Feedback , Friendly Notes , & Hate Mail

THE HOTTEST GAME IN TOWN

NHRA Pro Mod Series Serves as Doorslammer Drag Racing ’ s Ultimate Proving Ground

PRO STOCK CHAMP BO BUTNER GOES

NO-PREP

No Time

First off , I ’ m a lifetime subscriber . It ’ s been a long , long time since Gilbert “ The Rock ” Jacobs was on the cover of DI and after all these years , I was pretty sure that I ’ d never see another grudge or no-time racer get hit with that kind of spotlight . You guys proved me wrong . Justin “ Lil ’ Country ” Swanstrom is a serious racer that has put the no-time world on notice . He deserves the ink , just like all these no-time racers do . Would love to see you all do a complete no-time issue in the future with feature stories on all the major players . The no-time shootout scene is hot like fire and you should take notice .

Doug Savory , via the Internet

Genuinely Good

Without question … Wes Buck ’ s “ Letter From the Editor ” last month [ DI 132 ] was amongst the best piece he ’ s ever put together . Actually , I was blown away to read such a powerful message in a drag racing magazine ( no offense ). Regardless , I wanted to let ya ’ ll know that I have seen first-hand the environment and community that Wes wrote about in his column , and I ’ m proud to be a part of it . I have to admit that it

J . R . GRAY / JOHN TAYLOR / JAY COX / GEOFF TURK

dragillustrated . com

TEAM WORK

MAKES THE

DREAM WORK

NMCA ’ S RISE TO THE TOP

“ LIL ’ COUNTRY ”

warms my heart every time I attend a drag race and see so many people of different races and religions stand for the national anthem . I ’ ve also always found it interesting how the drag strip seems to be one of the few places in the world that sees people from a variety of different financial backgrounds all hanging out together and competing against one another , almost always treating one another as peers . Again , it ’ s a super special community that I ’ m proud to be a part of .

Chad Stevens , via the Internet

[ FOUNDER AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR WES BUCK REPLIES : Wow ! That ’ s some seriously high praise ! Thank you ! I , too , feel lucky to be part of the drag racing community . I ’ ve been to more races in the first part of 2018 that probably ever before in my life , and it seems like I ’ m given some example of the awesomeness of these people at every track I go to . I remember back in March at Donald Long ’ s “ Sweet 16 ” in Valdosta , Georgia , when Keith Haney ’ s well-known “ Enigma ” Chevy Camaro sheared off every single torque converter bolt prior to the semifinal round of the $ 101,000-to-win event . Despite having just lost , Stevie Jackson was the first person over in the pits to help his longtime rival ( at least on the drag strip and internet ) have a shot at beating the turbo-racer ( Dewayne Mills ) that had just trailered him . It was a pretty spectacular scene , to be honest , and one of the purest examples that I ’ ve seen in a long while of how far racers will go to help one another . Another example came at the recently completed

NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka , Kansas , late on Saturday night after qualifying had wrapped up for the day . Mike Janis and company had expired an engine and thrashed all day , skipping the final qualifying session , to try and get their hot rod ready for race day . When qualifying had finished up , it was Danny Rowe who Janis would be facing in the first round of eliminations . Pitted nearby and realizing that Janis and his team hadn ’ t eaten and had been thrashing all night , I watched as the Rowe camp went over and invited the Janis crew over for dinner . It may not seem like much , but it seemed pretty significant to me , personally . Here are two teams that will face each other in eliminations the following day , breaking bread together the night before . Anyway , thanks for writing , Chad . I say it all the time , but I truly believe we ’ re all lucky to be a part of this deal .]

A Cut Above the Rest

Really enjoyed Ainsley Jacob ’ s feature on the National Muscle Car Association and its top-flight team . That ’ s a series that , I believe , sets the bar and has without question established itself as a clear No . 2 behind the NHRA in terms of drag racing sanctioning bodies . Let ’ s be honest , would anyone have ever believed that the IHRA could be surpassed by an organization dedicated to preserving street-legal drag racing ? Their rise and continued upward trajectory is not lost on the racing community , I can tell you that for sure ! Nice work !

Jose Johnson , via the Internet

[ WES BUCK REPLIES : Hard to argue with you , Jose ! First off , Steve , Rollie and Mike – the guys at the NMCA that I , personally , know the best – are amongst the most passionate people I ’ ve met in this industry . Their passion for NMCA and drag racing in general is basically unparalleled , and that ’ s something that I really appreciate . Their vision is clear , and I think they have a unique and extremely potent combination of passion for the sport and passion for their project businesswise ( NMCA and NMRA ) that sets them apart from the crowd . The production value of their events from a fan-perspective is amongst the best that exists in drag racing , and I think that from a racer ’ s perspective the execution of their events , the consistency and the competitive environment is much loved and widely respected . Thank you for writing !]

Murdered Out

Holy cow ! How about that new matte finish and heavier paper ?!?!? I really didn ’ t think there was much room for improvement with Drag Illustrated , but I have to say that I ’ m blown away by the new look . Major props !!

Daniel Allard , via the Internet

[ WES BUCK REPLIES : Thank you ! Shout out to our own Mike Carpenter , longtime Art & Production Director here , for forcing this change through . We ’ ve been talking about doing something like this for a long time , and we finally got it done . To be honest , we wanted to make a statement . In a time when it seems like everyone is cutting corners or scaling back , we wanted to double down . We know that our racing readers have an eye for aesthetics and appreciate quality ( we ’ re car guys , right ?) and we wanted to up the ante and deliver a collector ’ s item , coffee-table quality magazine . Sounds like the plan worked ! Thank you , so much !]

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12 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 133