DI121
FEATURES
34 Top Fuel to Top Gear
Three-time NHRA Top Fuel world
champion Antron Brown has added
another duty to his already full plate.
The defending titlist was recently an-
nounced as one of the new hosts of BBC
America’s Top Gear America, a role fit
for Brown’s excitable personality.
By Jeff Wolf
“All the Track
Will Hold”
92
66 Shock Nerd
Mark Menscer explains how a career
path that included circle track racing,
playing lead guitar for blues legends,
and transporting zoo animals led to his
current status as the go-to shock expert
in the small-tire drag racing world.
By Ainsley Jacobs
92 Drawing the Line
98 Pro Stock Dreams
Johnny Pluchino has dreamed of
grabbing gears in his father’s Extreme
Pro Stock car since he was a young
boy. The Outlaw 632 rising star is
closer than ever to realizing that
dream, but his old man isn’t ready to
give up the seat just yet.
By Josh Hachat
32
98
DEPARTMENTS
D I RT
32 Salemi Going to Denver
Jon and Melanie Salemi announced they
will enter the Aeromotive Wild Card
Shootout to fight for $10,000 and a spot
in the DI World Series of Pro Mod.
By Josh Hachat
Q &A
42 Brandon Snider
The 2016 PDRA Pro Extreme world
champion explains why he left the
class in which he excelled, choosing to
start fresh in the ultra-competitive Pro
Boost class. By Nate Van Wagnen
DI CO LU MNIST
52 On the Road
Our roving reporter witnessed Deda
Ford Minor’s victory in her first-ever
start behind the wheel of a 7.00 Index
’67 Camaro at Radial Fest.
By Van Abernethy
ON THE COVER Six-time IHRA Top Fuel world champion and current NHRA Top Fuel standout
Clay Millican as photographed by Rick Belden at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
6 | Drag
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 121
FAMILY
In this month’s Drag Strip Affairs
roundtable discussion, Radial vs.
the World star Lyle Barnett and Pro
Mod driver-turned-tuner Al Billes
share their thoughts on maintaining
the balance between performance
and safety.
By Josh Hachat