Drew McClure is a great example of the opportunity available to fans. I met Drew many, many years ago and I am proud to call him and his son, Austin, my friends. I’ m going to tell you a bit about Drew McClure.

Drew is 53 years old and is from Franklinville, North Carolina. He works as an auto and truck technician at Piedmont Truck Tires Inc. He started fixing cars while still in high school and has loved them his whole life. On this day we were at an NHRA race in Charlotte. Pro Mods were running, and as we share a passion for that class, we sat down to talk.

I asked Drew what brings him out to so many racetracks every

year.“ I always want to be where the best drag racing is happening and I’ ve been lucky enough to make friends with so many of the teams,” Drew said.

Drew was lucky enough to be able to travel and help Stevie Jackson for a few years, and collected a few trophies with Stevie along the way. That includes two race wins at the U. S. Nationals in Indy and two more wins in the NHRA Pro Mod Series.

While Drew enjoys drag racing, he has passed his passion along to his son, Austin, and many times they travel together. I remember Austin as a little kid taking in all the sights and sounds of the dragstrip. When those travels include 15 to 20 races a year, it makes for a lot of bonding time, not just for the two of them, but for the teams they spend time with. Drew is famous for his homemade ice cream, and when he brings out the ice cream maker, it does not take long for word to spread and a line to form.

I asked Drew what his favorite spot at a race is and he told me,“ The

starting line. There is no better feeling than standing next to a car at its launch, and if that car is lucky enough to make a fast pass, or to get a round win, the sense of camaraderie is better than almost anything else. There is so much to take in in the few seconds of run. It’ s amazing to be able to call these teams my family.”

When not at the track, Drew reads Drag Illustrated, watches the live feeds on FloRacing, and those of his friend, NC Promoder, Jay Warren. He also frequents the racing news websites and loves to hear from other fans. His friends list on Facebook is loaded with so many others who share the passion for fast cars and drag racing.

For my last question, there was no hesitation when asked if you could spend an hour with one person involved in drag racing, past or present, who would you choose?“ John Force, of course. The man is a legend in our sport. He has seen it all. He has built a team that includes his children, who happen to be female and love the sport as much as John. The stories that John could share, and the knowledge he has about the history of this sport is unparalleled by many others. An hour with John would be a dream. An hour would never be enough time to ask all the things I would want to.”

While Drew’ s love of drag racing is shared by many, many fans, his ability to fit in with any team and become so trusted and respected is what we love to see, and it just reminds us that we must celebrate the fans in the stands. DI