DI122
FEATURES
24 Bruno Talks TV,
Turbo Terrors
“All the Track
Will Hold”
24
Between winning races in his
turbocharged Comp Eliminator Cobalt
and serving as a pit reporter on the
NHRA on FOX broadcasts, Bruno
Massel Jr. stays busy in the sport in
which he’s excelled from the beginning.
By Lisa Collier
32 Victorious Volvo
Wiseco’s Vic Ellinger proves an unlikely
combination can find bracket racing
success after winning an IHRA world
championship in his Chrysler-powered
Volvo. By Lisa Collier
36 Langdon Lucks Out
After missing the first few races of
2017 when his Don Schumacher Rac-
ing ride was parked, 2013 Top Fuel
world champion Shawn Langdon finds
himself back in the championship
hunt. He’s now the driver of the new
Global Electronic Technology Top Fuel
dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.
By Josh Hachat
88
88 Forward Thinker
John Labbous Jr. learned from an early
age to always look ahead at winning the
next race, no matter how well he did at
the last one. The national points leader
in NHRA Super Comp and Super Gas
is always thinking ahead, but he’s far
from entertaining the thought of a
championship just yet.
By Josh Hachat
32
DEPARTMENTS
42 Wild Card Shootout
Even though he’s guaranteed a spot in the
$100,000-to-win DI World Series of Pro Mod, Aero-
motive’s Steve Matusek has stepped up to waive entry
fees for Aeromotive Wild Card Shootout participants.
By Josh Hachat
Q &A
44 Todd Martin
The Pro Extreme driver and Tulsa Race-
way Park co-owner talks up his upcom-
ing $20,000-to-win Pro A/Fuel Chal-
lenge and his potential A/Fuel dragster
driving future. By Nate Van Wagnen
DI CO LUMNIST
56 On the Road
Van Abernethy’s quest to seek
out the fascinating and quirky
stories behind America’s small-
town drag strips took him to
Virginia’s Sumerduck Dragway.
ON THE COVER 2017 K&N Spring Fling Million winner and two-time NHRA world champion
Luke Bogacki as photographed by Gary Nastase at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia.
6 | Drag
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 122
D I RT