Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 86

THE CHAMPIONS ISSUE NHRA Nostalgia Top Fuel endy Fry achieved a lifetime goal in 2018 and she made sure to leave nothing to chance in the process. Fry was incredibly dominant during the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Nostalgia Top Fuel season, clinching her first world championship before the final event of the season. But Fry put a fitting capper on 2018 by winning the California Hot Rod Reunion to finish her outstanding year with three straight victories. “This title belongs to the team,” Fry says. “They’ve upped the bar for me as a driver. The thing that’s really helped is getting to know the car. They’re giving me something that repeats and because the team is so consistent and the maintenance on the car is second to none, it’s really upped my confidence level.” Even the wins don’t fully illustrate how impressive Fry was this season. Driving the High-Speed Motorsports dragster for Tom Shelar has been a treat for Fry, who returned to Top Fuel in 2017 after racing in Nostalgia Funny Car. She won the March Meet in Bakersfield and was second to Jim Young in an extremely tight points battle last year, adding to her motivation this season. That energy was well placed, as Fry only lost one round of racing in 2018, posting low E.T. and top speed at every event, except for top speed at the National Hot Rod Reunion. She went to five final rounds, ending the year with successive wins at the National Hot Rod Reunion, the Nightfire Nationals and the California Hot Rod Reunion. Finishing the year with a victory in Bakersfield meant a great deal as well, as Fry didn’t want to go out with a whimper. That wasn’t the case, taking the No. 1 qualifier spot, low E.T. (5.55) of the event, top speed (261 mph) and victory. “I’d say Tom Shelar and the crew have had it dialed in,” Fry adds. “My team gave me the car to beat and I didn’t screw it up, so that win (in Bakersfield) was theirs. I’m just glad they picked me.” – JOSH HACHAT DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI NHRA Nostalgia Funny Car Bobby Cottrell W hen the opportunity came to driver for the leg- endary Bucky Austin, Bob- by Cottrell couldn’t say yes fast enough. But winning a Nostalgia Funny Car cham- pionship in just his second season didn’t seem possible for Cottrell and he would have been the first to tell you that. “If you would have told me I would have a chance to win a championship my second year driving Funny Car I would have laughed in your face,” Cottrell says. Well, Cottrell had the last laugh, meshing al- most flawlessly with Austin the last couple years and claiming the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Nos- talgia Funny Car world title in 2018. After having success in the A/Fuel and 7.0 Pro ranks before moving to Funny Car, Cottrell has gone to another level driving for Austin. As much pressure as it seemingly would be driving for Austin, it’s simply brought out the best in Cottrell, who won three events this season and had nearly clinched the championship before the season-finale Hot Rod Reunion. “Bucky is just very aggressive and he just gets me intense, gets me fired up,” Cottrell says. “Like I tell the crew, this (opponent) is trying to take what’s mine and I’m not going to let it happen. I’m glad he gave me the opportunity and I’m just excited about it. Just the way he’s explained stuff, he’s really easy to understand. I build cars for a living, so we connected in that aspect and it’s worked out so far.” That shared passion has been pivotal for suc- cess and it’s trickled down to everyone on the team. The season started with a victory at the March Meet in Bakersfield and Cottrell never let up, reaching a new level of driving in his career. “It’s like a dream come true,” Cottrell says. “Ev- erybody just clicks on the team. Having Bucky on my side, his direction and leadership has really made the biggest difference in my driving the last couple years.” – JOSH HACHAT DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI STEVE WILLIAMS NHRA SUPER COMP // DEVIN ISENHOWER NHRA SUPER GAS // BRIAN MCCLANAHAN NHRA STOCK 86 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 140 DAVID Mendy Fry M