The racing gods must be a fickle bunch. Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, powered by Torco Race Fuels, wonders if it’s time to make a deal with the devil. Over the past 31 races, McMillen has been in the semi-final or final round 12 times [4 finals, 8 semi-finals]. McMillen is still chasing his first Iron Man. Adding to McMillen’s frustration are three first time winners [Carter, Noakes, and Stevens] during the 2006 eMax Drag Racing season.
“I’m not taking anything away from those guys, they worked hard for their win,” McMillen said. “Heck, we really felt like it was our turn in Martin. We even made Paul [Noakes] hang around for the final round to see if that would help… nothing. Everyone keeps telling us it’s our turn, but nobody is telling me what kind of deal I’ve got to make with the devil to get it [first win].”
McMillen continues to push the envelope on performance for his car, destroying an engine earlier this season to win a round against five-time World Champion, Mark Thomas. “We’re definitely going to push this car as hard as we can,” McMillen added. “We’ve gone through more pieces and parts than we ever have. Whatever it takes, that’s what we’re going to do.”
McMillen then went to long-time friend and competitor, Mark Thomas, for a new blower. “We bought a great blower from Mark going into Norwalk,” McMillen added. “I really thought that the blower would be the last piece of the puzzle that we needed, and I still think it is, we just couldn’t find the tune up to go with it in Norwalk. We’ve got a handle on it now, we’ll see what happens in Epping.”
Epping New Hampshire is home to the Amalie Oil North American Nationals. “If we could script a race to get our first win, it would be Epping,” said McMillen. “Amalie is so strong up here in the northeast, we have so much support from fans and dealers, it would be great to get that win for them also.”
John Deere Gator TS Up for Grabs in Epping
Amalie will add more excitement with their involvement of the event by giving away a John Deere Gator TS, valued at $6,200, during Saturday’s Night of Fire. No purchase is necessary and fans can enter anywhere Amalie is sold in the New England area or at the race track. Amalie will also provide a party in the pits for their distributors, along with an Iron Man Challenge which will pair participating distributors against each other in a drag race.
The race week begins early for the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team. A media and appearance schedule will showcase the Amalie Oil InstiGator Funny Car, including:
- Tuesday September 5th 11a-1p – WHEB remote at Sanel Auto Parts in Exeter
- Thursday September 7th 11a-1p – Rock 101 remote at Robbins Auto Parts in Nashua with SCORCH
- Friday September 8th 8:30a – In Studio with Greg and the Morning Buzz
- Friday September 8th 3p-6p – WHEB’s Baker and Stoner will be broadcasting live on the tower
- Saturday 2p-4p Rock 101 will do a remote at the Amalie Oil Pit Party with SCORCH
The InstiGator team partners with high quality and high performance companies like; Amalie Oil, Torco Race Fuels, eRaceFuels, Flatout Gaskets, NGK Spark Plugs, MSD, Fatheadz.com, GO Graphix, Powershield Coatings, Crane Cams, eMax and No Limit Custom Coach.
