THE INTERVIEW ISSUE
Perched on the barstool that sits in front of
his computer in his stacker trailer, Randy Meyer looks out at his
pit area at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The com-
pound occupies two pit spots, as it’s the home of Meyer’s pair of
nitro-burning A/Fuel dragsters and the crew members and equip-
ment required to run them. It’s Sunday morning and the team is
preparing for the Top Alcohol Dragster semifinals at the Cavalcade
of Stars NHRA Division 3 race. The announcer will call the com-
petitors to the staging lanes in less than an hour, but Meyer is calm,
cool and collected, seemingly unaffected by the idea that his two
cars, driven this weekend by Julie Nataas and Camrie Caruso, will
soon face off against each other for a spot in the team’s 11th con-
secutive final round. ¶ This is business as usual for Meyer, who
pioneered the “rent-a-ride” program in Top Alcohol Dragster in
the early 2000s when he started renting out his car to drivers who
wanted to give their sponsors a 270-plus-mph billboard capable of
winning races right out of the gate. Meyer had a successful career
of his own in the driver’s seat, winning eight NHRA national events
Randy Meyer is training the next generation
of drag racing stars in Top Alcohol Dragster
BY NATE VAN WAGNEN /
Dr ag Illustr ated
92
Photographs by
COLE ROKOSKY & SHAWN CROSE
D r a g Il l u s t r a t e d . c o m