LETTER from the EDITOR
Every month for the last 11 years , I ’ ve devoted this space to telling old stories of my past , offering up my opinions on the sport of drag racing , entrepreneurship and a number of other topics , as well as explaining why and how we go about filling the pages of this magazine – as well as those of our website and social media channels . That last bit – about demystifying my editorial process – is something I intend to do more of in the future .
You see … I get a lot of emails , phone calls and text messages from racers and promoters looking for a little love from Drag Illustrated . To be honest , it ’ s tremendously flattering . Too vivid are the memories of begging racers for interviews at events I ’ d attended while serving as a crewmember on a race team ( because I couldn ’ t afford to get to the drag strip any other way ) for it to be any other way . This time of year – with promoters and racers either on the heels of a successful season or beaming with excitement as to the promise of 2017 – it ’ s almost non-stop . And I love it . I love talking to racers and promoters who are as wound-up and excited about drag racing as I am – be it going racing and competing themselves , or throwing the next barnburner event . It ’ s those calls , texts and emails that help me keep my ear to the ground , discovering new things – racers , cars , events , and tracks – and feel out the different trends that come and go in the sport of drag racing . I always talk about what “ moves the needle ”, and one of my best measuring devices is my email inbox and my voicemail box .
Amongst a slew of texts I ’ ve received heading into this 2017 racing season was one from a seemingly disgruntled promoter . Apparently , he felt left out in the cold ; that I ’ d ignored him and / or his race ( s ), and he felt compelled to let me know . Truthfully , I appreciated the input . Not because I agreed with his sentiment , but because I still get a kick out of these little reminders that people actually pay attention to what goes on these pages ( and apparently what doesn ’ t ). In all seriousness , though , this gentleman ’ s note was powerful reminder of how this all works , and I ’ d like to shed a little light on that with you here in hopes that you can use it to your own advantage .
Guy Kawasaki , world-renowned marketing guru and one of the original Apple employees responsible for marketing their Macintosh computers in the mid-1980s , once famously wrote , “ if you don ’ t toot your own horn , don ’ t complain that there ’ s no music .” I ’ m not exactly sure why , but these words
SQUEAK
have resonated with me for years and years , ever since I first read them – even though they go against everything I had and have since been taught about humility .
Many ( most ) of us are taught early on not to be boastful or brag , not to be cocky or arrogant , and I believe that many of us twist that notion around in our heads to ultimately mean being silent – to say nothing so as to avoid even the possibility of being hit with one of the aforementioned labels . The problem is that being a self-righteous loud mouth is not the same as being proud of what you ’ ve accomplished and being willing to share that information with others , for their potential benefit as well as your own .
Unfortunately , it ’ s not easy ; it can be a little uncomfortable – especially for those of us with good moms and pops who raised us right . But let ’ s face it – sometimes it ’ s OK to brag ; sometimes it ’ s even necessary to brag . When you do good work , you need not be afraid to let people know , and that ’ s why “ the text message ” mentioned above is a touch frustrating – it was the first communication this individual had ever directed my way .
I hate to admit that the squeaky wheel gets the grease , but I will say that like most anything and everyone – it ’ s the path of least resistance that is often taken . The promoters , tracks , racers , teams and manufacturers that we work with most are the ones that work with us – they keep us in the loop , they hit us up when they have news to break , they remind us of upcoming events , oftentimes inquiring as to what they can do to help facilitate our coverage / support of whatever it is they are doing . We ’ re certainly always on the lookout for exciting and developing storylines in and around the drag racing world , but there ’ s simply no way in this day-and-age that we can keep track of everything that is going on at every drag strip or in every drag racers ’ garage .
So , please , I encourage you – racers , team owners , manufacturers , sponsors and enthusiasts – don ’ t be afraid to let people know what you ’ re up to , and don ’ t fool yourself into believing that updating your Facebook status means that you ’ ve notified the planet that you ’ re headed to the points meet this weekend in Division 5 . If you ’ re looking to see your name , or that of your sponsor and your team , don ’ t be afraid to beat the brush – make some calls , send some emails , shoot out a few texts .
It ’ s not crazy to toot your own horn – it ’ s crazy to think that someone will do it for you .
Wesley R . Buck Editor-in-Chief wes @ dragillustrated . com
Scott Dorman Publisher 615.478.5275 scott @ dragillustrated . com
Will Mandell Senior Sales Executive 615.426.0465 will @ dragillustrated . com
JT Hudson Sales Representative 660.341.0063 jt @ dragillustrated . com
Mike Carpenter Design & Production Director 704.737.2299 mike @ dragillustrated . com
Ian Tocher Senior Editor 404.375.4895 ian @ dragillustrated . com
Van Abernethy Senior Staff Writer & Field Subscription Sales 828.302.0356 van @ dragillustrated . com
Nate Van Wagnen Web Editor & Staff Writer 440.986.1480 nate @ dragillustrated . com
Bret Kepner Historian / Statistician bret @ dragillustrated . com
Andrea Wilson Controller 660.349.0847 andrea @ dragillustrated . com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS : Ainsley Jacobs , Bobby Bennett , Tommy D ’ Aprile , Lisa Collier , Brandon W . Mudd
PHOTO DEPARTMENT : John Fore III ( Senior Staff Photographer ), Paul Grant ( Senior Photographer ), Roger Richards , Ian Tocher , Van Abernethy , Mark J . Rebilas , Joe McHugh , Chris Graves , James Sisk , Jason Dunn , Ron Lewis , Gary Nastase , Rick Belden , Jason Sharp
ADVERTISING SALES : 615.478.5275
SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICE : 660.988.2313 customerservice @ dragillustrated . com
DRAG ILLUSTRATED MEDIA , LLC 902 Kings Road , Kirksville , MO 63501 P : 660.988.2313 F : 660.665.1636 www . dragillustrated . com
Copyright © 2017 by Drag Illustrated Media , LLC . All rights reserved . Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited . Drag Illustrated is a registered trademark of Drag Illustrated Media , LLC . Printed and mailed by Publication Printers in Denver , CO .
Wesley R . Buck Editor-in-Chief
I invite you to email me at wes @ dragillustrated . com and follow me at facebook . com / wbuck and wesbuckinc on Instagram .
All statements , including product claims , are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim . The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own , and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher .
8 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 117