Drag Illustrated Issue 191, November / December 2024 | Page 149

BRANDON

McGEE

LIKE MANY drag racers , Brandon McGee grew up going to the track with his family . Now , at age 24 , his family goes to the track with him — where he drives , as he puts it , the baddest All-Steel , All-Glass ( ASAG ) car in the country .
McGee is best known for piloting his 2002 Camaro that seemingly never loses . He ’ s won some of the biggest ASAG No-Time races in the country with it , including No Mercy 14 and Jacob Harper ’ s Southern N / T Nationals . On the rare occasion when he doesn ’ t walk away with the trophy , it ’ s because the event was called prior to the finals or semifinals and the drivers split the prize money .
“ I would be very confident in saying it ’ s one of the baddest [ ASAG cars ],” says McGee . “ The baddest nitrous car by a long shot , and one of the baddest overall . Someone ’ s always coming out with something better , but I think at this point in time , it ’ s one of the baddest for sure .”
McGee first decided he wanted to jump into the ASAG pool 5-6 years ago , when he took over driving a green ‘ 69 Chevelle that had been passed down from his grandfather to his father , and then on to him . But like with any heads-up class ,
money allowed the elapsed times to advance beyond what the Chevelle could produce .
“ I ran 4.80s in that car five years ago ,” McGee says . “ The class has really progressed , and as it got faster , we got to the point where we realized we just couldn ’ t compete with it . So we just came out with something a little faster every year . Now we ’ re at the point where others say the Camaro is pretty much a Pro 275 car with power windows .”
As his career has progressed , McGee has jumped into class racing as well . After discussing options with his tuner , 2017 DI 30 Under 30 honoree Jamie Hancock , they ultimately decided to run Ultra Street in the Radial Outlaw Series . Within three races , McGee ran 4.49 in the Mustang he put together , just . 06 away from the class record .
Whether he ’ s class racing in the Mustang or running his N / T Camaro , one thing has always remained constant throughout McGee ’ s racing career — the family aspect to his team . He recalls his father taking him to the track before he could even walk , going together every Sunday despite not always having the funds to actually race . And that mindset has carried on as an adult .
“ Our deal is a family affair ,” says McGee . “ My dad ’ s involved , my brother-in-law ’ s involved , my girlfriend Evie , my cousins — my cousins are my crew . We don ’ t have a big-budget team , so all of my family comes together to help me . My dad is obviously the biggest part of everything that I do . He wants to be the best in everything we run , so he always makes sure I have the best equipment — and I ’ m forever thankful for that .
“ We also have really good people behind us ,” McGee continues . “ The reason everything in our program is the way it is is because of Jamie Hancock . He ’ s my tuner and a really close friend of mine . I wouldn ’ t be where I ’ m at without him pushing me and making our cars as consistent and fast as they are .”
So where does McGee go from here ? He already has one of the quickest ASAG cars in the country , and an Ultra Street car that has become a contender seemingly overnight . Well , if McGee has his way , his next big challenge will involve a set of big tires .
“ My biggest dream is to run Wes Buck ’ s Pro Mod series ,” says McGee . “ If we could come up with one and get an invitation , we would put all our effort into that . Everyone always says Top Fuel , and that would be great , but my dream is to drive a Pro Mod , even if it ’ s just for one pass . That ’ s my life goal .” – CRAIG COOK DI
November / December 2024 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 149