received a completely unexpected text message in early December from drag racer and fellow North Carolinian Chris Croom when he sent me a photo and asked , “ Hey , isn ’ t this your old Sprinter van ?” As I opened the attached photo , my heart literally began to race with excitement . I couldn ’ t believe what I was looking at : the original DI Dodge Sprinter van that I retired after the 2017 season and sold to a man from around the Raleigh area who told me he wanted to do some local food vending with it .

The last time I saw the DI Sprinter , it was pulling out of my driveway eight years ago , headed to its new home . Naturally , I had tons of questions for Chris regarding the whereabouts of my beloved vehicle . Turns out , Croom was working at a jobsite near the Outer Banks of North Carolina , when he happened to look next door and see a vehicle that looked oddly familiar , weather-worn and sinking into the earth . I ’ m not sure the vehicle was used for very much food vending , as it looks to have been planted in its current resting spot for a while .

The story of how I first acquired this vehicle is one I ’ ll always look back on fondly , having first laid eyes on it 16 years ago by way of an eBay auction ! It was located in northeastern New York , and was listed on eBay by a local dealership . One glance at this vehicle and I knew I had to have it , so I began placing bids until I outlasted all the other interested parties and won the auction !

Afterwards , I bought a oneway plane ticket to Albany , New York , and the folks at the dealership were kind enough to pick me up at the airport . We did the paperwork later that same day , and I left New York driving my new toy . I had never so much as sat behind the wheel of a Sprinter van before buying this one , I just knew I wanted

one to drive around the country to drag races ! I researched the cargo dimensions and realized I could fit a golf cart in the thing , along with tons of other gear without having to tow a trailer .

It was refrigeratorwhite in color ( as most of them are ) so I commissioned the supremely-talented Chuck Chapman ( who ’ s painted many race cars in the area ) to spray an eye-catching design dreamed up by famed motorsports artist Eddie Hollon . I couldn ’ t have been more pleased with the outcome , and the DI Sprinter made its public debut at the Shriners Drag Racing and Hot Rod Expo at the Greensboro Coliseum in early 2009 .

D . I . COLUMNIST

My local Farmington Dragway was the first of many ... and I do mean MANY dragstrips I visited in this vehicle . Soon after I got it , I struck out to Baytown , Texas , for an ADRL race , then embarked on an extensive trek through the Midwest . Each winter I ’ d migrate South and hit some races , and I ’ d always take the scenic route home by way of Highway A1A , which runs alongside the ocean in Florida .

I made that trip many times , and would occasionally even drive the Sprinter on the beach in Daytona . One of the hotel groundskeepers assured me I wouldn ’ t sink , and thankfully I never once got the thing stuck ... at least not on the beach ! One time late at night , I decided to park on the side of the road beside the ocean and let the waves put me to sleep , and indeed , it was rather peaceful until about 3:30 a . m . when a member of law enforcement began banging on the side of the vehicle , politely informing me I couldn ’ t sleep beside the ocean in a cargo van . Who knew ?

I have great memories of driving the Sprinter up to New Jersey ’ s Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown for Dave Hance ’ s Shakedown at E-Town . Afterwards , I ’ d drive up to visit my relatives in north Jersey . Even though my roots are deeply southern , I ’ ve enjoyed visiting New York City over the years . I used to drive the Sprinter through downtown Brooklyn , and even though it ’ s a pretty culturally-diverse locale , the DI Sprinter would still get some inquisitive looks !

After eight years of chasing races in the thing , the Sprinter had just over 439,000 miles on the odometer , and understandably , it was beginning to be slightly unreliable . I remember telling the guy who bought it that it would likely do well in a local food vending situation , but I was ready to retire it from crosscountry driving . I always wondered how things turned out for the man and his food vending endeavors . I hope he got a few good years out of this vehicle , ‘ cause it sure played an important role in my first eight years of chasing races full-time for Drag Illustrated .

To me , learning the whereabouts of this vehicle is the loose equivalent of the excitement someone else might experience by pulling a vintage Funny Car out of a barn ! And while from the looks of things , this old van has definitely seen its better days , the same could even be said about yours truly ! Regardless , I had some of the best times of my life chasing races in this worn-out cargo van . DI

70 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 192