dragillustrated . com

SPECIAL REPORT

SEMA Board Members Tackle RPM Act , Industry Growth and International Expansion

BIRDMAN

SPEAKS

No-Prep Superstar James Finney Lays Down the Law

Cameron

Ferré

Southern California ’ s First- Generation Nitro Junkie

Make Drag Racing Great Again

From the printed magazine to the Drag Illustrated Facebook page – the good energy is hard to ignore . Congratulations on practicing what you preach – DI is Making Drag Racing Great Again . Thank you .

Ron Smith , via the Internet

[ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES BUCK REPLIES : Thank you so much for noticing and acknowledging our efforts here , Ron . The sport of drag racing and its growth and prosperity is a teamwide passion and mission here at DI . We ’ re trying hard to make sure that we leave this sport we love so much better than when we arrived on the scene in 2006 .]

Hooked Up

What an impressive piece on Mickey Thompson ’ s Tommy Kundrick in DI 114 . As a longtime bracket racer , I admit that I ’ m not as tuned into the drag radial scene as maybe I should be , and I ’ m stunned / surprised / interested in the technology that is going into these tires . This guy knows his shit !

Dave Baker , via the Internet

Bright Future

PLUS

Bob

Rahaim

Harry Hruska

Shannon Morgan

Jason Miller

Tommy Kundrik

Loved seeing an absolute gem of a young man like Cameron Ferre on the cover of Drag Illustrated . As Wes Buck said on his Facebook live show in recent weeks , it ’ s amazing

that Cameron has made all this progress in his racing career – making his Top Fuel debut and even going a round , taking out Tony Schumacher in the process – without being the product of a multi-generational drag racing family . That ’ s a testament to this young man ’ s passion and drive , and it ’ s great to see in a young person in 2016 . Thanks for telling the story .

Nick Olson , via the Internet

Would love to see some more from Cameron Ferre , perhaps even something technically focused on how to better use and make the most of your data acquisition system . I ’ m a lower budget racer that has to buy stuff second-hand , and I think there is a lot of us in racing that would love to see some very RacePak-focused technical articles .

Larryl Washington , via the Internet

[ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES BUCK REPLIES : Don ’ t worry , Larryl . We got you . Stay tuned to DragIllustrated . com and your email inbox in the coming weeks and months !]

Birdman , No-Prep

Not sure how I feel about Drag Illustrated publishing a story on someone who readily admits to illegally street racing a twin-turbocharged Pro Mod . I know it ’ s been talked about before in many places , and I am well-aware that it happens and there ’ s likely no stopping it from happening , but holy crap … that was a bit sobering to read . Isn ’ t that car capable of running in the three-second zone ? And he literally races it on the street ? What planet are we on ? Anita McDonald , via the Internet

The undisputed KING of no-prep drag racing deserves ink , and I ’ m thrilled that Drag Illustrated pulled the trigger on this story and gave a great guy , great racer and awesome race car the publicity it deserves . It would seem to me that Birdman , and the reasonably attainable

ex-Pro Stock / Top Sportsman single frame rail Pontiac Firebird he races , has been a big part of the reason no-prep drag racing has taken off the way it has .

Shannon Morgan is the undisputed queen of no-prep drag racing , and the originator of this kind of racing – without question . It ’ s awesome to see all these events popping up across the country , but you just want to see the person that laid the foundation for so much of it get the credit they are due . You can also ask just about anyone that has ever been to a race Shannon is involved with and they ’ ll tell you she runs a tight ship .

Jay Baker , via the Internet

Promotional Excellence

Good work on the Jason Miller feature . It ’ s good for the sport as a whole that we have young event promoters and organizers that are trying to change with the times . Amongst the many problems that face sports of all types , but especially drag racing , is the tenancy to keep doing things the way they have always been done , and I think it ’ s worth mentioning that there are some promoters in drag racing , and people in general for that matter , that are trying to stay current , change as the world changes and come up with new ways to capture

the attention of racers and fans , new and old . I see tracks struggling in many parts of the country , and if you ask them about their email list or about their social media efforts

or about their relationship with the racing media , well , they hardly know what you ’ re talking about . Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing .

Stuart Quinn , via the Internet

Michigan Man

Kudos to Josh Hachat for the incredible story on NHRA Pro Mod racer Bob Rahaim and his familybased race team . Nice to know that there are other racers out there that take such great pride in involving their kids in their racing , and also to know that there are pro-level racers out there – that guys like me aspire to be like – that hold their team and their own self to high moral standards . Awesome . Thank you !

Trent Allen , via the Internet

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