Drag Illustrated Issue 155, April 2020 | Page 8

LETTER from the EDITOR Wes Buck Founder & Editorial Director 660.988.2313 wes@dragillustrated.com Scott Dorman Publisher 615.478.5275 scott@dragillustrated.com Mike Carpenter Design & Production Director 704.737.2299 mike@dragillustrated.com Nate Van Wagnen Editor-in-Chief 440.986.1480 nate@dragillustrated.com Nancy Koeppen Chief Operating Officer 573.552.5551 nancy@dragillustrated.com to dance around the uncertainty of when racing would resume. Like many of you, we’re unsure how long these shutdowns will last or how they’ll continue to affect what we do. But we felt it was im- portant to forge ahead as planned with this issue. The coronavirus top- ic was unavoidable in some cases, but for the most part we’ve avoided the doom-and-gloom approach to the conversation. Inside this issue, you’ll find results from two of the last ma- jor races to take place before the shutdowns, the 62nd annual March Meet in Bakersfield, California, as well as our own inaugural World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing near Orlando, Florida. We’ll also have a much more comprehensive look at that race in our next issue. The cover story in this issue features no-prep rookie Kallee Mills, who was photographed by one of our star photographers, Rick Belden, in a bright, fun photoshoot, weeks before the world was dragged down by bad news. It’s the lead story in our Women of Power section, which shares the stories of a handful of the women who make an impact in the industry, whether their role is in the spotlight or behind the scenes. We hope this issue will serve as a distraction from the chaos on the news and on social media. That’s one of the biggest reasons why we moved forward with this issue. We’ve also ramped up the amount of content we’re posting on DragIllustrated.com and our social media platforms, from the latest event news and reactions to classic stories from past issues and throwback racing videos. Stay tuned for more, and hopefully, we’ll see you all at the dragstrip again soon. Nate Van Wagnen Editor-in-Chief 8 | Drag I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Feel free to email me at nate@dragillustrated.com and follow me at facebook.com/nitronate1320 and nitronate1320 on Instagram and Twitter. JT Hudson Sales Executive 660.341.0063 jt@dragillustrated.com Van Abernethy Senior Staff Writer & Field Subscription Sales 828.302.0356 van@dragillustrated.com Josh Hachat Editor-at-Large 660.988.2313 josh@dragillustrated.com Caroline Fox Customer Service / Office Manager 660.988.2313 caroline@dragillustrated.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Ian Tocher, Ainsley Jacobs, Kelly Wade, Bobby Bennett, Brandon W. Mudd, Tommy D’Aprile, Allyson Johnson, Pete Epple PHOTO DEPARTMENT: John Fore III, Van Abernethy, Rick Belden, Tara Bowker, Shawn Crose, Jason Dunn, Paul Grant, Chris Graves, Ron Lewis, Will McDougle, Joe McHugh, Gary Nastase, Mark J. Rebilas, Roger Richards, Cole Rokosky, Chris Sears, Jason Sharp, James Sisk, Ian Tocher ADVERTISING SALES: 615.478.5275 SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICE: 660.988.2313 customerservice@dragillustrated.com DRAG ILLUSTRATED MEDIA, LLC 902 Kings Road, Kirksville, MO 63501 P: 660.988.2313 F: 660.665.1636 www.dragillustrated.com Copyright © 2020 by Drag Illustrated Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Drag Illustrated is a registered trademark of Drag Illustrated Media, LLC. Printed and mailed by Royle Printing in Sun Prairie, WI. All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own, and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. Issue 155 I ’d like to start this month’s column with one giant understatement: we’re facing some wild times. While it’s impossi- ble to predict the near future with 100 percent certainty, here in late March, it’s safe to guess that by the time this issue reaches mailboxes in mid-to-late April, most of you will still be cooped up in your homes. A trip to the grocery store has be- come an adventure rather than a chore, one of a handful of accept- able reasons to leave home, unless you’re lucky enough to work in a field deemed “essential” by your lo- cal government. The nationwide shutdowns of nonessential activi- ties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have completely changed the American way of life, at least for the time being. Drag racing has no doubt felt the effects of those shutdowns, as sporting events were among the first closures. While racing is not essential in the grand scheme of things, it’s very much essential for the countless drivers, tuners, crew members, track operators, en- gine builders, fabricators, manufacturers and others who’ve found a way to make a living in the sport. As a magazine that focuses entirely on the sport, drag racing is pretty essential to what we do here too. But fortunately most of what you’ll find on the next 90-plus pages was already well in the works by the time races started getting canceled or postponed. Sure, there were some hurdles to overcome. Pho- tos had to be acquired to make up for photoshoots scheduled for the NHRA Gatornationals (post- poned until June 5-7). Interviews that would’ve originally focused on an exciting season ahead had Will Mandell Senior Sales Executive 615.426.0465 will@dragillustrated.com