Drag Illustrated Issue 118, February 2017 | Page 80

TheHOTTEST2017

“ I see my parents 24 / 7 . I ’ m on the road with them all the time , which is awesome to have that time together , especially since my dad was gone quite a bit when I was little .”

their nitro racing journey at Randy Meyer Racing . Randy is able to offer input from his experience as a driver , tuner and team owner for over 30 years , while Megan ’ s memories of starting out are still fresh enough that she can closely relate to the true beginners .
“ To be able to learn from Randy and Megan is amazing ,” says Ashley , who plans to run a moderate schedule of races this season . “ I really couldn ’ t ask for a better situation . Megan drives and Randy drove , and they both did it at such a high level , so it ’ s very helpful to be able to pick their brains and ask them questions because I ’ m very new to this whole thing , driving-wise and mechanical-wise . Getting that feedback from them is crucial . And even when Megan is in the car driving , I can go to the line and watch how she goes through the procedures . That in and of itself is a big help for me .”
Meyer ’ s eagerness to encourage and inspire fellow young drivers isn ’ t limited to Top Alcohol Dragster . Between racing at over a dozen events around the country and maintaining an active presence on social media , Meyer comes into contact with legions of Junior Dragster drivers and fans who aspire to be in her position one day .
“ It ’ s been great to be that mentor for guys that are wanting to get into Top Alcohol but also for guys and girls who are waiting to get into Junior
Dragster . It ’ s fun having those fans come up to us and say , ‘ Hey , I just got a Junior Dragster . What can we do to get started ?’ Or someone who has no idea how to get started in racing but see the Junior Dragsters at the track and see the Super Comp dragsters and the door cars and then they see us and know that we ’ ve transitioned through those classes . It ’ s just great to have that experience with the newer drivers , to be able to share the advice that I ’ ve learned over the years with those who are wanting to get into racing or maybe someone who ’ s wanting to move up in classes .”
Appearing on Meyer ’ s dragster as main sponsor for 2017 is Meyer Truck Center , a builder and distributor of wreckers , rollbacks and other towing equipment . The family-owned company , with locations in Olathe , Kansas , and Oklahoma City , has been the major backer of Randy ’ s racing operation for most of his career , though it took second stage to Racers Evolved , a fledgling racing apparel brand Megan partnered with for her rookie season . While Megan still likes the Racers Evolved products , she ’ s chosen to return to her dad ’ s usual program of having several associate sponsors backing the team . This allows for greater flexibility – a necessity when the team ’ s cars are regularly rented out to several different drivers who all bring different marketing partners to the table .
“ We have quite a few smaller sponsors coming on board with us this year . That ’ s what we want to focus on . We don ’ t really want to have one big main sponsor that we have to worry about . We like having a bunch of smaller sponsorships so that way we can just have the freedom to do whatever we want . If there ’ s a certain event or display that we need to do , then we have the freedom to go and do that ,” Megan says .
Some of those associate deals are coming from the usual motorsports-centric companies like Lucas Oil and Team Racepak . Others are centered around education , a field full of potential sponsors Meyer was able to break into through her college experience . Most notably , she worked with Pitsco Education to design “ fold-n-roll ” dragsters , a foldable cardboard dragster cutout that educators can use to teach students about topics related to science and technology . Another education partnership will see the Randy Meyer Racing team host a vocational school student as a crew member for the weekend .
“ We have a new company called Technician Academy joining us , which is a really cool company that is focused on the technicians of today and tomorrow and how we can modernize the education forum . I ’ ll be doing a few things with them this year . I also have Pitsco Education coming on board , which is where the fold-n-roll
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