DI123
FEATURES
28 The Real
Steve Torrence
“All the Track
Will Hold”
28
A career-best hot rod has Steve Tor-
rence’s confidence in his CAPCO
Contractors team at an all-time high.
That confidence has allowed Torrence
to slip out of his corporate alter ego and
back into his no-punches-pulled Texas
personality, gaining fans and support-
ers in the process. By Josh Hachat
32 ‘Mad Man’ Speaks
Texas doorslammer racing legend
Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor has his
hands in a little bit of everything this
season, supplementing his part-time
PDRA Pro Extreme schedule with a
handful of no-prep outings. As he’s
found, the two disciplines are very
different. By Lisa Collier
42 Bats, Balls,
& Burnouts
A life in professional sports, from
scouting for Major League Baseball to
a two-decade-long career as an NHRA
team PR rep, led Bob Wilber to write a
book about his adventures.
By Brandon W. Mudd
90 Nostalgia Pro Stock
90
32
DEPARTMENTS
T RI BUT E
46 Terry Chandler
Terry Chandler, known for her infectious smile
and support of the Make-A-Wish and Infinite
Hero Funny Car teams, passed away on July 4th
after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 65.
By Jeff Wolf
Q &A
48 Brian Lohnes
The Bangshift.com co-founder has become
one of the most in-demand voices in drag
racing, due in part to the knowledge, humor
and passion that show through in his written
and spoken words. By Nate Van Wagnen
DI CO LUMNIST
60 On the Road
A series of random acts of
kindness provided a little extra
inspiration for DI roving colum-
nist Van Abernethy as he toured
the Midwest this summer.
ON THE COVER Two-time NHRA Pro Stock world championship team owner Richard
Freeman 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 123
VAN
The second annual Don Carlton Memo-
rial Nostalgia Pro Stock race attracted
the legends of Pro Stock racing, as well
as a slew of replicas and original factory
hot rods, to gather at historic Wilkes-
boro Dragway in North Carolina this
past May. By Van Abernethy