business, and they met the way two competitive people in the same line of work tend to meet: by arguing over whose product was better.“ Pretty much it was an argument between the two of us for about a three-to-sixmonth period of who’ s got the better flowers,” Gunner says.
The two became business partners of sorts, bonding over their shared passion for drag racing. Poland, though he enjoyed racing with Winder, was looking for a more robust racing schedule, which coincided with Gunner’ s plans.
At the time the long-travel front suspension movement in no-prep racing was starting to take off, and Gunner’ s“ Magic” Mustang was most definitely a part of it. He got the attention of Michael Hollis and Barrett Green, who approached him about filming an episode of Street Outlaws in Oklahoma. A few days after he got home from that, he got another call asking him to film a new Street Outlaws spinoff, Fastest in America, in Las Vegas. Gunner’ s next call was to Poland, who signed on immediately.
Earlier this year, Gunner started driving Jeff Miller ' s infamous screw-blown
“ Bumblebee " Camaro tuned by his son, Patrick Miller, seen here reviewing data after a pass.
“ It was one of those deals where we were all just barely making it work,” Poland says.“ I was working for a local plumbing company and doing some stuff in my hometown. For him to be able to race in Las Vegas, it took a group effort. We all were staying in one hotel room and splitting the cost and doing everything we could.”
Gunner didn’ t yet have the national notoriety that the other racers on the show had, but that was about to change. Having grown up grudge racing and gambling at Yello Belly Drag Strip and Texas Raceway, Gunner knew how to talk the talk.
“ All this grudge racing stuff that I did growing up prepared me to talk on the TV show,” Gunner says.“ We get out there on the TV show and me and Kye Kelley are giving each other hell, along with his buddy Smoke. They started calling me‘ Jimmy Dale’ and I told them,‘ It’ s Big Jim to you.’ That’ s how I became Jimmy Dale.”
The next year, 2023, Gunner and Poland raced together extensively. Gunner, who was working at Nitrous Express, was encouraged to start a YouTube channel by Bill Hoskinson of the Old Man’ s Garage on YouTube.“ He said,‘ Man, every day that you don’ t start a YouTube channel, you’ re burning 500 bucks.’ He’ s like,‘ You can do this. You have the personality for it. You need to start making YouTube videos.’”
Gunner took his advice and filmed his first video that January. He chronicled the team’ s success that season, which saw them win 14 events but not come away with much to show for it.
“ Poland looked at me at the end of the year and he’ s like,‘ Man, we killed it this year,” Gunner says.“ And I’ m like,‘ Yeah, we made 30 grand this year, but the sad part is I spent 30 grand to race. We broke even. I didn’ t make a single dollar. The amount of money that I started the year off with is the exact amount of money I have right now.’ Poland said,‘ Well, we need to do our own race.’”
The duo launched Small Tire Gangsters at Yello Belly, which led to
From Texas to the East Coast and all points in between, Gunner and Poland log plenty of miles racing“ Fifty " and putting on Lil Gangstas events- often at the same time.
96 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated. com Issue 201