E3xtreme Presents: 50 Most Influential People in Drag Racing Part Five

We have reached the final installment of our list. This wraps up the list of who we determined are the 50 most influential people in drag racing. As with any list, there are discussion on who was in and who wasn't. This wasn't a countdown and was done in no particular order. Thank you for taking the time to read all five parts. 

40. John Kolivas – Co Founder KBX Racing

If you are anywhere near small tire racing, you have heard of John Kolivas by now. John, who was a longtime NMRA racer and World Champion decided a few years back to step away from driving and work on making everyone else go faster. He has accomplished that in spades. Before everyone talked about banning the Bruders combo, it was the KBX rule. John has shown that he can make damn near anything go quick and win races. KBX makes power in some of the quickest small tire cars in the country. The KBX crew, including Justin McChesney, have been making an absolute assault on X275 and Ultra Street in the last few years as well. Surprisingly, when you ask John if he misses driving, he states that he absolutely doesn’t. Look for more record performance from the KBX crew in 2018.

41. Bruton Smith – Track Owner

Mr. Four Wide himself. The owner of Zmax, Bristol, and Vegas, Bruton spends more money in drag racing than just about anyone. His tracks are some of the most beautiful in the country. There seem to be a lot of detractors when it comes to 4 wide racing, yet it is one of the most exciting fan experiences in the sport. Bruton decided to take the infamous Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which was already an amazing track and widen it into a 4 wide track this offseason. So now we will see Charlotte and Vegas host NHRA 4 wide events. If you ever make it to a track like Charlotte, you will also see design features that set Bruton’s tracks apart from others. Pay attention to the seating at Charlotte sometime. Bruton is willing to spend money in the industry at a time when many others aren’t.

42. Danny Topol – West Coast Hot Rod Association

There is really no argument. Hot rodding started on the west coast. This was years before politics came in and started to dismantle our industry. Year after year we see more and more races, but they are usually east of the Rockies. After Mel Roth made a move to Colorado, and ProMedia closed their NMCA West series, it’s Danny that is left standing with the West Coast Hot Rod Association. Danny is pretty much taking it upon his shoulders to continue the drag racing tradition on the west coast. So whether you are in Legas, Tucson, or anywhere else out there, you’d better make sure to follow and support those that keep carrying on the tradition.

43. John Medlen – Safety Guru

What if you suffered the most significant loss you could ever suffer as a parent, the loss of a child? Who you carry on or hang it up? Well that is exactly what happened to John, when he lost his son Eric in a freak drag racing accident March 19th of 2007. Instead of walking away from the sport that took his son away from him, John took on the role as a leader and innovator when it comes to safety. John has spent countless hours since that loss working on making drivers safer in the car. The widening of the area around the driver’s head, along with padding and other advances that he has been at the forefront of. In fact, his safety work is credited to saving John Force’s life during his 2009 crash. We are talking about car that accelerates to 300 mph in less than 4 seconds from a dead stop.  That means that there is a good chance it took you at least 3-4x longer to read this paragraph than it would take a nitro car to get down the track.

44. Street Outlaws

Now before you all lynch me for including them you should hear me out. Most know that I am not a huge fan of the concept or the show. The facts are undeniable though, they have had some of the most influence in our sport over the last five years or so. They are putting butts in the seats at tracks, they are getting company names out there. They have become celebrities. My personal opinion set aside, you can see the influence that the stars of this show have whether it be on social media, at the track, at industry shows, or on TV. I have my hopes that they can turn tv fans into true drag racing fans in the future as well. The influx of new drag racing fans would be very welcomed.

45. Leah Pritchett – NHRA Superstar

Very few drivers have been the face of a national ad campaign. Even less when we are talking about the NHRA. Yet Leah has shown her selling power to go along with her driving prowess. In 2017 Leah was wheeling the Papa John’s backed Nitro Dragster. While doing that, she was featured in nationwide Papa Johns ad’s in print, online, and television. Some have this notion that Nitro drivers just play nice with their fans while standing behind the comfort of their ropes. Some of that may be true, by certainly not with Leah. I can tell you personally that after Leah’s win at Houston this year, she was still taking photos with fans after the backdrop was taken down and everyone else was packing up. If you talk to her crew guys, they all love her because of how real and how great she is to them. Few drivers have as much crossover appeal between women and men like Leah does. Her influence on the sport, her fans, and the ad world is continuing to grow and showing the way for others.

46. Eric Shanks – President Fox Sports

Where exactly would we be without Fox Sports at this point? It was glaringly obvious over the years that ESPN had absolutely no interest in NHRA, or drag racing in general. There would be an ongoing joke every weekend over the summer, “what will we get bumped for this time?”. Sometimes it was little league baseball, or underwater basket weaving, etc. Then came the deal with Fox Sports, which changed the drag racing scene. Drag racing was finally being carried by a company that actually seemed to care about the product. The production level has increased 100-fold. Add the fact that the Pro Mods get their own show and have huge numbers there as well, it shows that Fox Sports, Eric, and his entire team gave drag racing the respect it deserves.

47. Mark & Joanne Walter – Livefeed Founders

Mark and Joanne Walter have been on the drag racing scene for years, and what most people don’t realize is that they are the originals when it comes to live feeding a drag race. For years they have been the ones bring live streams of drag racing into our homes and onto our phones. Not only were they the ones to open the doors on bringing it into our homes, but they are also there for the drag racing community when it comes to needing some spiritual guidance. The two of them continue to stay on the frontline of live media in drag racing. Without these two, we wouldn’t get to see 90% of the races that we see today. Their professionalism is second to none as well. They singled handedly influenced how races are covered and how media as a whole has changed as well.

48. Justin Burcham – Founder JPC Performance

Mod motor drivers for years were considered the red headed step children of drag racing. Justin has managed to change a lot of that. His company JPC Racing has been an innovator when it comes to modular powered Fords. Justin seems to be the first to any milestone when talking about modular engines. Rich Groh handles most of the engine builds, while Justin’s team designs and builds Mod Motor hot rods. Outside of the pro mod area, JPC is a trendsetter in the modular world. When you go to the JPC website, it’s like the Jegs of the modular world. Mod motors have been around since the early 90’s and first in a Mustang in 1996. That means we have had this as a performance option for 21 years now. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 2V, 3V, 4V, or Coyote, Justin is making parts and making people go fast.

49. Ryan Milliken – Diesel Drag Racer

When you think of small tire racing, you don’t always think of diesel powered hot rods. Apparently, Ryan didn’t get the memo on that though. His hot rod has been the talk of small tire races for the last couple seasons. Thinking outside the box is something that drag racers tend to do so that they can get that edge. Diesel drags are a big deal, but now he has made going small tire racing with one an option, which brings in another group of potential racers, as well as fans and sponsors. Lately, Ryan has taken his skills to management though. He is a managing partner at Emerald Coast Dragway as well now. We expect to see some great diesel drag racing in Florida in the near future as well.

50. Tim Matherly – MV Performance

Yes, in fact I am installing another mod motor racer, and in my mind on of the best hands down. Tim has been a long-time supporter of the mod motor community. He was in fact the first 9 second NMRA real street car in the 9’s with a mod motor and that was with a 2V and a Procharger. MV Performance has been the go to place for more than a decade in the south when we talk mod motor. Tim is also a World Champion driver. We have seen him compete in numerous classes and show that he still has the ability to win, along with helping others win as well. Unfortunately, Tim had a fire at the MV shop in 2016 that was a setback, but not something that was going to stop him from helping his customers. Expect to see Tim along with the MV Performance cars winning races in 2018 again.