Commerce — One professional athletic career apparently wasn't enough for Tom Hammonds. The one-time star forward at Georgia Tech went on to play in the NBA for 12 seasons before retiring from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2001 to pursue a career in drag racing.

Hammonds raced for three years, then sat out three before returning to the NHRA's Pro Stock circuit full time last year.

But as he heads into Day 2 of qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, he's far from enjoying the success he found on the basketball courts or drag strips in previous seasons.

He has been to three final rounds and has 25 round wins vs. 34 losses.

He has failed to qualify for four of the circuit's first five races this season.

But he insists he's in for the long haul, and the proof is in the fact that he has built a state-of-the-art shop in Holt, Fla., including facilities to build his own engines.

"If we're going to be able to compete with guys like [defending Atlanta winner Greg Anderson] year-in and year-out, we have to have our own programs, our own engine program," he said. "If you're going to be successful in anything in life, you have to put forth the effort. Rome wasn't built in a day, and we're very excited about what we have to offer. We're in it for the long haul."

He takes heart in the fact that Kenny Koretsky, using an engine from Hammonds' shop, was the fastest qualifier in the most recent race, at Las Vegas. It was the first time Koretsky had been No. 1 in qualifying.

"That makes us feel good knowing that we've got the power to go out there and compete with the best teams in Pro Stock," Hammonds said.

The 6-foot-9 Hammonds, who towers over his car when working on it in the pit area, said he's using many of the same approaches in racing that he did in round-ball sports.

"I didn't become an NBA player because of my looks," he said. "I worked hard to become a player, and this is no different."

He also said he has found drag racing to be as team-oriented as basketball.

"I rely very heavily on my team," he said. "I'm the power forward, so to speak, and I've got a crew chief, Jerry Eckman, that's the point guard. We have shooting guards, and we all have to work together to get our car down the track."

But once he straps into his Chevy Cobalt racer, it becomes more of an individual sport, where he's going one-on-one against a competitor.

"That's what I've grown up around," he said. "When I had the ball, I was trying to score. When I get to the starting line, the butterflies get to churning, and competitive juices get to flowing."

Even when he was playing at Tech, those competitive desires often called him to a drag strip, adventures that didn't go over well with his coach, Bobby Cremins.

"I put a lot of those gray hairs on Coach Cremins' head by going out and racing on the off weekends," he said.