THE LATE T . T . Jones had a tremendous impact on motorcycle drag racing as a rider , team owner , and track owner . But one of his most significant contributions to the sport was passing on his passion and knowledge for drag bike racing to his children , like William Garner , who tuned his older brother , Chris Garner-Jones , to two world championships this season . The

brothers dedicated the titles to their late father , who passed away in 2020 after a cancer battle .

Chris , who appeared on the 30 Under 30 list in 2019 , won the XDA Pro Xtreme championship and followed it up with the PDRA Pro Nitrous Motorcycle title , which the family had been chasing since the PDRA started in 2014 . It was a profoundly meaningful accomplishment for the family , which also includes brother and clutch guy Tyrese , sister and Jr . Dragster standout Arellyn , and of course , the matriarch of the operation , Angie .

“ That was unbelievable . I was at a loss for words ,” Garner , 29 , says . “ It was very exciting to do that in honor of my dad on my dad ’ s bike . We ’ ve been wanting to build Chris a new bike , but we wanted to take care of business on my dad ’ s bike for him . We knew we could get it done this year . We ’ ve fought the last few years and ended up second to Travis Davis , a very tough competitor . It was awesome . It was fantastic for us and the T . T . Jones Racing team to win it this year .”

Garner learned how to tune nitrous-fed , Pro Mod-style motorcycles from his dad , who got the family furthered involved in racing as the owners of Huntsville Dragway in Alabama . Will credits T . T . for showing him the ropes and building the foundation for the team ’ s success this season .

“ My dad was drag racing for years before we were born ,” Garner says . “ He got us all started with this . The main time he got me into [ tuning ] was when we were overseas in Qatar in 2012-2013 . Him and Billy Vose were over there competing and Billy was like , ‘ Hey , you should just let Will tune the bike .’ I started then . Been going for it ever since . I also got a lot of help from Ashley Owens , Dan Wagner , and Billy Vose . Those are some of the top guys in the Pro Nitrous Motorcycle class . I ’ d like to thank all those guys .”

Garner plans to continue building the family legacy in 2022 as Chris pursues another title or two . He also anticipates two or three other bikes to run out of the T . T . Jones Racing camp .

– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARA BOWKER

AS BUDDY Perkinson says , he ’ s been around for a while . He burst onto the NHRA scene when he was in his late teens after a successful Jr . Dragster career that included a pair of Outlaw 330 championships . The Virginia native ran well in Comp Eliminator before jumping up to Pro Stock at age 19 , where he raced off and on for a few years driving for Jim Cunningham , KB Racing , Allen Johnson , and even a stint with a car prepared by Pro Stock great Larry Morgan , who Perkinson still counts as a close friend and mentor .

But most recently , Perkinson has been putting on a clinic in Elite Top Sportsman , one of PDRA ’ s fast bracket racing classes . Driving the family ’ s Musi-powered LAT Racing Oils ’ 69 Camaro , Perkinson won the 2020 PDRA Elite Top Sportsman world championship with a win and two runner-up finishes . This year , he picked up

a late-season win to finish fifth in points .

“ I don ’ t understand why anyone would want to race anywhere else ,” says Perkinson , who turned 30 in September . “ I ’ ve raced everywhere . I ’ ve done the NHRA stuff . I ’ ve done local bracket racing . I ’ ve been there . And PDRA is definitely , by far the best series that I ’ ve raced . I love fast

door cars , so why not run a fast door car bracket racing ? I think it ’ s what suits me the best .”

Perkinson admits he ’ s still drawn to the allure of heads-up racing . He almost moved up to Pro Nitrous after winning the championship in 2020 , and with a former Pro Nitrous car still sporting a 959-cubic-inch engine , he has just about everything he would need to run in the headlining class . But work at the family ’ s construction company keeps Perkinson and his father , Mark , plenty busy . Plus , Top Sportsman racing just checks all the boxes .

“ In heads-up racing you have two or three winners all year long . In Top Sportsman this year , we did not have one single repeat winner ,” Perkinson explains . “ It ’ s a lot more driving involved if you ask me . It ’ s nowhere near the amount of maintenance on the car [ compared to Pro Nitrous ]. So you really get to enjoy drag racing . It ’ s kind of like the way it used to be where you go run a bracket race and you make 15 passes a weekend . No , we ’ re not doing that with our car , but we are legitimately dialing , holding a number or two , and needing a . 00 reaction time every pass . We are legitimately racing both ends of the racetrack . For me , it ’ s been really enjoyable .” DI

November 2021

DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 89