In March 2024, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox announced his retirement from professional football after 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. After playing college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Cox was chosen by the Eagles in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Over the course of his career, he appeared in six Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls, playing a pivotal role in the Eagles earning their first Lombardi Trophy in 2017. Drag racing fans knew that while one chapter of Cox’s competitive career had ended, another one was about to begin.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #196, the State of Drag Issue, in September/October of 2025. Cox earned his first career win in Pro Street in the rain-delayed PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown completed at DragWars at GALOT Motorsports Park.
Cox grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and developed a passion for drag racing and fast cars through his late older brother, Shaddrick. He raced as much as he could before his football career took off and he had to pass the driving duties on to other wheelmen. The Cox Racing team gradually stepped up from grudge racing to classes like X275, NMCA Street Outlaw, and Pro 275. They won the 2017 NMCA Street Outlaw championship, set a Pro 275 E.T. record in 2021, and made moves into Pro Mod.
A year into his retirement, Cox returned to the driver’s seat to prepare for his debut in Liberty’s Gears Pro Street presented by Menscer Motorsports. With crew chief Phil Shuler and the Killin’ Time Racing camp preparing his Musi-powered “Training Day” ’69 Camaro, which previously competed in no-time events, Cox earned his competition license in the days leading up to the second race on the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour, the Mid-Atlantic Showdown at Virginia Motorsports Park.
Unsurprisingly, Cox was a contender right out of the gate. At Virginia, he qualified No. 5 and picked up round wins over fellow rookie Mikey Sasina and 2023 world champion Bill Riddle before losing to 2023 Super Street world champion Blake Denton in the semifinals. He then qualified No. 1 out of 20 cars at the North vs. South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway, adding another round win there. Another statement followed at the Northern Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, where Cox dropped jaws with his 3.829-second blast in the final qualifying session. Quicker than the current class E.T. record, Brian Weddle’s 3.864, it was more than enough to give Cox his second straight low qualifier award. He followed that up with another semifinal finish.
Days after Cox’s nitrous combination received a hefty weight penalty, Drag Illustrated spoke with Cox in an interview covering the success he’s had already and his goals for the future, which include a 2026 move to WS Construction Pro Boost presented by P2 Contracting and Ty-Drive.
How long has it been your plan to start driving after you retired?
It was always in the works; it was just a matter of when. We started digging and figured some stuff out. We didn’t want to go out and buy a car to fit me. We have the new Pro Boost car being built, but at the same time I wanted to figure out a way to get some seat time in. We had an idea that I could fit in the car comfortably and be safe and feel safe, but we needed to put it all together. We brought the car down to RK Racecraft and got fitted on a Sunday. Got everything done and got my license and did it all the right way. Made my licensing runs at Rockingham, then went up to Virginia.
What made you decide PDRA Pro Street is where you were going to get started?
Talking with crew chief Phil, we knew where we’d be weight-wise with the car. Pro Street, I was just right there knocking on the door. We made some changes to the car and a lot of great guys put their minds together and said, “We’re going to make it work.” I didn’t want to go out and buy a Pro Mod because it was going to be hard to find a car to fit a big guy. We all came together and we made it work.
You made it to the semifinals your first race out, then qualified No. 1 at the next two. Did you expect to have that much success out of the gate?
We expected success. We all want to be successful and didn’t want to go out there and stink the joint up. We knew the car would run good and be competitive in the class. Especially with Phil Shuler. He ran 33×10.5s on the Shadow, on the shorter wheelbase car. I think a lot of people forget that. He did that years and years ago and was successful at it.
But the biggest part was not doing anything crazy. Not trying to speed me up quicker than what I should’ve been doing. The biggest thing for me and the team was to get me comfortable in the car – knowing where I’m at on the racetrack, knowing when to lift my foot, knowing to get my ‘chutes out on time – those type of things before we really sped me right up. I say that, but then we come out at the first race and go 3.98. Things just started to align and we got a handle on the car and we’re having fun doing it.
Your reaction times have been very solid. How important is it to you to make sure you’re doing your job as the driver?
It’s so important especially when you have the guys I have on my team: “Nova Joe” Albrecht, who’s been driving for years, and Andy Mac, another guy that’s a part of the team, drives his own race car. Jeffrey [Barker] is always lending a hand. I take advice from all these guys. Phil’s never been in a race car, but he’s been around it long enough to give advice on a lot of stuff.
I got beat on a holeshot at Virginia. I’ll get better with more laps in the car. I just try to stay on top of it. I just get in my zone when I get in that car and I’m just locked in.
Is there anything you learned playing football that you’ve used in racing?
Just making quick decisions and then trusting what your gut feels, not what the person on the outside of the car feels or what they see. It’s OK to lift. My deal with football was, “It’s OK, everything’s not going to be perfect,” but if you want to be really good at something, you just attack it, and that’s what I do. I want to someday be a really good race car driver. The only way I can do that is keep getting better at making really good decisions like I did with my football career.
You’ve already accomplished a lot in just a few races. What are your goals for the rest of the season?
We have a whiteboard in the trailer and the goal is always to qualify No. 1 and win the race. We’ve been checking the No. 1 qualifiers box and we’ve made it to semis and went some rounds in a really tough, competitive class, but we need to check that last box. We’ve got no quit in us, so we’re just going to keep striving to check that last box.
You have a Pro Boost car coming together. Why are you taking that next step?
The new car is called “Fixed Income.” It’s a ’69 Camaro and it’s been under construction for almost two years now. Shuler, KTR, and the whole group will be putting our minds together on this new car. The reason I decided to step into Pro Boost is because I like the competitiveness. That’s where I want to be. I want to be up there and race with the Ken Quartuccios and the Jason Harrises and the Steve Kings and the whole Salemi team. I want to be competitive and run against those type of guys because they’re at the top of the chart.
What do you hope to accomplish in Pro Boost next season?
We’re hoping to have the car ready for the start of the PDRA season. The goal is to race for the championship. That’s everybody’s goal and that’s going to be my goal – go in there and try to race for the championship. We’re going to show up with our game face on and enjoy the racetrack. It’s a family-oriented place to be, but at the end of the day we compete to hold up that PDRA 660 Man at the end of the weekend and give a championship speech at the end of the year.
Cox thanked his team, family, friends, and partners like Menscer Motorsports, VP Racing, Diamond Pistons, LAT Racing Oil, Neal Chance Converters, and Straight Line Media.
