LETTER from the EDITOR

My wife, who routinely reminds me of my old soul, knows that despite all the things I love about modern technology, I feel like I missed out on some truly great times in America. Air travel, air conditioning, the Information Age and the internet- a few of an almost endless list of things and happenings I’ m grateful for. Nonetheless, it’ s not unusual to hear playfully bemoan being born in the wrong generation. I’ m not losing sleep over it, but I’ ve always wondered what it would have been like to live through the days of dimly-lit, smoky speakeasies and dance halls, the birth of advertising, the birth of advertising in the 1920s- the first time in American history when more people lived in cities than on farms.

There are plenty of things in drag racing that I feel like I missed, too, and I’ ve often thought about what it would have been like to witness one of those historic 64 Funny Car events in Seattle, a big nasty gathering of“ Awful Awful” Fuel Altereds, Pro Stock during the Bob Glidden, Lee Shepherd match racing days and the birth of a couple bonafide celebrity personalities in Don“ The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom“ The Mongoose” McEwen, amongst innumerable other examples.

While I may not have been around to have eyes on the birth of Pro Modified, I have been fortunate enough to witness the category- undoubtedly my favorite eliminator- grow and mature into its current form, including the many historic moments, broken barriers and blockbuster events along the way. I’ ve also had a front row seat for the fast street car movement, especially the rise of Outlaw 10.5- tire and birth of the near-lawless Radial vs. World. Where the aforementioned categories- lovingly lumped together as fast doorslammers here- have arrived today, however, as a regular top-billing attraction at events around the globe, in this humble individual’ s opinion, signifies the dawn of the fast doorslammer age.

I’ m not saying that we haven’ t been racing these types of cars for many moons- of course they have- but I do not believe we have ever done so with the pomp and circumstance that we see today. Events like our own Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, Donald Long’ s Sweet 16 boast in excess of $ 100,000 in prize money; Mel Roth’ s Street Car Supernationals in Las Vegas and St. Louis award over a $ 100,000 to their doorslammer category victors. The National Muscle Car Association( NMCA)

Wesley R. Buck Editor-in-Chief and Professional Drag Racers Association( PDRA) are holding national events that are essentially doorslammer-only at world-class facilities with legitimate sponsors, payouts and fanfare- both with Pro Mods serving as the main attraction.

The rise of big money noprep racing alongside the STREET OUTLAWS reality television phenomenon helps only to solidify the notion. Consider the fact that the show recently outperformed Monday Night Football ratings-wise and its star Justin“ Big Chief” Shearer- no doubt a permissible celebrity at this point- having dedicated a couple seasons laying the groundwork for and ultimately racing his Pro Mod and force-feeding and popularizing the term amongst the series’ legions of fans, and it’ s hard for me to believe there has ever been a time this particular brand of racing has had more sizzle than it does today.

I may have missed Elvis Aaron Presley’ s debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, but I am surely right in the midst of what may be the most exciting time for drag racing ever, especially if you’ re as fond of race cars with swinging doors and suspension as I am.

There’ s no denying that the considerable crowds routinely on-hand for these major no-prep events across the country- especially those with known appearances by the cast of STREET OUTLAWS or directly tied to the filming of the show or its spinoff- are on the grounds specifically to see the stars of the show in-action on the track and in the pits. It’ s a scenario that is extremely unique in terms of drag racing promotion. Typically, we’ re a sport that has for the most part attracted fans by way of a wild and crazy, fast and loud sensory experience / thrill show- not so much an opportunity to see and / or interact with celebrity personalities. The STREET OUTLAWS-related functions are the opposite as the racing- by-and-large- plays second fiddle to“ Big Chief” addressing the crowd or his fellow racers on the starting line, or talking trash and taking pictures in the pits. So, to be clear, I’ m not arguing that fast doorslammers- whether it be legit Pro Mod-style cars or somewhat stock-appearing back-halved cars- are capable of drawing tens of thousands of fans out to the drag strip on their own. We’ re not quite there, but we are lightyears from where we were just a few years ago in terms of the status and notoriety of those associated with fast doorslammer racing, and there’ s no denying“ the show” has had a significant impact on that.

That’ s why I believe we’ re living in the age of the fast doorslammer.

I invite you to email me at wes @ dragillustrated. com and follow me at facebook. com / wbuck and wesbuckinc on Instagram.

Wes Buck Founder & Editorial Director 660.988.2313 wes @ dragillustrated. com

Scott Dorman Publisher 615.478.5275 scott @ dragillustrated. com

Mike Carpenter Design & Production Director 704.737.2299 mike @ dragillustrated. com

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8 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 131