Drag Illustrated Issue 118, February 2017 | Page 12

Counterweight
e
The CHAMPIONS Issu
when there
are many
deserving.
That said, I
think you
guys made
the right de-
Eckman &
Orndorff
cision with
Pro Stock Veterans’
Unscripted Reunion
Dewayne
Mills. Down
Brandon
Snider
to earth and
my
Tom
humble, but
Franklin
also a fierce
Ron
Capps
competitor
Jay
and
ac-
Cox
complished
driver – I
dig it. Also,
I have to
admit that
it was cool
to see a
N M C A
champi-
on on the
cover of
DI. Nice
shot in
the arm for all those great street
legal drag racers.
Rod Woodward, via the Internet
dragillustrated.com
DeWayne
Mills
est
‘Big Daddy’ is the Badd
Man on Drag Radials
Big Daddy
(DOT Approved
Version) to
the Front
Huge congratulations to De-
wayne Mills for making the cover of
Drag Illustrated. Mr. Mills was
over-the-top friendly to my son and
I when we visited his trailer last fall
at Donald Long’s No Mercy event
in Valdosta, Georgia. Typically I’m
not one to go to the races when I’m
not racing myself, but having heard,
read and seen all about this race for
the last few years, I knew we had to
take the time to attend and witness
the insanity firsthand. Mills’ trailer
was one of the first we stopped by
and I couldn’t believe how talkative
and personable Dewayne was. I was
pleasantly surprised when I opened
the mailbox and saw him smiling
at me.
George Grisham, via the Internet
I have to imagine the end of the
racing season presents a significant
challenge for you guys – picking
out a single champion drag racer
to go on the cover of the magazine
12 | D r a g
[EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WES
BUCK REPLIES: Great to hear
from you, Rod. You’re exactly right.
We do have our hands full when
it comes to choosing who we put
out front of our Champions Issue.
I have to admit that I have only
recently gotten to know Dewayne
Mills very well, and am even more
satisfied with our choice to have
him represent the best drag racers
in the business on the cover of our
magazine. Here’s a guy who has
raced the same car for decades
– taking it from a cruiser to a
seven-second outlaw street car to a
dominating, three-second Outlaw
Drag Radial doorslammer – and
is more than happy to thrash all
night to make it to the next round.
He’s a tremendous dude and most
assuredly deserving of all the
success that comes his way on and
around the drag strip. Glad you
feel the same way!]
I have to say that my mind is
blown that you don’t have Ron
Capps on the cover of your Cham-
pions Issue. I’m sure I’m nowhere
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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near as disappointed as he is. All
those years coming in second place
and he finally seals the deal and…?
Allan Nuckols, via the Internet
Another drag radial-related
cover story? Seriously? There might
be room enough up there to add
“Radials” to the title of this maga-
zine. I think it’d fit over there over
“Illustrated”. SMH.
Dennis Maxwell, via the Internet
[THE EDITORS REPLY: SMH?
Does that mean “shaking my
head”? We’re not sure. We were
under the impression acronyms
such as that were only to be used
in text messages or rants on
social media. Regardless, check
your local listings. We’re able to
identify one, maybe two (techni-
cally), radial-related cover stories
over the course of the last year.
Cameron Ferre? Scott Palmer? Jeff
Verdi? Mike Janis and Mike Janis,
Jr.? Jonnie Lindberg?]
What Happens
When…?
Noticing more “pressing issues”
type material on the pages of Drag
Illustrated and your website.
Good work. I believe these type of
things need to be done more of-
ten. I appreciated your article on
DragIllustrated.com examining
the potential for a nitrous oxide
shortage in 2017 and, on the heels
of that above-average investigative
reporting, was curious if the team
at DI has an expressed plan to do
more stories like this? One I’d love
to see on the pages of the magazine
is a look at the potential fallout the
NHRA would experience on the
heels of a John Force Racing, Don
Schumacher Racing or Kalitta Mo-
torsports downsizing or departure.
I understand that it’s not a popular
subject, but the fact that drag rac-
ing’s two most mainstream and pop-
ular categories continue to struggle
with car count has