While my“ On the Road” column can be traced back to issue # 57( September 2011) this winding road actually began a few years earlier. Again, I was living in the moment in those days, so my recordkeeping wasn’ t as astute as it should have been. As a result, I had to dig deep into the archives, make some calls, and compare notes. That eventually revealed my earliest work with DI was found in the April 2007 edition, which was only the 11th issue to roll off the press.

I had first heard about the existence of a brand-new drag racing magazine in mid-2006 when I saw people talking about it online. With haste, I found the address and mailed my subscription dues to the“ home office,” which turned out to be a literal chicken coop in Iowa. Dave Haldin was DI founder Wes Buck’ s original business partner, and the chicken coop wasn’ t some urban legend or metaphor, but rather, an actual structure in Dave’ s backyard, which was transformed to serve as the“ world headquarters” for this fledgling publication.

Soon after subscribing, I began communicating online with Wes, telling him how much I was looking forward to receiving my first issue. Additionally, I shared with him some of my drag racing photos from the 1990s, and he published many of them in those early issues, including this month’ s column photo of Pat Moore, performing the triple nitrous purge in this gorgeous Pro Mod Camaro, owned by then-NBA basketball

star Larry Nance. I captured this image with a pawn-shop-purchased Nikon film camera in 1994, and I was over the moon with excitement at seeing these old photos come back to life in fullcolor print!

In the early 2000s, my local Pro Mod Quick-8 circuit was thriving, along with tons of other racing that goes on in my home state of North Carolina, so before long, Wes and I had struck a deal for me to begin covering some of those races and writing feature stories, which showcased some of the brightest stars in my neck of the woods. Then came the opportunity to sell subscriptions at my local tracks, which is ultimately

how I was able to leave behind my day job and begin traveling full time for DI in 2009. It was actually Dave Haldin who came up with the idea for my column a few years later, even suggesting we name it“ On the Road.”

By now, DI headquarters had moved from Dave’ s backyard to a spacious office building in Fort Dodge, Iowa. After my travelthemed column became a reality, I knew the destination I wanted to visit more than anywhere I could think of: Dave’ s backyard to see the actual chicken coop! True story. So, in the summer of 2011, I loaded up my original cargo van( aka: The DI Sprinter) and headed for America’ s

Heartland.

I hung out at the * new * home office( the nice one) for about a week, but the true highlight was indeed driving over to Dave’ s house and seeing the chicken coop where it all started. To say“ it’ s a miracle” that this magazine has seen 20 years and 200 issues is a profoundly accurate assessment, especially when one considers the shoestring budget of its humble launch.

Another memory that’ s stored in my mind forever from that trip to Iowa was when I was having lunch at a local eatery with Dave and his brother, Wyatt, when suddenly this incredibly shrill noise seemed to engulf the entire town. Dave looks up from his meatloaf and calmly inquires,“ Is that the tornado whistle I hear?” I replied( not nearly as calmly),“ Say what!?!” So, with urgency and fear for our lives, me and the Haldin brothers leapt from the table and ran out into the street to assess the situation.

I was gripped with fear when I looked up and saw this low-hanging black cloud meandering across the sky... with the menacing whistle still blaring at a fevered pitch! Just as I was preparing to stop, drop, and roll into the nearest ditch, the brothers confidentially announced they’ d seen far more perilous cloud formations than this, and suggested we go back inside and resume lunch. It’ s an amusing memory now, but at the time I was quite alarmed.

Well, the years have stacked up since then, and I’ ve traveled many miles and experienced endless adventures out on the road. The survival of this magazine – and its eventual transformation into a powerful force in our industry – sure seems to be an act of pure fate. Over the last two decades, we’ ve collectively experienced a host of economic challenges and various other headwinds, but this ship keeps sailing, and for that I’ m extremely grateful. DI