Parker started out helping Ellington in 2010 with simple responsibilities like checking the tires in the same 1955 Chevy that Ellington’ s son, Aiden, now races in Lil’ Gangstas. Drag racing was already in Parker’ s blood prior to that, however; his dad raced before he was even born, and as he got older, Parker started messing around with a 2007 Chevy truck sprayed with nitrous.

“ I’ ve always been into drag racing,” says Parker.“ When I met all these guys with Street Outlaws, they thought the truck was cool, and they invited me out to some street races. It was the only vehicle I had for about five years, so if I broke it Saturday while we were out street racing, I had to fix it Sunday so I could get to work on Monday.”

Parker admits he was just a hobbyist with no mechanical background prior to joining Murder Nova’ s team, typically working with LS-based platforms in his driveway. After helping Ellington on his own for five years, he was officially hired

in 2015 to handle the team’ s social media. From that point on, his status in the drag racing world has continued to climb.

“ Once I got to be around all of this on a daily basis, my mechanical knowledge grew exponentially,” Parker says.“ I’ m a sponge. Over the last 10 years I’ ve just soaked up everything I could possibly learn about how engines and suspensions work. I’ ve taught myself how to tig weld. I’ ve learned different strategies for getting down the

track or street. I haven’ t gotten into how transmissions work yet because that stuff is voodoo, but it’ s on my list.”

Over the past 3-4 years, Parker’ s role expanded to that of crew chief, working together with tuner Brandon Stroud. With Ellington needing to focus on driving and interacting with fans, Parker took it upon himself to continue gaining knowledge through observation. With a new focus and mindset, the team of self-proclaimed

PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF, DAVID HILNER, AND MARKALE EPPS / RADICAL SPEED