Drag Illustrated Issue 139, December 2018 | Page 90

30 UNDER 30 · 2018 TYLER BOHANNON ■ THERE IS MUCH to be said for learning from your elders, and 20-year-old Tyler Bohannon has shown that he knows when to pay attention. Bohannon, a third-generation drag racer from Louisville, Kentucky, clinched NHRA’s Division 3 Super Stock championship this season and has been a top contender in the national ranks. “The Division 3 championship is something I wanted my whole life. My dad did it, and I really wanted to follow in his footsteps,” says Bohannon, son of Chuck Bohannon and grandson to the late Charlie Bohannon, an esteemed drag racer who passed away in 2008. “To me, this division championship is one of the top three things I have wanted to accomplish in drag racing. The others would be winning the national championship and then either winning Indy or the Million,” continues Bohannon, re- ferring to NHRA’s Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the big-payout Mickey Thompson Wheels and Tires Million bracket race. Bohannon scored his first trip down the drag- strip in a car of his own as a seven-year-old in the Jr. ranks. His first big car was a 1969 Camaro he and his dad spent four years building in their ga- rage, but his favorite race car is the one he drives now – a 1967 Corvette Stingray with a 327 ci small-block Chevy engine built by Jeff Taylor. The stunning, candy apple red Chevrolet won the Mother’s Polish Best Appearing award at this season’s NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte. “It’s my dad’s car, and my family built it in the late 1990s for Super Stock,” explains Bohannon, whose grandfather was a fabricator who passed the skill to his son. “It’s been a good car to me this year, and I’ve also been able to drive my Uncle Joey Bohannon’s 1988 Camaro on and off. “My dad has been the most influential person when it comes to my racing. I’ve had a couple of people who have really helped me, including my uncle Joey and Brian Whitworth. When he started hanging around, my eyes started to open up to other styles of racing and ways to do things. Between him and my dad, they made me the driver I am today.” Bohannon raced to the final round at his second event of the year, the divisional at Nor- walk, Ohio’s Summit Motorsports Park. Later in the season, he acquired a victory at the JEGS SPORTSnationals at Bowling Green and then another win at the division race in St. Louis. The sales/internet consultant at 2017 NHRA Pro Stock champion Bo Butner’s Jim Butner Auto Group has a national event win in Super Comp and will continue to include the dragster in his racing rotation. This offseason, the Bohannon boys are considering updating the rail for Top Dragster competition, but they haven’t yet ham- mered out the plan. Either way, Bohannon has no intention of hanging up his driving gloves anytime soon in any category. “I definitely want to be more involved in racing,” he says. “I love my job, but it would be awesome to race for a living. That would be the ultimate goal.” – K E L LY WA DI D E DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI ■ AS THE SON OF AN ACCLAIMED circle track en- gine builder, Cam Clark could’ve easily followed a path that led to the South’s numerous banked oval tracks. Or he could’ve continued to race mo- tocross, but his father put a stop to that when he was 16 after a frightening series of crash-induced concussions. Instead, Clark jumped headfirst into drag racing, first competing in 4.90 index races and later moving up through Piedmont’s Renegade and Big Dog series. This year, Clark became the second driver to win a Big Dog double event. He also excelled in a handful of PDRA Top Sportsman appearances. Driving a nitrous-assisted ’69 Camaro owned by Charles Harris, Clark’s historic Big Dog victo- ries came during the July edition of the legendary monthly racing series held at North Carolina’s Piedmont Dragway. The 24-year-old driver first won the rain-delayed June Big Dog final over Bri- an Shrader during the second qualifying session. Clark then worked his way through eliminations again, ultimately using a holeshot advantage to defeat Tim Lawrence in the final round. A month later, a broken pushrod stopped Clark from win- ning a third consecutive Big Dog trophy in the final round of the August race. It was a tough blow for the focused Virginia native. “I don’t do this for fun,” Clark says matter-of-fact- ly. “Our motors have to win for us to make a living. That’s the way I’ve grown up – I have to win.” Though the family business, Clark’s Auto- motive, primarily builds engines for late-model stock cars, Clark carries the same win-at-all-costs mentality with him when he’s at the drag strip. Since he builds the motor and tunes the car in addition to driving, he pours everything he has into making sure the H&H Racing Camaro parks in the winner’s circle as often as possible. “I’m not drag racing because my dad has a lot of money and we can afford to do it. I’m drag racing because I ended up in the right place at the right time,” Clark insists. “I know that every time I let go of the button, that could be the end of my ride. I know I have to give a thousand percent every time I get in the car. I stress about that more than anything because I want to be so perfect.” Clark realizes his situation – driving and tun- ing a top-flight nitrous doorslammer across the Southeast – is unique, especially for someone his age, and offers thanks to Harris and team partners like Hunt’s Tree Service and Senecal Construction. He also mentions Justin Carmack of Carmack Engineering, with whom he struck up a working relationship this season. It led to Clark working on Randy Weatherford’s PDRA Pro Nitrous car and Brandon Snider’s NHRA Pro Mod entry, inspiring the outgoing young man to someday race in those classes. “I don’t see a lot of people my age getting the opportunity to do what I do. I’m very grateful for that,” Clarks asserts. “I hope down the road that I can maybe run Pro Nitrous or NHRA Pro Mod. I went to Virginia and Bristol to help Brandon Snider on his car. The atmosphere is incredible. I hope I can drive something like that and expe- rience that rush.” – N AT E VA N WAG N DI E N DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI 90 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 139 CAM CLARK