LETTER from the EDITOR
I had a plan going into 2018. Being that I’ ve spent the better part of the last couple years preaching that we need to“ make drag racing great again”, I wanted to go out on the road and check our progress. Not only did I want to get a firsthand look at the sport of drag racing’ s health and wellbeing – and do so at a variety of events, venues and sanctions – I wanted to be sure and practice what we’ re preaching and show support to as many different racers, promoters and track operators as possible.
From Donald Long’ s drag radial extravaganza at South Georgia Motorsports Park( Lights Out 9) and the premiere eighth-mile drag racing league’ s season-opener( PDRA East Coast Spring Nationals) to the NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas, and Keith Berry’ s Wooostock 2 at Darlington Dragway – and a few others in between – we’ ve painted a wide swath. And it’ s been fantastic to witness a ton of incredible racing, including a few record-setting passes and careerbest efforts, as well as many facilities completely packed out with racers and fans.
While I have to admit that it’ s been a bit of an ordeal to be traveling eight weeks in a row, it’ s provided me what I believe to have been an incredible opportunity to gain insight as to what’ s working and what isn’ t in the sport of drag racing. I’ ll admit that we’ ve had a lot of proud moments here over the last 12 years, but I don’ t think that, personally, I’ ve ever been as proud as I am in this moment – knowing that we’ ve put our money where our collective mouth is and been out doing our best to shine a light on drag racers from all walks of life.
What I was planning on accomplishing early in 2018 was a very public demonstration of our passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the sport of drag racing and its future. I wanted( and still want) the racing community to understand how deeply we love this sport, and that we’ re willing to go to great lengths, spend the money and travel the many miles to make sure racers, events and sponsors get the publicity and fanfare they deserve. I hope we achieved that, and I believe that we did – and will continue to do so.
What I wasn’ t planning on, however, was the massive, impactful, almost unbelievably strong reminder that I’ d receive. Perpetually advertised as the ultimate sensory experience and an otherworldly thrill show, the human element of drag racing is largely underplayed. There was a time when it was every bit as much about the stars as it was the cars( think“ the Snake” and“ the Mongoose”), and we certainly have focused our efforts here at DRAG ILLUSTRATED on highlighting the people and personalities that make this sport great,
but“ the people” really are what make this sport what it is.
Trust me when I say that I love big smoky burnouts, the sweet song of an engine at wide-open-throttle, the smell of race fuel and burning rubber, and side-by-side competition as much or more than anyone on the planet. But what I really love about drag racing is the people that do it. Of course, there’ s always an exception to the rule, but it seems as if the entire drag racing community is comprised of salt-of-the-earth folk. People you’ d trust your life with, your wallet with, your kids with, and I’ m especially proud to be associated with. Again, there are outliers, but with every trip I’ ve made so far this year this notion has been reinforced.
And going back to the cornucopia of drag racing events that I’ ve taken in thus far – ranging from sold-out NHRA national events to near-private $ 100,000-to-win, winner-take-all shootouts – the“ good people” theme transcends them all. Personally, I’ ve always tried to avoid broaching super-sensitive topics on the pages of this magazine, but I think we can all agree that racial and religious tension is palpable in 2018. Like I said, I’ ve seen a lot of amazing on-track performances already this year – Mark Micke’ s 3.62-second, 221mph pass in Valdosta, Jay Cox’ s 3.64 in PDRA Pro Nitrous, Jose Gonzalez’ s 5.69-second lap in Houston, amongst many others – but those aren’ t what stick out in my mind at the moment.
What I remember most? Being at Darlington Dragway, a spiky-haired white guy amongst thousands of African American race fans and being treated like family by literally everyone I came in contact with. Being in Houston, Texas, and finding myself in a crowd of twenty-somethings doublefisting beers, hollering and having a big ol’ time that went completely silent and bowed their heads when the Racers for Christ chaplain started the pre-race invocation. Hearing the national anthem begin while hosting a live video broadcast in Valdosta, Georgia, standing and turning away from the camera toward the flag only to see a sea of people – black, white, brown and everything in between – do the exact same thing. Anticipating the look of disappointment and devastation across the faces of a half-dozen crew members after a tough final round loss in drag racing’ s premiere eliminator, only to see them all wince – briefly – but immediately shrug their shoulders, smile and high-five each other for what still amounted to a very successful weekend at the drag strip.
Innovative and courageous? Absolutely. Passionate and competitive? No question. But how would I describe my extended drag racing family? Genuinely good.
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
Nate Van Wagnen Editor-in-Chief 440.986.1480 nate @ dragillustrated. com
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Ian Tocher, Ainsley Jacobs, Tyler Crossnoe, Bobby Bennett, Lisa Collier, Brandon W. Mudd, Tommy D’ Aprile, Will Hanna, Sadie Glenn
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Copyright © 2018 by Drag Illustrated Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Drag Illustrated is a registered trademark of Drag Illustrated Media, LLC. Printed and mailed by Publication Printers in Denver, CO.
Wesley R. Buck Editor-in-Chief
I invite you to email me at wes @ dragillustrated. com and follow me at facebook. com / wbuck and wesbuckinc on Instagram.
All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own, and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.
8 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 132