A casual rain-delay conversation in the Rick Ware Racing pit at Pomona may have produced one of the most surprising storylines heading into 2026: Street Outlaws star Jeff Lutz appears to be on track to make his first laps in a Top Fuel dragster next season.
The revelation came straight from RWR team owner Rick Ware and Top Fuel driver Clay Millican during Millican’s latest YouTube video chronicling the bizarre, rain-soaked NHRA Finals weekend. With the event crawling toward an inevitable cancelation, Millican and Lutz found themselves killing time in the pits – and that’s when Ware dropped the bombshell on camera.
“We’ve talked about it for a long time,” Lutz said, standing next to Millican as the rain came down. “Every time we get a chance, we’re always busy or something’s going on, but we’re getting to the point where we’re going to have some fun. I’d like to try it. I’d like to just say, ‘Hey, I got my Top Fuel license.’”
Ware didn’t hesitate to make it clear this isn’t wishful thinking or some offhand joke. “At some point, this man’s going to make some passes,” he said. “I’m just saying. And I’ll put it out there. We can start all the internet talk. You heard it here first.”
Lutz, who has built one of the most respected careers in street-car and small-tire drag racing – from “Drag Week” to “Street Outlaws” to his own high-end fabrication shop – didn’t play coy about the challenge. He admitted he’s watched Millican’s in-car footage “over and over,” studying the hand movements, procedures, and chaos of the cockpit.
“I watched him in Vegas,” Lutz said. “There’s a lot going on in that cockpit that I’ve never done, and I’m up for the challenge. It’s going to take a little bit of time to watch and learn. He’s got 30 years of experience in that car.”
Millican lit up at the idea of helping transition Lutz from street icon to 11,000-horsepower nitro pilot – and said he believes the veteran hot rodder has exactly the mentality needed to adapt.
“He’s a hardcore racer,” Millican said. “And if nothing else, what a storyline, right? I think with everybody I know, we can make this happen.”
The natural next question was timeline, and the video delivered that too. When asked if this could become reality as early as next season, Lutz and Ware gave an unequivocal yes. The expectation is that Lutz will make at least a burnout – and possibly more – during the 2026 NHRA season.
“It’ll be done in the next year,” Ware said.
Millican doubled down: “If we talk at the In-N-Out Burger Finals in 2026, this guy will have had at least a squirt in a Top Fuel dragster.
This story was originally published on November 17, 2025. 
