A
By Nate Van Wagnen
nyone who consumes any sort of drag racing content
this year is bound to see or hear the words of Brian Lohnes.
That’s not necessarily his intention, just a consequence of the
passionate New Englander’s quest to spend his days doing
“race car stuff ”. As a writer, he’s the co-founder and Editor-in-
Chief at Bangshift.com and a contributing columnist for National Drag-
ster, Chevy High Performance, Diesel Power, and Mopar Muscle magazines.
He’s one of the key members of NHRA’s national event announcing team,
also stepping behind the mic to announce at select NMCA/NMRA races
and Donald “Duck” Long’s Lights Out and No Mercy races. If that wasn’t
enough, Lohnes is also a co-host on Motorhead Garage, an automotive
how-to show airing on Velocity and MAVTV. “If anybody waves three dol-
lars in front of my face, I’ll figure out a way
to snatch it,” Lohnes laughs.
Another project Lohnes has signed on
for is a new reality show concept for Mo-
tor Trend On Demand, available across a
variety of streaming platforms like Apple
TV, Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire
TV. It’s called Put Up or Shut Up, and it will
feature fast cars and outspoken drivers com-
peting match-race-style for $10,000. The
show is predominately based around drag
racing, though a variety of motorsports will
be featured.
Drag Illustrated caught up with
Lohnes between sportsman qualifying ses-
sions at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in
Joliet, Illinois, to talk about announcing
races, traveling the country and finding the
next generation of fans and announcers.
Of all the various job titles you have, is
there one role that really stands out as your
favorite?
You know, it’s tough to say. I’ve loved cars
since I was a kid, so all of this is my favor-
ite thing. For instance, with Bangshift, on a
day-to-day basis I get to write content that
I think is interesting. I get to learn a lot of stuff, whether it’s history or
something that I flat-out didn’t know about that people tip me off to. In
terms of the NHRA announcing gig, as a kid who grew up around drag
racing and loving the sport, this is pretty much a dream job. I don’t think
there’s anyone who’s grabbed a microphone in an announcing situation
and didn’t think to themselves, Maybe I can announce national events
someday. I really enjoy doing every one of these things. If I didn’t enjoy
doing them, I wouldn’t do it. If this stuff wasn’t appealing to me on an
intellectual level or an entertainment level, I just wouldn’t do it. There are
bits and pieces of all of it that are my favorite.
Your racing travels are well-documented online, be it checking out
deserted drag strips while on family vacatio