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warehouse to become a professional drag racer. Though it took him nearly 20 years to break through on the NHRA side, he became a dominant force in the IHRA, securing six Top Fuel world titles. Millican’ s first NHRA win came on Father’ s Day in 2017 when he won his home race, the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, nearly two years after the tragic passing of one of his two sons, Dalton. His 2024 win at the sport’ s biggest race, the NHRA U. S. Nationals, ranked No. 11 on the fan-voted Drag Race Bracket Bonanza Major Moments bracket ranking the most memorable moments in Top Fuel history.
But Millican’ s influence comes from the diehard fan base he’ s built through authentic interactions at the track, on TV, and online. With nearly 400,000 followers across social media platforms and another 132,000 subscribers on YouTube, he has one of the biggest followings in drag racing. That might not mean much to some, but it does to sponsors: Millican’ s partnership with Parts Plus is one of the longest running deals in the nitro ranks at 15 years. – NATE VAN WAGNEN
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Travis Harvey
Give Travis“ The Carolina Kid” Harvey a steering wheel and a starting line, and there’ s a good chance he’ ll find his way to the winner’ s circle. Harvey’ s career began at just 14 years old, racing a 1967 Camaro at Piedmont Dragway. From Top Dragster and Top Sportsman to Pro Nitrous, Pro Boost and grudge racing, the North Carolina native has built a reputation as one of the most versatile wheelmen in the sport.
His résumé includes a PDRA Top Dragster world championship, multiple IHRA divisional titles, Big Dog championships, and major big-money victories across the country. In 2024, Harvey’ s versatility as a driver reached another level when he drove 10 different cars, collected a $ 200,000 N / T win, and stepped into Khalid Al Balooshi’ s Bahrain 1 entry at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, where he defeated a trio of world champions
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to advance to the final round, ultimately winning his NHRA Pro Mod debut.
Fast forward to 2026, Harvey still hasn’ t slowed down. In June, he clocked a perfect. 0000 reaction time to capture the $ 125,000 IHRA Pro Mod Mania victory, then followed up weeks later with a second career PDRA Pro Boost win at Maryland International Raceway. At this point, there’ s no doubt Harvey’ s reputation precedes him. Whether the clocks are on, off, or there’ s six figures at stake,“ The Carolina Kid” has become the driver everyone knows can win. – MADELYN ZARON
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Matt Smith
Matt Smith’ s place among the all-time greats of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle is already secure, but his influence reaches well beyond the six world championships and 40-plus national event victories attached to his name.
Smith won championships in 2007, 2013, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022, tying Dave Schultz and Andrew Hines for the most titles in class history. He has also built Matt Smith Racing into one of the category’ s most formidable multi-bike operations, serving not only as rider and team owner, but also as tuner, engine builder, and crew chief.
That versatility has translated directly to success for others. Wife Angie Smith has become a multitime national event winner and finished a career-best third in the 2022 standings. Jianna Evaristo has developed into a consistent contender under the MSR umbrella, while John Hall has returned to prominence with the team, including a top-five points finish in 2025. In 2026, even while sidelined by health issues, Smith continued tuning from the sidelines as Angie won the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals and Evaristo recorded one of the fastest speeds in class history.
Smith has also never been shy about speaking up for Pro Stock Motorcycle. Whether discussing rules, parity, scheduling, or the
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general direction of the category, he has consistently been one of its most vocal personalities.
That combination makes Smith more than a decorated rider. He has become a builder of programs, a developer of talent, and one of the strongest voices representing Pro Stock Motorcycle from inside the class. – NATE VAN WAGNEN
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Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett
Tony Stewart’ s arrival in drag racing brought one of the most accomplished racers of his generation into the NHRA world. While he came into the sport purely to support his now-wife, veteran Top Fuel winner Leah Pruett, he quickly fell in love with the sport, its culture, its people, and the unique skills it takes to excel here. In just a handful of years, the motorsports icon has proven he can win on multiple levels in drag racing. Competing both for Stewart and against him, Pruett has further cemented her spot as one of the NHRA’ s biggest stars.
Pruett, a veteran Top Fuel winner, introduced Stewart to the inner workings of the sport during the COVID-era beginnings of their relationship before the couple launched Tony Stewart Racing’ s nitro program in 2022 with Pruett in Top Fuel and multi-time world champion Matt Hagan in Funny Car. The operation quickly became a contender, with Hagan winning the 2023 Funny Car championship while Pruett finished third in Top Fuel after reaching the winnertake-all final at Pomona.
Stewart didn’ t remain solely an owner. After finishing second in the 2023 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster standings with two national-event victories, he moved into Pruett’ s Top Fuel seat when she stepped away to start a family. By his second season, Stewart had won twice and captured the 2025 NHRA regular-season Top Fuel championship.
Pruett returned to TSR’ s Top Fuel dragster in 2026, while Stewart continued driving through
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TSR’ s alliance with Elite Motorsports. He quickly delivered Elite’ s new Top Fuel program its first victory at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona.
Their impact goes beyond results. TSR has given major partners another high-profile entry point into NHRA, while Stewart’ s mainstream recognition has exposed drag racing to fans who might never have followed the sport otherwise. NHRA itself credited Stewart with using his profile across other motorsports to promote and popularize drag racing. – NATE VAN WAGNEN
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Rickie Smith
Widely known throughout the sport as“ Tricky Rickie,” North Carolina native Rickie Smith began building his championship resume in the 1970s, where he won an IHRA Super Modified title before becoming one of the most prominent figures of Mountain Motor Pro Stock. Smith captured multiple IHRA Pro Stock world championships and became the first Pro Stock driver to break the 200-mph barrier in 1992.
When the Pro Modified class first stepped onto the scene, Smith reinvented himself once again after winning the first NHRA Pro Mod event in Gainesville in 2001 and then three championships in 2013, 2014, and 2016. He added a 2015 PDRA Pro Nitrous championship to his résumé that has, by far, made him one of doorslammer drag racing’ s most decorated competitors.
In true“ Tricky Rickie” fashion, Smith made a statement after driving his 5-second, 250-mph, nitrous-fed Pro Mod Mustang to an NHRA national event win in Comp Eliminator at zMax Dragway in 2024. Now, at age 72, age hasn’ t played a factor in slowing him down. Instead, the legend is competing in the 2026 NHRA Pro Mod season all while tuning, driving, and making his own calls. As if having more than 50 years of drag racing history under your belt wasn’ t enough, Smith is still adding to his legacy, with no end in sight. – MADELYN ZARON
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE NIEUWHOF, NHRA, RICK BELDEN, MEGAN TAYLOR, MATT LEVONAS |