Elkhart, IN – Terry McMillen, a perennial IHRA fan favorite, has competed in a variety of drag racing classes including Alcohol and Nitro Funny Cars. Now he’ll add Top Fuel to his resume’.
McMillen completed the first half of his Top Fuel licensing during testing in Rockingham last week and will complete licensing during the World Finals.
McMillen, a Chicago native, and his wife Rhonda are team owners of Hoosier Thunder Motorsports, a mutli-car drag racing team based in Elkhart, IN. “We’re very excited about this opportunity,” McMillen stated. “There has been a tremendous amount of effort put into this project. It’s the culmination of a dream, a plan and hard work. Now, the real work begins.” Terry is quick to add, “None of this would be possible without the support from Andrew Bornstein of Amalie Oil, Evan Knoll Torco Race Fuels and all of the marketing partners who believed in our program. My wife Rhonda, my entire team and surrounding yourself with good people have allowed us to take our program to the next level.”
Evan Knoll, President TORCO Race Fuels and SKULL Gear, said, “We’ve been involved with a lot of race teams over the years, none quite as exciting as Hoosier Thunder Motorsports. Terry and his team work as hard for their partners as they do at racing.”
McMillen and Knoll, with his marketing juggernaut, have teamed together and will announce a unique partnership, brand new to drag racing. The Top Fuel team will officially unveil its car Friday in Rockingham.
Hoosier Thunder Motorsports also announced today one race sponsorships for the 10th Annual World Finals. Partners for the World Finals include:
Amalie Oil – Since 1903 Amalie has been ‘Better Than It Has To Be’ and continues it’s reputation for high-quality, well-engineered petroleum products. Amalie is the official motor oil of the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), title sponsors of 2 major IHRA events (Amalie Oil Texas Nationals – San Antonio, TX and Amalie Oil North American Nationals – Epping, NH)and the primary sponsors of the Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, one of the IHRAs most recognizable cars.
Eastern Race Fuels – The year 2005 will mark when Eastern Race Fuels stormed into race fuel distributorship, becoming the “racers friend” when handling the race fuel needs of professional and sportsman drivers alike. Eastern Race Fuels distributes a full line of TORCO Racing Fuels and additive fuel products, along with a full line of Amalie Oil products. The Hoosier Thunder Top Fuel Dragster marks the second professional car that carries the associate sponsorship of Eastern Race Fuels. The other is the legendary Scotty Cannon and his SKULL Gear Pro Mod car driven by son, Scotty Canon, Jr.
LGI Digital – Bo Kenny, President of LGI Digital, has been making his mark in the Top Stock category, not only by his record setting passes, but also by sponsoring or co sponsoring several cars in the Top Stock Category. LGI Digital, current class sponsors for Top Stock, will also sponsors the 2006 Top Stock Shootout with $40,000 in prize money. LGI Digital is a movie distributor that owns a small army of stores on the east coast.
“We’re proud to partner with these companies that we have been associated with for some time,” McMillen added. “It’s an honor and a privilege to carry the banners of these companies with us into Top Fuel racing.”
McMillen currently pilots the Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, one of the most recognizable cars in the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series. The car is also featured in the IHRA Professional Drag Racing video game for XBOX, PlayStation2, PlayStation and PC. As soon as rumors surfaced about McMillen joining the Top Fuel ranks, the phone at his Elkhart, IN race shop began to ring. “Right now I have a driver in mind for the Funny Car,” explained McMillen. “That car (InstiGator) has a very strong identity and my relationship with Amalie is very important. Fielding 2 quality cars like this gives us endless possibilities to help our marketing partners.”
The Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team will field the Top Fuel Dragster for all IHRA and select NHRA races in the 2006 season. The InstiGator Funny car will compete at all IHRA events.
McMillen finished the 2004 season #3 in IHRA Funny car points, making 3 quarter-final, 5 semi-final and 1 final round appearance. While the 2005 season has yet to be completed, McMillen has already experienced 3 quarter-final, 2 semi-final and 2 final round appearances.
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