DAN
FLETCHER
THE DRIVE TO WIN
Fletcher’s career has
spanned nearly 30
years, but he remains
focused on his plan
coming together.
I certainly don’t hope I tip over tomorrow,
but it’s been a great life. It’s been great.
I did what everyone dreams of. I quit my job
and went racing and I made it work.
have afforded me the opportunity to do,” Fletcher
says. “I’ve went to every game and I did every-
thing. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but
I’ve always prided myself to try to do everything I
could to be there for everything. Again, I wouldn’t
trade anything.”
Even as he says it, Fletcher isn’t sure he would
recommend anyone else doing it. Aside from the
wins and the visits to theme parks, a life on the
road can be a grueling lifestyle. Throw in dozens
of defeats by a thousandth of a second, a hand-
ful of bad breaks, a few flight cancellations and
plenty of flat tires in the middle of nowhere, and
the glamour can quickly fade away.
Somehow, though, Fletcher has never strayed
too far from winning, if only because he has never
strayed from being ultra-prepared. He’s got log-
book upon logbook filled with every piece of data
imaginable to help him devise a strategy for each
racing weekend, no matter the weather or the
location. By the time he’s in the car, everything
else, all the outside noise, it simply disappears.
Anthony Bertozzi, another legend in the
sportsman ranks, once told Fletcher that if he
had the same pressure to win that Fletcher does,
he wouldn’t even be able to stage the car. But
Fletcher won’t allow those thoughts to enter his
mind. At that point, in his car, it’s not about feed-
ing his family. Instead, it’s about simply perform-
ing, something he’s done incredibly well for years.
“Everything is preparation. I’m trying to use
every minute of my time to my advantage. When
you leave this bench (in the trailer), you leave
here with a game plan,” Fletcher professes. “A
lot of people when they get up there melt down
and get nervous or whatever. Once I’m in a race
car, I’m good.
“When you go up there to run first round, it’s
like any time run you’ve ever made. You can’t let
the gravity of any situation effect anything going
on. How are you able to do it when you’ve got to
win to feed your kids? I think about it afterwards,
maybe, but when you’re in the moment, you can’t.”
Fletcher remains so much in the moment that
he often doesn’t realize the full magnitude of
his accomplishments. A call from the late Bob
Glidden when he passed the iconic Pro Stock
driver on the career wins list meant a great deal,
but even when he won his 100th event, Fletcher
called it flattering but struggled to reminisce or
get nostalgic.
He jokes that the wins have piled up only
because “I’m old and I’ve raced a lot. I’ve had
a lot of chances, I should have won something
by now.” But that’s a disservice to what Fletcher
has meant, not only to the sport but also to
dreamers everywhere. His work ethic and focus
have always been on the next victory, but one
day Fletcher may take a minute to realize his
place in the sport.
He acknowledged it will be “pretty cool” to get
to second on the all-time NHRA wins list behind
Force, the last major milestone in a career filled
with achievements he would have never expected
more than 20 years ago.
Fletcher’s aspiration was simply to race, yet
somehow, he managed to live that dream better
than almost anybody.
“I certainly don’t hope I tip over tomorrow, but
it’s been a great life,” Fletcher says. “It’s been great.
I did what everyone dreams of. I quit my job and
went racing and I made it work.”
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
June 2018
DragIllustrated.com
| D r a g I l l DI u DI s t DI r a t e d | 83