THE OUTLAW ISSUE

SHANE STACK

LIMITED DRAG RADIAL ’ S FIRST CHAMPION

‘ STEVIE FAST ’ VS . KEITH HANEY THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN

MIKE TERRY

HAS ARRIVED

ANDERSON DICK

IS CHANGING EVERYTHING

BRUDER BROTHERS

MARTY CHANCE

JOHN KEESEY

ALEX HAYS

As the Radial Turns

It ’ s been said – on the pages of this magazine and in many other locations – that all this Donald “ Duck ” Long created-and-maintained drag racing drama is merely part of his act . It ’ s well established at this point that this act has turned Long into one of drag racing ’ s best-known promoters , as well as its most polarizing and likely most profitable , but I feel like I ’ m noticing the online back-and-forth banter reaching a new level of intensity . It feels genuinely hateful . Is that the case ? I have to admit that I ’ m surprised to see that at least a handful of racers and promoters are actually engaging in this deal , fighting fire with fire . My question is … will this schtick work for everyone ? Is it that simple ? Say outrageous things and curse ? And what happens to those promoters and racers that are trying to play along ? Do they ultimately impact their own brand ? Bryan Hammond , via the Internet

Is there some sort of inside joke or alliance between all these radial tire promoters ? I can ’ t figure out if guys like Keith Haney , Donald Long , Keith Berry and Tyler Crossnoe are all on the same team and vacation together regularly , or if they absolutely freaking hate each other .

Jim Perkins , via the Internet

[ FOUNDER AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR WES BUCK REPLIES : To respond to you both , Bryan and Jim , I ’ ll say that I think all these guys are

fairly friendly , but I do think there is some genuine animosity at times . I don ’ t want to talk ( write ) out of turn , but I think it ’ s probably equal parts “ good fun ” and “ pointed ribbing ”. It ’ s no surprise , either – they ’ re all competing , rightfully or wrongfully , for the radial tire world record , the biggest crowd , the tightest , fastest fields and everything else under the sun . I do know these cats all communicate regularly offline and that a whole lot of it is fun-and-games , and I think it ’ s worked well in a lot of ways and been well-received by their fanbase . I ’ ll admit that it gets a little over the top for me , and I ’ m not sure how I feel about all the very public back-and-forth , but I ’ m comfortable enough with myself and the world around me to know that I don ’ t have to love it all . Different strokes for different folks , right ?]

Official Car of Pro Mod ?

How long until we ’ ve got entire NHRA Pro Mod fields filled with late-model Camaros ? It seems everyone is moving to these 2016- 2017 Chevy Camaros and I ’ m afraid the class will soon look like a muchfaster version of Pro Stock . Is this something that ’ s on your radar ? I ’ ve seen it talked about quite a bit online , but the online scuttlebutt doesn ’ t seem to be impacting how many fifth-generation Camaros I see on the qualifying sheet . Thoughts ?

Gary Sandoval , via the Internet

[ WES BUCK REPLIES : Hey , Gary ! I totally know where you ’ re coming from on this one , but I wouldn ’ t worry just yet . Historically , these body style trends are exactly that – trends – and they come and go . The problem , unfortunately , is that very few racers – if any – are willing to sacrifice performance potential to stay true to their make or model of choice . We ’ ve seen guys stay the course for a long time , but even racers whose careers have been defined by a

certain make and model of car ( think Charles Carpenter and the world ’ s fastest ’ 55 Chevy ) eventually had to move on to greener pastures . Looking at the recently completed NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston , Texas , there were 10 late model Camaros in a field of 28 cars , so just shy of 35-percent . If you remember , we ’ ve been down this road before – perhaps most memorably with the much-loved and much-hated 1963 Chevy Corvette split-window body that basically became a status symbol in drag racing for a pretty good stretch of time . If I had a dollar for every time I had someone tell me “ these splitwindow Corvettes are going to ruin Pro Mod ”, well , I ’ d probably have like 1,500 bucks . I know there was talk over the course of the last few years amongst NHRA Pro Mod types to lobby for a substantial weight break for nostalgia body styles , but it wasn ’ t something that everyone in the pits agreed on , and the fact of the matter is that at something like $ 150,000 a whack – it ’ d have to be a pretty significant advantage to roll the dice on building a ’ 41 Willys or ’ 53 Studebaker or whatever else comes to mind . For what it ’ s worth , I think the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series is as good as it ’ s ever been right now , in this moment . We ’ ve got turbocharged , supercharged and nitrous oxide-injected doorslammers all demonstrating high 5.6-second , low 5.7-second capabilities , and the car counts remain staggering . My biggest concern , to be totally honest , is the rapidly-increasing time and financial commitment required to be competitive . We ’ re witnessing the end of racing NHRA Pro Mod as a hobby . The guys and gals who are going to be successful this season and forever more will be the guys who test constantly – throughout the offseason and in between events – employ professionals and are part of a team or manufacturerbased research and development program . Times are changing , I heard Bob Dylan say . Thanks for writing !]

Round 2 ?

Can we expect any changes from the team at Drag Illustrated for the second-annual running of the World Series of Pro Mod ? We can ’ t wait for this event to return to Thunder Mountain !

Matt Peters , via the Internet

[ WES BUCK REPLIES : Matt ! Yes , sir ! While I ’ m thrilled to say that I think we really put together a hell of a show in 2017 , I ’ d be lying if I said there weren ’ t a few things that I want to do different moving forward . First off , we ’ ll be turning the scoreboards on . While I ’ m sticking to my guns on keeping the scoreboards off during testing and for our four scheduled “ shakedown ” runs , we ’ ll be lighting the scoreboards at the very start of eliminations . Prior to WSOPM 2017 there had never been a five-second pass recorded at Bandimere Speedway by a doorslammer and we had over 20 of ‘ em , but none while the scoreboards were turned on . I want the fans to know just how insane these cars are . It ’ s fun going into the first round with no one knowing what anyone else ran , though , and I don ’ t want that to change . The air of mystery leading up to Saturday night ’ s elimination rounds was like nothing I ’ ve ever experienced . I don ’ t want to get away from that . We ’ re also expanding our invitational field for 2018 , and we ’ ll have more information on that very soon . For now , stay tuned to www . worldseriesofpromod . com for breaking news and details .]

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