D.I. COLUMNIST
The Enders Elevation
I
t’s not just those of us who
grew up with a passion for drag
racing who end up devoting a
huge chunk of life to it. In the case
of Jason Logan, aka “Mr. Mello Yello”
or “Mr. All Access,” it was humor and
happenstance that brought him to
drag racing from a radio dream. You,
the Drag Illustrated reader, prob-
ably know Jason as the funny guy
on NHRA.tv (formerly All Access)
either wearing a Mello Yello or AAA
shirt hanging out trackside with a
microphone distracting fans
from the unforeseen delays
that come along with in-
person drag racing. You’ve
heard him, you’ve seen him,
you’ve watched him interact-
ing with fans and shooting
T-shirts out of handheld can-
nons, but he is so much more
to this show we call NHRA
Drag Racing. So, where did
Jason come from? How did
he snag such a cool gig in the
greatest sport on the planet?
Unlike most out here, Ja-
son didn’t grow up wanting
to be a drag racer, or even
caring about it at all. When
he was a kid, all he wanted
to do was make people laugh
on the radio like the folks he
grew up listening to. Early
on, Jason landed an intern-
ship doing promotions for
one of the big stations in Or-
lando. Shortly after, “Jason
The Phone Guy” was born.
He handled everything from
answering the phones to
shaving his head on air and
driving a lawn mower across
town in rush hour traffic.
You name it, he did it…in
the name of making people
laugh. “After two and a half
years of what I thought was
the dream job, the station
told me they were ‘going
in another direction,’ which really
meant ‘you’re fired so beat it,’” says
Logan. “I was 25 and my dream job,
or so I thought, was gone.”
Much like every success story,
when a door is slammed shut,
great things happen and Jason is
no exception. “I started working
for Sports Magic Team, an enter-
tainment team that was
founded here in Orlando,
where I was able to be a
part of what was essen-
tially the birth of sports
entertainment,” Logan
explains. “We had a
team of 20 or so young
entertainers that would
travel all over the world with the
NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL and more,
performing at halftimes and enter-
taining fans in the stands. Hell, we and Shirley (Muldowney)
from ABC’s Wide World
of Sports, but nothing
past that until Johnny
Moto stuck us between
two Top Fuel dragsters,
told us to cover our ears
and the rest is history…
after screaming like a
little girl, of course! Man, was that
a rush!”
For the next few years, Jason and
his team would work a handful of
molded the way it’s done today and
Sports Magic Team is what intro-
duced me to the NHRA.”
Jason’s first race was at Bandi-
mere Speedway in Denver during
the summer of 1995. Back then, he
barely knew anything about drag
racing. “I knew the names of the leg-
ends like ‘The Snake,’ ‘Big Daddy’ NHRA events, but it wasn’t until
2007 that he came out full time and
he’s been going ever since. Much like
many of us, Jason has a business at
home as well as traveling with the
NHRA. He owns an entertainment
company in Orlando that special-
izes in corporate and social events
requiring everything from a DJ to
stilt walkers and speed painters. It’s
not uncommon for him to be “Mr.
All Access” on Sunday, rest for a few
hours, then DJ a Disney wedding
on Monday.
When he’s in NHRA mode, his
day could range from giving away
prizes to fans in the stands, an-
nouncing driver introductions be-
hind the “curtain,” screaming class
intros on the starting line, emceeing
the Mello Yello trailer at the midway
and much more.
Jason’s day revolves
around the people of drag
racing and that is what he
loves most. “Not only does
the NHRA have the greatest
fans in the world, but I get
to be the guy who interacts
face-to-face with them,” he
says. “On top of the fans, I
have grown so close to so
many people who also trav-
el the circuit. Without the
NHRA, I wouldn’t have some
of my best friends. From
people on the race teams, op-
erations teams, Safety Safari,
NHRA staff, social media, PR
reps, etc. – these folks are
like family. There are truly
some incredible people out
here that I get to spend most
of my days with. We all live
the same life on the road and
can relate to the circus that
is our traveling lives and we
are bonded forever.”
In my eyes, there is so
much the NHRA is missing
when it comes to what makes
drag racing a “show” and
Jason Logan is one example
of that. He’s uber-talented,
under-used, has a natural
way of entertaining and truly
loves the sport. There are so
many places within NHRA
that could use Jason to pro-
mote and entertain, which
would be so beneficial on so many
levels. Keep your eyes peeled for
him when you’re at the track and
tell him hello! He’s usually wear-
ing a ridiculous helmet driving the
Mello Yello side-by-side through the
pits, spreading smiles and laughter.
We are lucky to have Jason Logan.
He is a true gem.
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60 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 144
ENDERS-LAMBERT
with Courtney Enders-Lambert