WELL-LIKED John Meany laughingly says he discovered drag racing in his early 40s by way of a mid-life crisis . He and wife , Kim , are now completely attached to the sport , and can be found every Saturday at South Carolina ’ s Greer Dragway . “ We ’ ve raced all over the southeast , but we love the people and atmosphere at Greer !” says Meany . He enjoys racing his clean 1978 Ford Fairmont ( a car his brother-in-law built in 1985 ) and reveals that it ’ s a durable and great-driving race car while on Greer ’ s eighth mile .

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox , the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL , obviously has a busy schedule during football season , but the Pro Drag Radial car owner makes a point to attend a few races per year . Cox is pictured here with PDRA Pro Extreme driver and Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park co-owner Todd Martin .

OFF TO SCHOOL Seven-year-old Brody Jeffers sits atop the injector hat on the Bad Bus , a one-off Pro Modified school bus built and driven by his father , Larry Jeffers . Capable of covering the eighth mile in under four seconds at 200 mph , the Bad Bus is surely the envy of young Brody ’ s classmates .

ELECTRIFYING While racing at Bristol Dragway earlier this year , the event announcer nicknamed Kelsey Brinkman “ The

Girl with the High Voltage Hair ”. The

13-year-old Pennsylvania native is well-known for being tall for her age , and also having locks that possess a jolt of personality ! Brinkman enjoys hanging out with friends at Maple

Grove Raceway where she regularly races her Junior Dragster in the Money Trail Bracket Series . She ’ s gone to two finals this year , and has also picked up a win at Pennsylvania ’ s Numidia Dragway

FATHER-SON SUCCESS Jaxon Messamore ( left ) and his father , Mark , doubled up with wins at the Kentucky Jr . Dragster Big Buck Nationals , held at I-64 Motorplex . Jaxon won the gambler ’ s race on Friday night , while his dad took home the victory in the parents race , in which the grown-ups squeezed into their kids ’ race cars and competed amongst each other . For Jaxon , he closed out his Jr . Dragster career in fine fashion , as the race was his last race in the half-scale machines before moving up to a “ big car ”.

Issue 117