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By Nate Van Wagnen
A win at the prestigious NHRA U . S . Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park over Labor Day Weekend is one of the most sought-after awards in drag racing . Some drivers feel their career wouldn ’ t be complete without one , and more than a few drivers would say they ’ d rather have an Indy win over a world championship . With all that considered , it ’ s no surprise that Clay Millican ’ s post-win-light celebration in his Arby ’ s Top Fuel dragster could nearly be heard from the starting line when he defeated Steve Torrence in the final round of the 70th Toyota NHRA U . S . Nationals in early September . Millican joined DI ’ s Wes Buck , Mike Carpenter , and J . T . Hudson on The Wes Buck Show just a few days after his monumental win to talk about the victory , everything that led up to it , and the moments that followed .
Millican started by sharing a little bit of his
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backstory to help convey just how meaningful the Indy win was for him .
“ I grew up in little bitty Drummonds , Tennessee , which is where I still live ,” Millican said . “ I grew up in a grocery store . Mom and Daddy didn ’ t have no money . But we all loved drag racing – the whole family . Not just drag racing . We loved motorsports . My oldest son is named Cale , if that tells you anything , after Cale Yarborough . We loved motorsports .”
Like many in the sport , Millican got his start in drag racing through bracket racing . He quit his job as a Kroger fork lift operator when he was offered the chance to move up to Top Fuel in 1998 . He never looked back , going on to win six world championships and 51 national event wins in IHRA competition . For the last nearly 20 years , he ’ s focused on NHRA competition , with an Indy win and a world championship at the top of his to-do list .
“ Peter Lehman gave me an opportunity in a Top Fuel car , and that ’ s been 26 years ago ,” Millican said . “ There ’ s been a lot of amazing nitro
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burning in between there . A lot of incredible highs and some amazing lows . For everything to come together on Monday the way it did was an absolute , total lifetime to get to that moment , that final round .”
The marathon U . S . Nationals weekend started in dramatic fashion as well . For one , Millican ’ s Rick Ware Racing team unveiled a brand-new Arby ’ s livery on their Top Fuel dragster ahead of the first qualifying session . Knowing an Arby ’ s executive was on the grounds – and all eyes were on the car wrapped with the major mainstream sponsor – Millican was determined to make a strong first impression in the opening qualifying session . He accomplished that goal , just not in the way he planned .
“ At about 2.8 seconds into the run Friday night , the butt-o-meter said this thing ’ s not happy ,” Millican remembered . “ The ego meter said , ‘ You ’ ve got Arby ’ s standing on the starting line . Drive this thing all the way to the finish line .’ And I did . And it blowed up . It was blowed up good . We didn ’ t oil the racetrack and all those things ,
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID BEITLER AND NHRA |