LETTER from the EDITOR
Wes Buck CEO / Founder & Editorial Director 660.988.2313 wes @ dragillustrated . com
Mike Carpenter COO / Design & Production Director 704.737.2299 mike @ dragillustrated . com
Nate Van Wagnen Editor-in-Chief 440.986.1480 nate @ dragillustrated . com
Nancy Koeppen CFO 573.552.5551 nancy @ dragillustrated . com
Since we started the first Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 issue in 2015 , this issue theme has always been my favorite . It is far and away our most challenging issue to produce , but I believe it ’ s also the most rewarding . As a young person in the sport , it ’ s always exciting to learn more about the next generation and help share their stories with the world .
This year ’ s 30 Under 30 list is a little different , as a number of the honorees are already 30 . Since we didn ’ t do a 30 Under 30 list in 2020 , we felt it was fair to include candidates who were under 30 last year .
One of those 30-year-old honorees is one of our four cover stars , Dallas Glenn , who turned 30 on December 30 , 2020 . As a decorated sportsman racer and longtime Pro Stock crew member , he honestly should ’ ve appeared on one of the five previous lists . But his incredible rookie season in NHRA Pro Stock made him the lead candidate for this year ’ s 30 Under 30 cover . When we looked at the overall youth movement happening in Pro Stock , it made sense to also include past honorees Troy Coughlin Jr . ( Class of 2015 ) and Aaron Stanfield ( Class of 2017 ), as well as 32-year-old Kyle Koretsky , on the cover .
I talked to these four drivers for the cover story , a roundtable discussion about the state of NHRA Pro Stock and why the class is suddenly full of talented young drivers . Coughlin , Stanfield and Koretsky grew up watching their fathers race in the class , while Glenn was always attracted to it because it ’ s the pro class most similar to the sportsman categories he grew up around . But all four drivers agreed that the class appeals to them now as drivers because it ’ s such a challenge to reach the precision
Nate Van Wagnen Editor-in-Chief
and consistency required to excel in Pro Stock . It ’ s encouraging to know that these four drivers – as well as fellow young guns like Mason McGaha and the Cuadra brothers – are here to help carry Pro Stock into the future .
In fact , this whole issue is full of young racers who are dedicated to carrying the sport into the future , whether they ’ re adding to the family legacy or creating their own . We sorted through thousands of nomination forms to identify young men and women in numerous areas of the sport who are all doing big things , from winning world championships to working behind the scenes at America ’ s dragstrips and garages .
If you ’ re reading this and you contributed to the success of the people who appear on the following pages , thank you . I say that on behalf of everyone here at Drag Illustrated , as well as each of the honorees , who all offered heartfelt thanks to the people who ’ ve supported them . Unfortunately , we didn ’ t have room to thank them all .
If you feel inspired after reading these stories and you believe you or your business can help one of these young people achieve their next goal , please consider reaching out . A little money for entry fees or new parts – or even a few words of encouragement – can make a big difference .
I ’ ll admit that there have been times when I was concerned that we wouldn ’ t have enough compelling stories to fill up another 30 Under 30 issue . But after reading this year ’ s nominations , I can confidently say that we ’ re not going to run out of candidates anytime soon . I ’ m already thinking about who should go on the cover of the next 30 Under 30 issue . DI
Feel free to email me at nate @ dragillustrated . com and follow me at facebook . com / nitronate1320 and nitronate1320 on Instagram and Twitter .
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10 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 172