THIS YEAR , Taylor Iacono Nobile pulled off an extraordinary feat at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Reading when she scored her first national event win in Super Comp . So much about the outcome on Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway was unexpected for the 23-year-old racer , but perhaps most notable was the fact that the car was not her usual ride , and the class was not her usual class .

“ I happened to borrow my sister Tori ’ s Super Comp dragster for the national , and the driver I had to beat in the final was my uncle , Lee Ream . It was his first final round , too ,” explains Nobile , who got the job done at her family ’ s home track while still campaigning the last name Iacono .

“ Winning that national event was something I ’ d dreamed about doing since I was a little kid . I ’ d watched my aunt hold up a ton of Wallys in her career , my dad , my uncle has runner-upped . It was just a dream of mine to win .”

Nobile is a third-generation driver , and her grandparents on both sides have been involved in racing their entire lives . Her parents , Amy and Tony Iacono , met at the racetrack , and her

mom is one of three sisters – including multitime Top Alcohol Dragster Northeast regional champion Jackie Fricke – who each married drag racers .

Nobile recently acquired a new last name of her own following an exchange of wedding vows with Pro Stock standout Vincent Nobile .

“ We ’ ve always joked that if I didn ’ t marry a racer , I ’ d probably be cut out of the family ,” she laughs . Crisis averted , because not only does Nobile get to maintain her position in the Iacono family tree , she also brings flourishing new branches as her husband is slated to join the team next year in a Super Comp dragster .

The Iacono / Fricke / Nobile pits will be booming with race cars , but Nobile ’ s main focus will continue to be Super Street , a class in which she was runner-up at the JEGS SPORTSnationals in Epping in 2020 .

“ I have four division wins in Super Street , and my goal is to win the division championship ,” says the driver who began her racing career at the age of 8 in Jr . Dragster .

“ The best thing about drag racing to me is getting to do this with my family every weekend ,” states Nobile . “ Racing is so special , but to be able to do it with your family and have their support all time , it just brings everyone closer together . Now , adding Vincent ’ s family to this , it ’ s like a family reunion every single weekend .” – KELLY WADE DI

GAVIN CARTER ’ S story doesn ’ t revolve around growing up around the sport , hanging out in the pits at an early age . In fact , his introduction to drag racing came at 15 years old , parking cars and working the concession stand at Memphis International Raceway simply because he needed a job .

It ’ s now become a career in the sport , as Carter worked up the ranks and is now invested full-time in drag racing as the NMRA / NMCA Racing Operations Manager . The 25-year-old Carter moved into that role a year ago , finding his place in a sport he knew nothing about just 10 years ago .

“ When I first started , I needed a job and I had never even been to a dragstrip before ,” Carter says . “ But for me , I like the competition side of it . I grew up playing sports and seeing that transpire in a new realm was really cool . I started off going to bracket races and learning about all the different classes and realizing these cars go so fast . There ’ s so much involved behind-thescenes and that was really interesting to me . That hands-on experience made me want to explore it even more .”

Carter is now fully entrenched in the sport in an instrumental role on the operations side with the NMRA and NMCA . The two series enjoyed a strong year in 2021 , as Carter noted they received some great racer and fan feedback throughout the year .

Racer participation was impressive through-

out the year and Carter played a pivotal role , working with racers and sponsors in between races to help create the best possible experience for everyone during the events .

It ’ s an arduous task , but Carter has enjoyed every minute of it . To him , it ’ s a way to concisely improve and make things better , even if there is truly no offseason .

“ It ’ s more than just showing up to the track . These races take weeks and months of preparation ,” says Carter , who also spent time working for the PDRA in race control . “ I kind of look at it as a chess match and what moves do we need to make to make it the most successful event to date . We ’ re constantly trying to improve and we want to see improvements in everything we do . We ’ re extremely excited about some of the things we ’ re going to do next year , too . It ’ s going to be really cool .” – JOSH HACHAT DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICK BELDEN , TARA BOWKER