DI112
FEATURES
36 Putting Out the Fire
Legendary showman Bob Motz
prepares to kick the tires and light the
fires of his jet-powered semi for the last
time this summer in Norwalk, Ohio.
By Mary Lendzion
88
“All the Track
Will Hold”
40 For All the
Right Reasons
Meet Alex Laughlin – a fresh face on
the NHRA Pro Stock scene that enjoys
a good challenge and is getting one
behind the wheel of a factory hot rod.
By Sadie Floyd
44 Quasi-Affordable
Radial Racing?
Today’s drag radial racing is a country mile from where it started, and
while the explosion of interest and
performance by these cars is exciting – it’s also left a lot of great racers
in the dust. So, what’s a guy to do with
a conventional drag radial car or even
a back-half former Outlaw 10.5-tirecar-turned-radial-ride? Well, Tyler
Crossnoe and Jason Rueckert’s Limited
Drag Radial may be the answer.
By Ainsley Jacobs
92
100 Happy to Be Here
40
DEPARTMENTS
D I RT
28 Exclusive: Erica Enders’ Rough Run
The best storyline NHRA has to offer in 2016 isn’t record-setting performances in Funny
Car or domination in Pro Stock. It’s the struggle that this season has been for back-to-back
champion Erica Enders. Struggling mightily on the heels of innumerable changes to the
Elite Motorsports team over the offseason, especially those mandated by NHRA, Enders
and company continue to fight the good fight. By Josh Hachat
CLOS E -U P
98 Hold On
Steve Torrence drove his name straight
into the record books with a stunning,
NHRA national record-setting pass
behind the wheel of his family’s Top
Fueler in Sonoma. By Dave Densmore
ON THE COVER Scott Palmer as photographed by Tera Wendland Graves in Denver, Colorado.
6 | Drag
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 112
PHOTOS: MIKE CARPENTER, CHRIS SEARS, NATE VAN WAGNEN
He’s had to fight tooth-and-nail to
remain involved in drag racing and
has quite literally taken about any job
that would keep him involved, and his
commitment has finally paid off as
Tommy Johnson, Jr. is now a legitimate
contender in NHRA Funny Car, and it
doesn’t look like that’s going to change
anytime soon. By Lisa Collier