By Nate Van Wagnen

Domagala was introduced to the sport through her now-husband , Tony Stewart Racing Top Fuel co-crew chief Mike Domagala , and in a way , drag racing is also what connected the two . Michelle was working in a corporate role at Anheuser- Busch , while Mike was a crew member on the Kenny Bernstein Racing Budweiser Top Fuel dragster driven by Kenny ’ s son , Brandon . The two met at a corporate event and later married in 2006 . Knowing Michelle was looking for a way to get into drag racing to spend more time with Mike , the elder Bernstein offered Michelle the administrator position with PRO , as he was the president at the time .

Domagala accepted the offer and has held the position since then , helping to guide the board of directors and the PRO members through everything from ticketing and insurance to negotiations with NHRA .

“ On a daily basis , everything that we ’ re working on changes , so my role changes ,” Domagala says . “ It ’ s more about being prepared to look at something and say , ‘ OK , how do we take this to the next step ? Is the next step to write a letter ? Is the next step to communicate to the members ? Is the next step to communicate to NHRA ?’ I put those things into practice and keep the board informed of what ’ s happening .”

PRO is a trade organization that provides services and other benefits to the professional drag racing team owners and drivers that make up its membership . Veteran nitro tuner Alan Johnson now serves as the president , and Kalitta Motorsports General Manager Chad Head is the vice president . In recent years , the board of directors has expanded into subcommittees for topics like events and media or hospitality and ticketing to

divide the group ’ s work up among the members with specific strengths and interests .

“ I help keep all the subcommittees organized and communicating to the rest of the board as to what the subcommittees come up with ,” Domagala says . “ We ’ ve never had that before , and that ’ s actually working out very well . There are members that are better in certain areas , so they step up for those different committees .”

Those subcommittees were put to the test over the last year or so as PRO toyed with the idea of hosting its own event , then announced the event in early August , planned it for six months , and executed it February 8-10 at the SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout presented

by Johnson ’ s Horsepowered Garage at Bradenton Motorsports Park .

Suddenly , Domagala went from a quiet role behind the scenes to working with an ever-expanding group of stakeholders to launch a world-class motorsports event . The conversations , decisions , and teamwork were beyond anything Domagala had experienced in the past .

“ It helped me to grow and to do things that I didn ’ t realize I could do ,” says Domagala , who stresses that the PRO Superstar Shootout was a huge team effort . “ By working with every detail of it , you can see it all happening and coming together . I will say it was certainly out of my comfort zone . I grew more in this last year than I probably have grown maybe the entire time I ’ ve been there .

Working with other board members and the general membership and being a part of something that had never been done before that turned out to be incredibly successful was really rewarding .”

Outside of PRO , Domagala also works in the sport through Premium Motorsports Products , a business the Domagalas launched in 2014 . Inspired by Mike ’ s work with international Top Fuel teams , PMP sources and ships parts and equipment for racers and small businesses like chassis shops and engine builders in Europe , Australia , the Middle East , and beyond . Michelle uses her communication and marketing background to help grow the business through relationships with customers , vendors and partners like DHL , while Mike focuses on finding the products customers need and preparing them for safe and efficient shipment .

“ As a whole , we ’ ve been able to create something that was really a dream of ours ,” Domagala says . “ From the very beginning , the goal was to help teams when we realized that this was a gap in the industry . To be able to fill that gap has been very , very rewarding because not only have we helped the teams , but we ’ ve made friendships through all of that too .”

The past year has been an educational one for Domagala . The PRO Superstar Shootout and the behind-the-scenes efforts that brought it to life gave her an opportunity to try new things and step out of her comfort zone . The results have been fulfilling .

“ I would just encourage others to step out of their comfort zone at some point too , because I think often we sit back and we just say , ‘ Status quo is fine ,’” Domagala says . “ I ’ m one that leaned towards that for however long , even though we started our business from the ground up . It ’ s just been very rewarding to see ideas come to life and to be a part of PRO versus working for PRO . I ’ ve enjoyed meeting with the board and being included in the conversations .” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WADE CARIGAN