Pride, Passion, & Performance. How Ekanoo Racing is turning drag racing on its head

Team Ekanoo, lead by team owner Ebrahim Mohammad Kanoo is turning the drag racing world on its head and it's an amazing thing. Multiple cars, amazing drivers, worlds best tuners, along with the drive to win and the passion to do whatever needs to be done to accomplish it are all things that go into the success at Ekanoo Racing. 

Some in the drag racing community don't seem to take notice of anything that isn't a domestic car or truck, and that's all about to change. The reason is that Team Ekanoo comes to win! They aren't going to the drag strip just to have fun, they are going with the purpose of dominating the competition. By bringing a car over all the way from Bahrain to compete in the United States, it shows that the level of commitment is tremendously high. The performance already shown since arriving in the U.S. is also second to none and proves that they are here to win. 

Why should you care about some import car from the Middle East though? Well I'll tell you that the first thing you need to do is put away any preconceived political ideas, along with any ideas that this is just your neighborhood Honda with a loud exhaust. Neither of those things apply or belong anywhere near a thought pattern when it comes to Ekanoo Racing. Fact of the matter is that this is a world class team. I don't use that phrase lightly folks, when I say world class I mean it. The dedication to absolute excellence is something that is rarely found anywhere in a society filled with people that think they are entitled to something.

Another reason that Team Ekanoo is so relevant is that they are making other teams work harder. Take for explain the Mech Tech team and some of the other import heavy hitters from south Florida and Puerto Rico. Ekanoo came to the U.S. with the goal of resetting the import record on U.S. soil and that's exactly what they have been doing. This means that the other teams are going to have to pick it up if they want that record back before Ekanoo travels back to Bahrain for their race season later in the year. 

Drag racing is all about the show of speed, power, dominance, and ego. You have to have some kind of ego to compete in drag racing, that's just how it is. I have not personally been able to meet Ebrahim, but what I have seen from him and heard from people close to him is that he is humble yet driven. He wants to make the sport better and is heavily involved with the Bahrain drag racing series as well. He breathes drag racing and cars in general, but as demands results. When you invest as much as he has into the sport and his teams, you would expect results as well. 

To me drag racing is a worldwide community which the Ekanoo team is the epitome of. The team has a broad mix of people from the U.S. and Bahrain, along with a worldwide fan following numbering in the hundreds of thousands if not over a million. With drag racing seemingly reaching across boards from Russia, to Europe, to Australia, to Bahrain & Qatar, and back to North America it is no wonder why this team is so popular. Drag racing brings us together and that is exactly what makes it great. It is also what make Ekanoo great as well, because they are bringing all their success in the U.S. to a fan base that may not otherwise follow what goes on in North America. 

How is it that they are so good at what they do though? Well I've had the privilege to know some that have been helping on the Ekanoo team and it is blindingly obvious where the success comes from. It's the 18 hour days putting cars together with the right parts the first time. It's the time checking and rechecking and then checking again to make sure that not only are these race cars safe and fast, but they are show car quality as well. It's a team owner that understands the dedication and has the drive to win and succeed at everything that he does in life. More importantly it's about the people that Ebrahim surrounds himself with. 

It has always been said that a great leader is only as great as the people that they surround themselves with and Team Ekanoo is no exception. All you have to do is look at their teams and the quality of the people on them. From tuners like Shane Tecklenburg and Josh Ledford to drivers like Gary White and team owner Ebrahim himself to Crew Chief Eric Luzinski & Team Manager Haider Koozhad. Team Ekanoo is run more like a F1 team than a drag racing team and that would explain their success as a team. You put individuals in place that are the best at what they do and you let them do it. 

The performance speaks for itself to say the least. While you would normally see the car competing against other imports or just other 10.5 cars, this season in the U.S. is not like that. After having some great test sessions at Orlando Speed World Dragway, the team decided to step it up and take the car to Michigan this weekend to complete in the PDRA's Pro Boost category. That's right, the tiny little single turbo Inline 6 is competing against the huge 526 cubic inch twin turbo beasts. No chance you would think, well you would be wrong. While yes they are a little off the pace based on the class record, we saw last night during a shakedown pass that they have the ability to play with the beasts when it clicked off a 3.88 in the 1/8th. So don't be at all surprised is the little Supra is around late on Saturday. 

Take pride in what you do, have a passion for it, and learn to build the performance. That is what a championship winning team does, and it's exactly what Ebrahim and the rest of the Ekanoo racing team has been doing and will continue to do. We wish them luck while they are in the states and we hope that they are at World Street Nationals and or World Cup so that we can have the privilege of sitting down and talking with Ebrahim. For the time being though, I would suggest that you watch the video below. It will give you and idea of what the Ekanoo team goes though to be a championship winning team. It is well worth the time!!