Drag Illustrated Issue 151, December 2019 | Page 94

30 UNDER 30 / 2019
JOEY HAAS
■ NOSTALGIA DRAG racing may be seen
as an older man’s sport, but 28-year-old Joey
Haas is paving the way for younger generations.
Following in his father’s footsteps since he was
14, Haas now drives a ’71 Mustang Funny Car, a
fuel altered and a front-engine Top Fuel dragster.
“I guess I’ve just been groomed in the nostalgia
stuff,” Haas says. “I think at times I grew up in
the wrong generation. Then again, I think I’m
just supposed to carry it on.”
The dream scenario occurred last year when
Haas raced against his father, Joe, at Funny
Car Chaos. “Obviously I wouldn’t be racing if it
wasn’t for him. He was the best teacher I could
have,” Haas says. “It was a big moment, but we
knew it was coming at some point.”
Not content with running just one class, Haas
built a ’34 Ford body to sit on the Funny Car chas-
sis and run at fuel altered events. He’s already had
success with it, winning the World Fuel Altered
Nationals “B” field in both 2017 and 2018.
“It was big,” Haas recalls. “I don’t think you
get a lot of respect until you’re over 30. I think
you’re expected to fail in a way. So it was good to
be able and go out there and win.”
Haas also stays busy driving Steve McClain’s
“Tri-State” front-engine Top Fuel dragster, qual-
ifying sixth at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in
Bowling Green, Kentucky, in his rookie season.
Although Haas is currently embedded in the
nostalgia world, he believes modern racing is
where he’s being led. His goal is to soon be li-
censed and racing in either NHRA Top Fuel or
Funny Car. “I’m trying to step up on the ladder
while I’m young,” he says. “I’ve got this window
here, and I need to move on it as much as I
can.” – C R A I G CO O
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PRESTON ‘PEEPS' PENNINGTON
■ PRESTON “PEEPS'
PENNINGTON grew up
immersed in the sport of drag
racing. His dad and two older
brothers were drivers, and he
started racing his dad’s road-
ster when he was just 15. From
then on, he knew he wanted to
race for a living, and he’s made
that dream become a reality.
After graduating college
with a mechanical engineering
degree, and a very impressive
3.93 GPA, Pennington told his
dad that he wanted to go rac-
ing full time. His dad agreed
to the idea, thinking he would
run out of money eventually.
Pennington says that when
he was about to graduate col-
lege, he had an interview with a potential em-
ployer and he gave them his racing schedule
for the coming summer. “I basically needed the
whole summer off to go racing, so that job didn’t
work out,” he remembers. “I knew I wanted to
race for a living, but if that didn’t work out, I
could go to work somewhere.”
And so far, it’s worked out well for the 28-year-
old Texas racer. He and his two brothers usually
travel to every race together. They also start-
ed a used car dealership in 2015, which allows
him the flexibility he needs to travel and race
full time.
While Pennington says that he’s won a lot of
really cool races, the Spring
Fling Million he won in April
earlier this year is a high-
light of his career. “There is
so much prestige that comes
with winning one of their rac-
es,” Pennington says. “And I
was able to be there with my
dad, who doesn’t come racing
with us as much anymore, and
I was driving one of his cars. It
made that day even more spe-
cial. We will spend the money,
but the trophy and that mem-
ory of my family being there
will last forever.”
Pennington says he has a
lot more accomplishments
left on his list, including tak-
ing home a win at the original
Million Dollar Drag Race in Montgomery, Ala-
bama, and winning the U.S. Nationals in Indi-
anapolis. He’s also an avid Pro Mod fan, flying
to Denver each year to watch the World Series
of Pro Mod race, and he’d like to get behind the
wheel of a Pro Mod one day.
– A L LYS O N J O H N S O
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