Interviews
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DI Classic: The Sonny Leonard Interview
Legendary engine builder Sonny Leonard passed away Sunday, January 10, 2021, at age 77. News of Leonard’s passing...
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DI Q&A: Randy Meyer
Randy Meyer has guided his drivers to nearly every accomplishment imaginable in the NHRA’s Top Alcohol Dragster class....
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DI Roundtable: Doorslammer Racing’s Most Versatile Tuners on Thinking Outside the Box
Justin Elkes had spent 15 years in Pro Stock, which accounted for thousands upon thousands of runs. He...
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DI Q&A: Tuner Frank Gugliotta on Chasing Wins, Records with JR Carr in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock
Frank Gugliotta has experienced his fair share of highlights behind the wheel of an 800-plus-cubic-inch Mountain Motor Pro...
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DI Q&A: Randy Meyer Talks 5.09-Second Top Alcohol Dragster Record
Randy Meyer has guided his drivers to nearly every accomplishment imaginable in the NHRA’s Top Alcohol Dragster class....
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DI Roundtable: Bracket Racing Promoters on Thriving Through Uncertainty
A remarkable thing happened this summer. Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause and a disruption on...
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DI Interview Issue: Jim Howe Jr. Has His Sight Set on No-Prep Racing
Jim Howe Jr. is a man on a mission. While his supercharged ’68 Camaro bears the small logos...
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DI Interview Issue: NMCA/NMRA’s Rollie Miller on Adapting and Overcoming
As the general manager and national event director for the NMCA and NMRA, Rollie Miller is accustomed to...
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PDRA Pro Nitrous World Champion Jim Halsey Is in Defense Mode
Jim Halsey’s life is practically consumed by drag racing. He and Cathy Crouse, his girlfriend of over 30...
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Second Wind: NOS Co-Founder Mike Thermos Continues to Innovate with Nitrous Supply
When it comes to nitrous oxide-assisted drag racing, Mike Thermos is considered one of the originators. He co-founded...
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DI Interview Issue: Steve Huff Reflects on 200 MPH Record Pass in Electric Dragster
If there’s a conventional route to running an electric dragster, Steve Huff surely didn’t take it. With a...
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DI Interview Issue: Keith Haney on Throwdown in T-Town’s Success After COVID-19 Shutdown
When Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park announced it would not only host its popular Throwdown in T-Town race,...
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DI Interview Issue: ‘Stevie Fast’ Has Been Doing His Homework
Stevie “Fast” Jackson has been able to get his Radial vs. the World fix during this ongoing COVID-19...
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DI Interview Issue: Paul Lee Just Wants to Race
Paul Lee’s story is about racing. But it’s also about friends and family, and maybe most importantly, perseverance....
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Two Shots to Shine: T.J. Zizzo Reflects on NHRA’s New Two-Qualifying-Session, Two-Day Race Format
Top Fuel veteran T.J. Zizzo is feeling good and these days, well, that means a lot. In the...
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Former VP Racing Fuels Exec Jim Kelly Enjoying New Career as Author
When Jim “J.K.” Kelly retired from his management position at VP Racing Fuels late in May 2015, he...
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Change of Plans: PDRA Co-Owner Judy Franklin Staying Positive Through COVID-19 Pandemic
Judy Franklin just wants to go the racetrack. It’s a place that’s increasingly become a second home for...
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Pro 275 Drivers Explain Why the Class Is Attracting Radial vs. the World Cars – and Fans – by the Droves
By virtue of a few rule changes, Pro 275 has unearthed a whole new world of possibilities. With...
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DI CLASSIC: John Force – The Drag Illustrated Interview
It’s been a minute since my last sit-down interview with John Force – almost eight years – and...
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DI CLASSIC: ‘Big Daddy’ Knows Best
Outside Don Garlits’ central Florida home, which sits on 20-acres of ground just off of I-75 in the...
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In It to Win It: Is 2020 Chris Rini’s Year to Break Through for a PDRA Pro Nitrous Win?
Longtime nitrous Pro Modified racer Chris Rini enjoyed a career-best season in the PDRA’s Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous...
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Warren Johnson Biography to Hit Shelves in Late 2020
The life and career of NHRA Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson is being chronicled in a new biography...
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Alex Laughlin Tries His Hand at No-Prep Racing at Winter Meltdown 4
Alex Laughlin is known in the sport of drag racing for driving almost anything. Whether it’s Pro Stock,...
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DI INTERVIEW: Monty Mikho Looks Back on 10 Years of Yellowbullet.com Nationals
This year marked the 10-year anniversary of the Yellowbullet.com Nationals, held over Labor Day weekend at Cecil County...
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NMRA Champion Haley James Plotting Return After Season-Ending Crash
Over the years, Drag Illustrated has watched many young stars come up in the drag racing world with...
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Top Fuel Fan-Favorite Scott Palmer is Right Where He Wants to Be
The first – and only – race Scott Palmer attended as a spectator was a NHRA national event...
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Tyler Crossnoe Reflects on First Shakedown Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park
The Comp Cams Shakedown Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park has come and gone. With it came a revolutionary...
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Tony Gillig Returns to Racing With Throwback Olds Cutlass in PDRA Pro Outlaw 632
Tony Gillig made a name for himself racing in IHRA and NHRA Pro Stock in the 1990s, driving...
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Bo Butner: The Drag Illustrated Interview
Bo Butner was standing in line, preparing to board on a plane – a drill he repeats hundreds...
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DI Q&A: Clay Millican
Former IHRA Top Fuel titan Clay Millican appeared on the cover of DRAG ILLUSTRATEDin May of 2017, just...
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FINESSE: Michael ‘Cowboy’ Biehle Discusses Art of Driving a Turbo Pro Mod
From a nitrous-equipped Comp car to driving in the Outlaw 10.5 class and now his current place piloting...
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Past PDRA Jr. Dragster World Champion Preston Tanner Graduates to MX235
The feel-good story of the weekend at the Premier Street Car Association’s Heads-Up Hootenanny at Gateway Motorsports Park...
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Mark ‘The Cowboy’ Pawuk is Back in the Saddle
It’s been more than a decade since veteran drag racer Mark Pawuk has gone after one of NHRA’s...
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Q&A: Cruz Pedregon Talks Single Car Teams, Track Prep, and Speaking His Mind
Without question, Cruz Pedregon is his own man. The longtime Funny Car standout does things his own way...
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Twist & Shout’s Paul Pittman Driven by Passion for High-Quality, Innovative Products
A life in racing has served Paul Pittman well, both on and off the track. Racing in a...
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Justin ‘Lil Country’ Swanstrom Dishes on $15,000 Grudge Races, Having Fun and Racing with Dad
Justin Swanstrom sits in his pit area at Darlington Dragway with his feet kicked up in a fold-up...
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Returning to Site of First NHRA Top Fuel Victory Has Millican Excited for Bristol
In what was one of the most thrilling moments of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season,...
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DI CLASSIC: The ‘Snake’ and ‘Mongoose’ Interview
Drag racing icon Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen passed away Sunday, June 10, 2018, at 81 years old. While...
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Q&A: Mickey Thompson’s Tommy Kundrik
Mickey Thompson Tires and Wheels has been synonymous with drag radials, and all things racing, really, for over...
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KING OF THE JUNGLE: Tommy Franklin and his ‘Jungle Rat’ Rule Pro Nitrous
A fresh layer of snow coats the sidewalk as Tommy Franklin walks up to the office occupied by...
