Drag Illustrated Issue 151, December 2019 | Page 96

30 UNDER 30 / 2019 CHRIS GARNER- JONES ■ LOSING A CHAMPIONSHIP on the final day of a successful eight-race season is a trying experience, and even more frustrating when it happens twice. That’s what happened to Chris Garner-Jones this year when he fell to 2017 and 2019 PDRA Pro Nitrous Motorcycle world champion Travis Davis in the semifinals at the PDRA World Finals. Rather than pushing Garner-Jones to frustration, the experience only inspired him to look ahead. Plus, Garner-Jones, who turned 30 earlier this year, realizes he’s racing against veterans who have years of riding experience and data on him. “Being not really new to drag racing, but new to actually doing the work and having to ride, it’s hard to stay consistent,” says Garner-Jones, whose motorcycle is tuned by his younger brother, William. “These other guys, they’ve been doing it for a long time and it shows. I guess that’s why it’s so challenging, but I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Garner-Jones started riding drag bikes only six years ago, progressing from a Suzuki GSX-R100 to a Top Gas bike before hopping on a Pro Mod bike formerly campaigned by his father, T.T. Jones. He’s since excelled in the PDRA’s lone motorcycle class, as well as on the local level at the fam- ily’s Huntsville Dragway in Alabama, where he won in two classes at the King of the Crown race this year. That level of performance also helped Garner-Jones lock down an international ride. He joined brother William for a tuning gig in Bahrain last year, and when the primary rider was injured in an acci- dent, Garner-Jones was given the chance to ride. He deliv- ered a career-best 3.95-sec- ond pass on his first of two runs. The Alabama native re- turns to Bahrain this winter to run a full season. “I feel like we have a lot of stuff to finish,” says Gar- ner-Jones, who dreams of rac- ing NHRA Pro Stock Motor- cycle one day. “The two passes that we made, we hurt the bike on both passes. I feel like we can go way faster than that with more testing and more laps down the track. They race in perfect conditions [in Bahrain]. I’m very excited.” – N AT E VA N WAG N DI E N DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI ALLIE AND CODY BLAND ■ ALLIE BLAND'S first experience with drag racing came on a trip to the U.S. Nationals at 18 years old, distinctly remembering Doug Kalitta warm up his Top Fuel dragster in the pits. Her then-boyfriend, Cody, who was well-versed in the World of Outlaws scene, soon joined her, sharing an immediate passion for the sport. They’ve been married for eight years now, but while locations, teams and duties have changed, the one constant is that the sport remains an important part of both their lives. Allie is a media relations manager at the NHRA, and Cody spent 2019 as the clutch guy for Austin Prock’s Top Fuel team. While the pair of 29-year-olds have far different tasks on the road, being entrenched in the sport has allowed both to thrive – both professionally and in their relationship. “It’s a world that means so much to both of us,” Allie says. “You need to have that passion and it’s something we both understand. We both enjoy it a lot and we’re very fortunate the two of us are on the road together.” Adds Cody: “It’s pretty cool that you can talk about work in a way that isn’t necessarily like your everyday couple. A lot of people wouldn’t understand it, but you can talk about work and it’s cool to share that passion.” Life on the road for half the year can put a strain on relationships when one half of the rela- tionship is staying home, but the traveling circuit has enabled the Blands to bring out the best in their abilities and still spend ample time together, as both earned spots on the 2019 30 Under 30 list. Allie started at Impact Racing before moving to Don Schumacher Racing in 2015, handling a vari- ety of social media duties. She began with NHRA at the start of this season, bringing a noticeable jolt of energy and enthusiasm to the public re- lations and communication department. That infectious passion has rubbed off on everyone in media centers across the country, which lets Bland know she’s flourishing in her role. “My theory is I want to treat people with kind- ness because I want eyeballs to see the NHRA,” Bland says. “If I can try to treat everybody well and educate everyone on NHRA and create a fan, that’s pretty cool.” Cody has dabbled in a little bit of everything on the mechanical side, building an impressive and diverse resume starting his experience on cylinder heads at Kalitta Motorsports. He followed by working on superchargers with Al-Anabi Racing and then Alan Johnson Racing before moving to Tony Schumacher’s DSR team in 2016. He built engines for the Army squad for three years, going to Prock’s team early this year after Schumacher wasn’t able to secure a sponsor for 2019. He moved to the clutch on Prock’s team, show- ing an uncanny ability to fill a number of key positions. Prock was named NHRA’s Rookie of the Year – and is also a 30 Under 30 recipient in 2019 – as his team came together quickly in short order this year. That part was a thrill for Bland, who has con- tinued to make a name for himself. “Being diverse definitely helps,” Bland says. “This was my first year doing the clutch, and it’s another learning curve, but being in all these situations certainly helps.” – J O S H H AC H DI AT DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI 96 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Issue 151