picked up where his father fell short. "I can talk to her about racing," he says. "She listens and sees when I'm having a problem and knows when something is wrong. She'll do whatever she can to help me.
"She also changes with the times. That's the nice thing about her. That's why we could always relate. And I try to do the same, too. I try to move on and find out what's new--you have to, otherwise, you're not going to go anywhere in life. There's a lot of close-minded people out there that just believe in their way and their way only, and [to them] nothing else works. I just can't think like that. I read and search to see what new product is out there. I'll analyze it and see if it's a better thing. If it sounds good to me, I'll try it."
What sounded good to Bello as a young teenager was dirt bikes. He started off racing in the 80cc class and moved onto the 125s. "I wanted to be a famous motorcrosser," he says, laughing at the thought of it now. "Every day I would ride my ass off. I ended up practicing with a kid in an 80--a little 12-year-old kid. But he was so fast, I couldn't catch him. He went on to race [in a Pro 125cc class], but bailed. That really disappointed me. That kid was so fast, and if he couldn't compete, I knew I didn't have a chance. Right there, I just bailed out and went into cars."
For those just starting out in the import scene and daydreaming of the day they take out Tony Fuchs, take heart, even this 9-second Porsche tuner started out with his mom's car: an old Volkswagen Rabbit. Although he managed to tune the car down to 13 seconds, he really got serious with his next car, an '85 RX-7. He kept the 12A rotary motor naturally aspirated and, at first, was hesitant to step into turbos. "I saw a turbo," he remembers. "I kind of wanted it, and I kind of didn't. I raced against one, and I beat the guy." The two cars raced again, and the turbo car beat him by a fender. That's when he told his cousin that he didn't want a turbo (ironic because his nickname is "Turbo Tito"). "It didn't impress me. All that money invested into the car and the turbo, and he was barely beating me." But during the ride home he changed his mind. "[On the highway] we both nailed it from a rolling start, and the guy disappeared on us. So it was basically traction problems he was having. So I said to myself, I've got to get a turbo."