Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 82

The Champions of 2019
[ NHRA NOSTALGIA
FUNNY CAR ]
Bobby
Cottrell
[ NHRA NOSTALGIA TOP FUEL ]
Mendy Fry
O
ne of the toughest moments and seasons in Mendy Fry’s life ended
up being one incredible tribute to one of her best friends. Tom Shelar and Frank
“Root Beer” Hedges gave Fry her first shot in Nostalgia Top Fuel, and Fry reunited
with Shelar in 2017, winning her first world championship a year later.
But Shelar passed away in 2019, sending shock waves through the sport and the team.
Shortly after, Fry saw something remarkable at the race shop and it turned into a dominant
end to another world championship season – and a fitting tribute to one of the most important
people in Fry’s life.
“I was completely gutted when he passed, and we all were, but I just can’t say enough about
how our team pulled together,” Fry says. “We sucked it up and got it done. I was so impressed
with the team and it started with the first workday at the shop. We said we’re going to do this.
He was such a focal point in so many people’s lives, so it was fitting that we won for him.”
There’s still not a day that goes by that Fry doesn’t think of Shelar and what he meant to
her standout career, but the emotions were particularly raw when Fry and the High Speed
Motorsports team went to Tulsa in September. Shelar died in his sleep on Aug. 21, a month
before the race in Tulsa.
Despite the emotions and Shelar’s passing still fresh in everyone’s mind, Fry and her team
came together and won Tulsa, and finished the year with a victory at the Hot Rod Reunion,
picking up five straight wins to end the year.
“Tulsa was really, really hard, but there was just incredible focus,” Fry says. “The performance
of the car was second to none. It was the car to beat.”
It has been that way for the past two seasons, as Fry has been a step ahead of everyone. She
lost in the finals at the March Meet, but became the first driver in class history to reach the 5.40s,
following up her 2018 championship with a thoroughly dominant 2019 campaign. – JOSH HACHAT
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Dennis Corn
82 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
NMRA OPEN COMP
//
John Butsko
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NMRA FORD MUSCLE
Issue 152
B
obby Cottrell started fast
and ended even better, and he
needed every bit of both to win a
second straight world champion-
ship in NHRA Nostalgia Funny Car.
With a loaded field and Cottrell needing some-
thing big to jump Jeff Arend in the standings at
the California Hot Rod Reunion, the standout
and his team battled adversity, damaged parts
and stellar competition to end up on top.
His pass of 5.675 seconds at 249.90 mph in
his ’69 Camaro gave him the victory, helping
clinch a second straight championship – one
that certainly didn’t come easily.
“This (Hot Rod Reunion) was very hectic.
We hurt a lot of parts,” Cottrell says. “Anybody
that hung around
our pits between
rounds (at the
race) knows we
didn’t back into
this. We worked
our you-know-
whats off.”
As satisfying
as the first world
title was for Cot-
trell, this one was
just as meaning-
ful. The team
won the March
Meet to open
their title defense
and again impressed throughout with a team that
starts with owner and crew chief Bucky Austin.
Getting to drive for Austin remains a surreal
experience for Cottrell, but he’s made the most of
it. Cottrell acknowledged the pressure of driving
for an accomplished team, but it’s never been
apparent. It’s brought out the best in the talented
driver, allowing him to accomplish a great deal the
past two years. Cottrell might still be in pinch-me
mode, but there’s no denying he’s been brilliant
in back-to-back years.
“I can’t thank this crew enough. To win (the
championship) back-to-back is just a dream come
true,” Cottrell says. “I didn’t even think we’d have
half the success we have had in the past few years
but I’m very thankful to the whole team. I’m real-
ly, really happy. I couldn’t have asked for a better
team.” – JOSH HACHAT
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