FOUNDER ’ S LETTER
For as long as I can remember , I ’ ve heard people say that sportsman racing – bracket racing – isn ’ t exciting , isn ’ t fun to watch or isn ’ t interesting . It ’ s always troubled me , honestly , because this is the brand of racing that our sport is built on . Not only are there numerous race tracks that would cease to exist if it wasn ’ t for the support of their weekend warriors , there are innumerable companies that would be in serious trouble without these racers .
Honestly , I don ’ t need to defend sportsman racing . Whether on the national or divisional scene , at big money bracket races or local points meets – I know without a shadow of a doubt that these events are comprised of some of the fiercest competitors , most talented drivers and finest machinery our sport has to offer . It ’ s not up for debate . In my humble opinion , some of the best prolevel drivers I ’ ve ever seen earned their stripes and continue to hone their skills on the bracket scene . It ’ s a gnarly place to do business ( compete and have any level of success ).
In my opinion , the aforementioned situation – the entire discussion – brings to light a much larger issue that has plagued our sport for decades , and it starts with the razor-bladesharp focus we ’ ve had on the cars , technology and on-track aspect of drag racing since the beginning . I ’ ve written and spoken about this regularly , but it seems to be weighing on me more so than ever before , and I think it ’ s time we take a good , hard look at how we ’ re presenting our sport to the masses . For what it ’ s worth , we here at Drag Illustrated have always felt that stories aren ’ t in the dial-ins , or the reaction times or the elapsed times or the trap speeds . Sure , there are times that those items are
Issue 56 >> August 2011 >> $ 4.95 dragillustrated . com
SPORTSMAN SPECIAL
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS
S T A R R I N G LUKE BOGACKI • PETER BIONDO DAVID RAMPY • FRANK MANZO SCOTTY RICHARDSON & MORE
The first Sportsman Special Issue : DI 56 , August 2011 newsworthy or exceptionally interesting or significant , but by-and-large the stories coming out of every race weekend stem from the men and women that do the racing – not the cars , parts and pieces that they use .
Personally , I feel that ’ s a lot of the reason so many dedicated bracket racing magazines and websites have struggled or gone away entirely is because the focus was always on the numbers and stats , which , for the most part become meaningless immediately after they show up on a timeslip or a scoreboard . The real stories are about late nights and long trips , epic thrashes and unforeseen victories . Take the cover of this Sportsman Special Issue of Drag Illustrated and the incredible feature our own Josh Hachat penned on the one-and-only Dan Fletcher and try to tell me sportsman racing isn ’ t exciting , awe-inspiring and entertaining . But you ’ ll notice the story on the pages of this magazine isn ’ t centered around the aforementioned numerals and decimal points , but on trials , tribulations and triumphs – in life and on the drag strip .
That ’ s where I think our sport has been missing the boat for the past half-century or better , and it ’ s been why we ’ ve focused our efforts almost entirely with Drag Illustrated on telling stories and sparking conversations that go well beyond the results of drag races . It ’ s always been our goal here to grow and build the sport of drag racing by telling the many inspiring and relatable stories of the people who spend their hard-earned money and precious time burning up the eighth- and quartermile every weekend . I ’ ve said it before , but I ’ ll say it again : Fast cars , loud engines , smoky burnouts and the thrill of close competition may have been what brought us out to the races for the first time , but it ’ s the people that keep us coming back .
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
Nancy Koeppen Chief Operating Officer 573.552.5551 nancy @ dragillustrated . com
Will Mandell Senior Sales Executive 615.426.0465 will @ dragillustrated . com
JT Hudson Sales Executive 660.341.0063 jt @ dragillustrated . com
Robert Jaramillo Director of Business Development 626.253.6428 robert @ dragillustrated . com
Van Abernethy Senior Staff Writer & Field Subscription Sales 828.302.0356 van @ dragillustrated . com
Josh Hachat Editor-at-Large 660.988.2313 josh @ dragillustrated . com
Caroline Sterling Customer Service / Office Manager 660.988.2313 caroline @ dragillustrated . com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS : Ian Tocher , Ainsley Jacobs , Tyler Crossnoe , Bobby Bennett , Lisa Collier , Brandon W . Mudd , Tommy D ’ Aprile , Will Hanna , Sadie Glenn
PHOTO DEPARTMENT : John Fore III , Van Abernethy , Rick Belden , Tara Bowker , Jason Dunn , Paul Grant , Chris Graves , Ron Lewis , Joe McHugh , Gary Nastase , Mark J . Rebilas , Roger Richards , Cole Rokosky , Chris Sears , Jason Sharp , James Sisk , Ian Tocher
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DRAG ILLUSTRATED MEDIA , LLC 902 Kings Road , Kirksville , MO 63501 P : 660.988.2313 F : 660.665.1636 www . dragillustrated . com
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 Founder & Editorial Director
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 .
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