so many aspects of drag racing. It reaches many corners of our world and digs deep into the people side of things, which I love so much. DI pioneered the Women of Power issue, established 30 Under 30, made the Crew Chief and Sportsman Special issues a regular thing, and so much more. Working alongside editor Nate Van Wagnen and his team, I feel like we’ re saying to the people in this community,“ We see and respect how hard this is and that you’ re doing it anyway.” I think that matters on a scale much larger than racing.
JAMES SISK
Staff Photographer
� SISK
“ ARGUABLY THE GREATEST MEDIA OUTLET IN DRAG RACING, BUT STILL HAS A GRASSROOTS FEEL ABOUT IT.”
content for the magazine, and the next thing I know he contacted me for some images and also to get some shots of Frankie Taylor for a potential cover photo. The rest, as they say, is history, and I have enjoyed all that this relationship has brought.
� How and when did you join DI?
In April 2013, Nostalgia Pro Stocks were coming to Sikeston, Missouri, for the inaugural“ Back Arrow Cup.” Bret Kepner was writing a story on the show and asked me to do the photography to accompany the story. Bret and I met at Sikeston a few years before that.
� Do you have a favorite or most memorable issue?
June of 2014, my first two-page spread. Then in 2016 I had my first and only writing published.
� What’ s your favorite memory of working with DI?
I don’ t know if it is any one thing. People have come and gone over the 13 years or so I have been involved, but the core group is like a family. Arguably the greatest media outlet in drag racing, but still has a grassroots feel about it.
� What are you most proud of when you think about your own involvement with DI?
The fact that my day job has kept my travel and participation to a minimum the last five years or so, but I am still able contribute with archived photos and be included in the conversations. That’ s about to change, though.
� What are you most proud of when it comes to DI’ s involvement in the sport?
How often do we have to retract something because someone jumped the gun and incorrect information is published? Never.
DI doesn’ t just report on the sport. The company has become a respected contributor to the sport through the World Series of Pro Mod and the Winter Series.
And a little personal point of pride, when you roll up to the gate and tell them that you are there from Drag IllustrateD, they are generally excited to know we are there to cover their event. That makes you feel good about who you are associated with.
JOE McHUGH
Staff Photographer
� How and when did you join DI?
I can’ t remember the exact date, but I believe it was around 2009 or so. I had a conversation with Wes Buck at an ADRL race in Houston, Texas, about racing and possibly supplying
� MCHUGH
� Do you have a favorite or most memorable issue?
Probably my first cover issue, DI 44, but really any issue that I am blessed to have my images published in to help tell a story and contribute.
� What’ s your favorite memory of working with DI?
Without question, being part of the team that put on the first WSOPM at Bandimere Speedway in 2017 and that whole experience. Especially since I grew up in Denver and went to that track as a teenager. I have yet to experience anything like that event since. It was one of a kind.
� What are you most proud of when you think about your own involvement with DI?
That I have been able to contribute to substantive articles and stories related to a sport I absolutely love, and the relationships I have developed because of that.
� What are you most proud of when it comes to DI’ s involvement in the sport?
That they tell it like it is and focus on the people that make the sport what it is, and the thoughts and opinions that may be outside the“ box” but spur conversation and ideas to better the sport. DI
“ THEY TELL IT LIKE IT IS AND FOCUS ON THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE SPORT WHAT IT IS...”
May / June 2026 DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 145