30 UNDER 30 |
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DOUG FOLEY JR. |
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As the head ride-along driver and one of several instructors at Pure Speed Drag Racing Experience, Doug Foley Jr. makes a lot of runs down the dragstrip every year. His schedule with the racing school takes him to well over a dozen different racetracks across the country. One day he might be giving 50 rides to corporate customers in a two-seater Super Comp dragster; the next weekend he’ s racing against A-list actor Idris Elba for a Discovery Channel show that aired in over 180 countries. Believe it or not, that’ s Foley’ s job, and he still finds time to spend nearly every off-weekend racing one of his personal cars. Foley, who grew up racing Junior Dragsters and helping on his father’ s Top Fuel team, has taken countless people down the track for the first time. Some riders are corporate clients who have never even seen drag racing on TV, while others are lifelong drag racing fans who never had the opportunity to make a pass down the strip. Between giving rides and appearing prominently in drag racing segments on the Today Show and Idris Elba: No Limits, Foley enjoys the opportunity to share his passion for drag racing with so many new fans.
“ There’ s no better way to hook a fan than by putting them in a racecar and taking them down the track in nine seconds at 150 mph,” Foley believes.“ They’ re able to feel the burnout and the initial acceleration. It brings out an excitement level that you just can’ t get by sitting in the stands or watching it on TV. Seeing the riders’ reactions after their first run is definitely one of my favorite parts of the job.”
While a majority of the runs he makes every year aren’ t in competition, the hours of seat time in the ride car do help Foley when he gets the chance to race in local big-money bracket races. He experienced the biggest weekend of his young career earlier this year at Virginia’ s Motor Mile Dragway, where the second-generation driver won back-to-back $ 10,000 races over Labor Day weekend. It was a dream weekend for Foley, whose goal is to become a major player on the big-money bracket scene.
“ Obviously you go to the track expecting to have a shot at winning, and that was the goal, but I’ ll admit I was surprised when I won the first day. The car was repeating, and I just happened to be driving as good as I’ ve ever driven before. The level of competitiveness at those races is so high, so it was definitely shocking. I woke up the
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morning after winning the first one thinking that my day had come and gone and it might never happen again. Then I went out and won another ten grander. It was definitely a surreal feeling.”
With a round record of 26-2 over the course of the three $ 10k races, the Statesville, NC resident
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also received a trip to Aruba for winning the overall points championship for the weekend. He used the winnings to purchase his own Chevy S10 drag truck which he plans to race in addition to the family’ s Super Comp car in 2017.
– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
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PHOTO: NATE VAN WAGNEN |