National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel racer Clay Millican is a friendly fellow. He answers questions thoughtfully, tells interesting anecdotes about growing up (and still living) in his small community back in Drummonds, Tennessee, and is excited to show pictures of his parent’s small grocery store that he worked at before becoming a professional racer. But there’s one question you can’t ask him, one question he was sick of hearing, and now, one question he never has to hear again: When are you going to win?
After being close-but-no-cigar for every race weekend going back to when he started out on the NHRA circuit in 2007, he’s finally a champion. And if there was ever a race to win, it was last week’s sweet victory in front of the home state crowds at the Bristol Dragway in Bristol Tenn., during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The race was special for a lot of reasons— in addition to being in his backyard and being his first major win, it also happened on Father’s Day, not so long after he lost his son Dalton in a non-racing-related motorcycle accident. Before one of the races, a fan had approached Millican to give him a Motocross racing chest protector that his son had autographed once upon a time. “You might not believe in those things,” Millican says, “but I sure do.”
Now, as he heads into the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, which run Thursday, June 22–Sunday, June 25 at the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (1300 OH-18, Norwalk), the only thing he’s focused on is having “100 percent fun.”
We were fortunate to sit down with Millican and get to hear about living life a quarter mile at a time— and driving 300+mph while doing it.
How did you get started in racing?
We’re a racing family, it’s all I learned to do. It was right place right time. I convinced a young man that he needed to own a professional team and that he needed to let me drive it. That’s my life’s story in about two minutes.
How hard is it to be a professional racer?
I wasn’t a youngster in any stretch of the imagination when i became a professional race car driver, but my wife told me, ‘If you don’t chase this 100 percent, you’re gonna regret it.’ For better or worse, I quit my job (driving a forklift at a Kroger) with its health insurance and 401 and all those normal things that came with it, and started chasing the dream. There’s nothing easy about it; there’s so much more that goes along with it that people don’t think about. I don’t care what you win at the racetrack, you can’t pay for what it costs to do it. This is a very sponsorship-driven sport. I’ve very quickly learned you have to find sponsors and do a good job to keep them, because there are not any companies out there anymore that will just write a check to put a sticker on your car. The real hard part of my job is taking care of sponsors who are taking care of us.
How sweet was it to win in Tennessee?
It was obviously a longtime coming, all the runner-ups we had. We were tied for third all-time in NHRA for runner-ups. 254 starts in the NHRA without a win, which was a record I didn’t want to have. Everything about what happened last Sunday was meant to be. (Since) I lost a son, Father’s Day isn’t a day I look forward to at all. I try to avoid all the text messages and stuff you get, all the Happy Father’s Day texts and stuff, but everything last week was set up to be special.
Did your son’s death affect your racing?
It didn’t affect my racing so much as it affected my entire life. You look at things a little different, you appreciate things a little more. Everybody gets into a normal routine and that kind of thing never happens to you, it happens to someone else. Putting the helmet on, that was something Dalton did every week of his life. He was a Motocross racer, he raced all over the country and then he became the driver of the Blue Thunder monster truck. He traveled the world putting the helmet on. I literally raced the following week after we lost Dalton. A lot of people were like, ‘I can’t believe you came,’ but that’s who we are and what we do. We are a racing family.
Do those thoughts come into [my] mind when [I’m] sitting in the car? Sure. But when they do, I think that is exactly what he’d want me to do. He would be mad if I stopped racing.
What do you love about racing at Norwalk?
Man, I love Norwalk. I’ve been racing here over 20 years. I’ve been coming here since before I was a professional racer, I’ve been coming here since I was a Sportsman racer. Even before this track was sanctioned by the NHRA, I’ve been coming here because the Bader family who owns the track, they are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They are the greatest race promoters in the entire United States. Y’all having this racetrack here, it’s just something that you’re used to. But from a guy that travels the circuit, this is a special place. The Bader family treats every racer with the same respect. They do so much to make sure that every fan who comes to their raceway has a wonderful time. The grass is perfect, the parking attendants are nice to you, the bathrooms are spotless. Especially the ladies. And this might sound silly, but everybody knows nationwide about the dollar-a-pound ice cream. You can go to the concession store tomorrow and there will be a line a half mile long for dollar-a-pound ice cream. I got here on Wednesday and my crew guy was like, “The ice cream stand is open. And we beelined over there because there wasn’t a line. It’s a must-do at Norwalk. Y’all must have the ice cream over there. It’s just little things like that, that make Norwalk special.
What separates drag racing from all other sports?
Drag racing is separated from all other forms of motorsports, because we’re accessible. If you buy a ticket, you can come right to the pit and watch the teams work on the cars. You can’t do that in NASCAR, baseball, football, you’re not going to get to hang out in the locker room with the competitors. Drag racing, you can. We go make a 330mph run, you literally can leave the grandstands and come watch the teams work on the cars. You can’t do that anywhere else. Drag racing is the ultimate fan sport.
Can you explain the feeling of going 328mph to non-racers?
There’s nothing I can give you to equate to that. It’s not the speed you feel, it’s the acceleration— how quickly you get to that 328mph. Astronauts don’t feel that being launched. Fighter planes being launched off of aircraft carriers, it’s not anything near as quick as these things go. Any sports car you want to think of, thewy top 0-60 in three seconds. Our cars are 0-328mph in 3.7 seconds. I love Cedar point, I love roller coasters, but I’ve never found anything comparable.
Do you speed when driving regularly?
I’m not a slowpoke on the highway, but I don’t drive fast because no matter how fast I drive on the freeway… I don’t do this, but let’s say you drive 120mph. The Top Fuel cars do that in one second. It’s not fast to me. It’s cheaper on speeding tickets and insurance to not drive fast. It doesn’t thrill me to drive fast on the highway, because it’s not 328mph.
You’ve hosted a few television shows, what do you like more— hosting or driving?
Definitely driving. I’ve always loved doing those (television shows), but I did those because it helped the sponsorship. If you’re with a sponsor long enough, they associate the face with the sponsor. Everything I’ve been doing has been car related in some way. If you asked me to do something else, I’d probably struggle at it. They’re fun though; a lot more work than people think.
Do you get to visit Ohio much when you’re out here?
I don’t. There are so many pieces to getting ready for a race. I have been to Cedar Point, and I’m a fan of the Mud Hens. I’m not just saying that because of where we are. The truth is, I love MASH. Klinger was big into the Mud Hens, so that’s what makes me a Mud Hens fan. And that’s the truth.
Is it still a thrill being out on the track?
Absolutely. If you ever reach a point out on the track where it’s not a thrill, you probably should retire. These things are dangerous, they’re explosive and you gotta wanna do it. There are a lot of people who have the talent, but they don’t get to do it, so I appreciate every time I put my helmet on.
Head out to Summit Racing Equipment Nationals on Friday, June 23 to watch Millican and his fellow Top Fuel racers run qualifiers at 6:30pm at the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 1300 OH-18, Norwalk.
