Drag Illustrated Issue 113, September 2016 | Page 48

“Ass, gas or grass – nobody rides for free. If I couldn’t at least change water, oil, pack a parachute – you know, there’d have been no reason for me to be around.” - ‘JUNGLE PAM’ HARDY MOVERS & SHAKERS Raider Camp NHRA stars Leah Pritchett and Cruz Pedregon spent a day at the Oakland Raiders’ preseason training camp in the lead up to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ annual visit to California’s Sonoma Raceway. Both Pedregon and Pritchett hail from Southern California, so meeting up with head coach Jack Del Rio, whose uncle Wayne won best-appearing car at the 1971 NHRA Winternationals, Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr, kicker Giorgio Tavecchio and others from the team was truly an exciting experience. “I’ve been a Raiders fan since I was a teenager in Los Angeles and I came to love everything they were about,” says Pedregon. “It’s a pleasure to see all that these guys do to prepare for the season. It reminds me of sitting at the starting line during a drag race getting ready to launch.” BIG BRAINS NHRA Top Fuel tuner and big money grudge racer Phil Shuler rolls through the pits with best friend “Stevie Fast” Jackson at the PDRA Summer Nationals in Michigan. TOP END CHARGE Lee “Dr. Radial” Sebring was at Maryland International Raceway this year calling all the action at their annual Door Wars event, letting fans know about the cars “top end charge”. 48 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 113