Drag Illustrated Issue 151, December 2019 | Page 8

W hile I’ve n e v e r made a list of the historic, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring and all-around newsworthy drag racing moments I’ve been fortunate enough to witness over the years, it doesn’t take much effort for me to remem- ber dozens of them. Of course, Shannon Jen- kins’ first-ever 3-second eighth-mile run in a nitrous Pro Mod, which I’ve written about ad nauseam, Jason Scruggs’ seemingly impossible 200 mph eighth-mile pull at Rockingham Dragway, Kha- lid Balooshi’s nitrous-powered 200 mph eighth-mile lap at Maple Grove, Matt Hagan’s barrier-busting 3.995-sec- ond blast down the 1,000- foot strip at zMAX Dragway, Jeff Lutz going 251 mph in a “street car” at HOT ROD Drag Week’s stop in St. Louis, the seemingly 2-3 times an- nual resetting of the radial tire record, including Kevin Rivenbark’s obliteration of the 3.6-second mark in Valdosta, Georgia, earlier this year, and the list goes on. It’s funny, though, that the single happening that leaves me feeling the most excited and enthusiastic about the sport of drag racing took place on a fairly normal Wednesday night in August during a test-and-tune at Bandimere Speedway outside Denver, Colorado. “Man, I just found out about this,” he said, a 20-something Hispanic gentleman, leaning out the window of his crew-cab diesel Dodge truck. “They’ll let you race anything at this place.” For those of us who’ve been around drag rac- ing for our entire lives, or even any extended period of time, the idea that you can pretty well take anything for a pass down the drag strip and even enter it into competition – your wife’s mini-van, a bone stock six-cylinder Mustang or your diesel-powered “brodozer” – seems like no big deal. To the uninitiated, however, it can be almost mind-blowing, as was the case with this cat I met in Denver. He was excited to a level that would’ve rivaled that of any of the legendary drivers I mentioned above following their heroic efforts on the drag strip. He explained to me how he’d come to the track a few different times to see John Force and once relatively recently – the previous September – to see the cast of STREET OUTLAWS: No Prep Kings do battle. But he had no idea that he could drive his pickup through the gate of one of the world’s most famous drag strips, straight into the staging lanes and, ultimately, onto the track where he could put his beloved hot rod through its paces in a safe and legal environment. “You wanna run ‘em?” he asked. “Just for brag- ging rights, bro. No money.” I remember thinking, “Brother, I’m in a rented, base-model GMC Yukon…but what the hell?” I’m sure Avis would be devastated if they found out that I’d missed this opportunity to earn some bragging rights for them on the drag strip. After crushing this poor guy a couple times (he spun, I didn’t), I pulled back around to the top of the staging lanes and just watched the madness. Bandimere Speedway’s weekly Take It To the Track night – sponsored by the Colorado State Patrol – is a sight to behold. I don’t know the actual numbers, but I know it’s not unusual for over 300 cars to turn up for their shot at a personal best, to settle a grudge or to simply make a pass down the quarter-mile. There are so many cars that track officials actually have to issue rac- ers a punch card to ensure they get their fair shake; so many cars that a large majority of them camp out in the staging lanes the entire night – they just stay in line. Better than 65 years into the organized history of drag racing, I don’t think there’s anything more exciting to me than the fact that there is still a world of people out there that don’t know anything about it. When we first hatched this plan to celebrate and highlight 30 impactful racers and indus- try members under the age of 30 back in the winter of 2014, among our biggest concerns – truly – was running out of young people. I remember a conference call with my edi- torial team – Mike Carpenter, Nate Van Wagnen and Josh Hachat – vividly. We were de- bating whether or not some- one could ever be on the list more than once and everyone had the same concern: What if we run out of young people? I knew for the list to have any real significance, it couldn’t become a regurgi- tated deal – the Force girls, someone connected to Don Schumacher Racing or NHRA, the same youthful heavy-hit- ters from the PDRA, etc. We needed new blood every year, and if we couldn’t find them? Well, we probably aren’t working hard enough. Fast forward to today and we’ve done that. We’ve identified 148 young men and women over the last five years who are securing the future of our sport; ensuring drag racing of all shapes and sizes has a bright future. That’s not patting ourselves on the back, rather it’s acknowledging there truly is an abundance of young talent in this sport – and in every facet. It’s not just a list loaded with star drivers – though there’s plenty of awesome drivers under 30 and I couldn’t be more excited about that. But it’s a list that showcases how involved these young stars are in the sport. We’ve got track own- ers, tuners, crew members, industry professionals and more. That’s really the cool thing with this deal. Look in every space and you’ll find loads of young people involved. That makes me happy and proud, and confident this sport is in good hands. And who knows, with a little luck and a lot of determination, maybe my buddy with the diesel Dodge in Denver will be featured on these pages one of these days. DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI Wesley R. Buck Founder & Editorial Director 8 | Drag I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com I invite you to email me at wes@dragillustrated.com and follow me at facebook.com/wbuck and wesbuckinc on Instagram. Issue 151 FOUNDER’S LETTER