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
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■ 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
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 139
CAM CLARK