“ Being away from fuel racing for two years allows me to look at things differently and bring a different perspective . You learn things from other forms of racing such as Pro Modifieds , Drag Radial , and Outlaw cars , that apply to nitro racing .” - PHIL SHULER

BACK IN BLACK : Tod Barker , driver of the nitroinjected “ Back in Black ” Corvette Nostalgia Funny Car , throws up the deuce before strapping in for a pass at Nitro Chaos .

BOTTOM BULB BEAST : Tom Aretakis Jr ( center , holding trophy ) became the first racer ever to win Mid Michigan Motorplex ’ s $ 50k Super Pro event while leaving off the bottom bulb , quite a feat considering the race is now in its 29th running . Aretakis took home an additional $ 10k by winning Thursday ’ s opener .

SEEING DOUBLE : NHRA Top Fuel title contender Brittany Force signs hero cards for fans at an autograph session for Flav-R-Pac , one of her primary sponsors and the title sponsor of this year ’ s NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle .

TUNER TALK : Three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown has a quick conversation with co-crew chief and nitro veteran Mark Oswald before starting the warmup procedures at a recent NHRA national event .

BROTHERS OBERHOFER : Veteran nitro tuners Jon and Jim Oberhofer pose for a quick photo together in the staging lanes at Pacific Raceways . The brothers grew up in nitro racing , working with a variety of drivers and teams . Currently , Jon is a co-crew chief on J . R . Todd ’ s DHL / Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car , and Jim tunes Clay Millican ’ s Parts Plus Top Fuel entry .

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE MCHUGH , TARA BOWKER , DYAN LOVER , VAN ABERNETHY , AND NHRA

62 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 178