Cleveland, OH – Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by TORCO Racing Fuels, will thunder into Norwalk, OH to begin race week a day early. The annual “Super Bowl” of Hooters IHRA Drag Racing kicks off Wednesday, August 24 with “Thunder In The Streets”. “We never miss “Thunder In The Streets,” explained McMillen. “It’s an outstanding event that the whole community embraces – it just wouldn’t be Norwalk without it.”
The 24th Annual Skull Gear World Nationals (August 25-28) kicks off as beautiful downtown Norwalk closes down Main Street as many professional teams, including the InstiGator, showcase their cars along this picturesque slice of Americana starting at 3PM. “This event has grown so much since it started 9 years ago,” added McMillen. “It’s really something for the families and fans of northern Ohio.”
“Thunder In The Street” includes family friendly activities, plenty of food, and Mike Albert and the Big E Band to cap off the evening. Also included in the day’s activities are a 5K run, a hot rod cruise, and plenty of Harleys.
While being involved in the pre-race events is always motivating for the InstiGator Team, McMillen never loses sight of the goal. “We’ve got a huge race here,” said McMillen. “Everyone marks the calendar for Norwalk Raceway Park. I would imagine that we’ll see competitor car counts approaching or surpassing one thousand. That’s allot of cars – but we’ve got our work cut out for us in Funny Car.”
While two-time IHRA Funny Car Champion Rob Atchison and his team continue to add to their points lead, everyone knows that the season is far from over. In a pre-race interview with IHRA.com, Atchison said, “IHRA Funny Car is a tough class loaded with talent so no lead is too large to overcome. Last year we trailed by the same amount of points that we are ahead and we fought our way back to win the championship.” McMillen commented, “On one hand that gives us encouragement, on the other hand we know that those guys aren’t letting up for a minute. Unless they’re going to start using an anchor for a wheelie bar it’s going to be up to us to race around them.”
The action in Funny Car begins Friday.