Terry McMillen Racing

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FAN FAVORITE TERRY MCMILLEN ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR 2022 RETURN

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McMillen and Mercier team up for 2022 NHRA Camping World Series

– 2018 US Nationals winner will race part-time schedule with Dan Mercier Racing –

Elkhart, IN (January 21, 2022) — The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season will see another familiar face in the Top Fuel ranks as fan favorite and 2018 US Nationals Top Fuel winner Terry McMillen today announced he will compete on a limited schedule, competing in six to eight national events in 2022, so he can continue to support his son Cameron’s junior dragster career. McMillen will race under the Dan Mercier Racing banner. 

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MCMILLEN RACING AND AMALIE MOTOR OIL AGREE TO SUSPEND RELATIONSHIP

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ELKHART, IND (October 7, 2020) – After 19 years together, Terry McMillen Racing and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil company have mutually agreed to suspend their sponsorship relationship. Amalie Oil has suspended all motorsports sponsorships effective immediately. The move comes as the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, now Camping World Drag Racing Series, wraps up with three final races in Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas. McMillen informed his racing team of the decision this week and he will be evaluating the future direction of the organization in the coming weeks. 

“I can’t thank Amalie Motor Oil enough for the support they have shown me over the past 19 years,” said McMillen, the 2018 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel national event winner. “It is not a cliché, this company was part of my family. They stuck by us as long as they could and we are agreeing to suspend this sponsorship with no hard feelings. They have gone above and beyond to be fair with my team financially. We just reached a point where it didn’t make good business sense for either of us to move forward. They are a great company and I can’t say enough nice things about how they have treated me and this team over the years. Starting today we are exploring new opportunities. Right now it is key to keep Amalie employees working and making product so when the economy turns around they will be ready.” 

The move was directly related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the global economy. According to a research study conducted by consultant KPMG International, working from home and online shopping have become the new normal and will reduce driving in the U.S. by up to 270 billion miles a year. Additionally, 64 percent of Americans who are not driving said they’re working from home, which equates to 259 billion miles not being driven over the course of a year, dramatically reducing motor oil sales. Moving forward, KPMG is predicting as much as a 10% permanent reduction in the nearly three trillion miles typically traveled every year which has already and will continue to adversely affect the motor oil business and automotive industry as a whole.  

“I certainly understand why this happened and I remain very hopeful that we will be back sometime next year,” said McMillen, a two-time national event winner.  “My crew chief Rob Wendland and my entire team have done an amazing job giving us a car that can compete with anybody on any given day.  Anyone that has followed my racing career has seen the struggles I have had over the years.  What Rob has done to turn things around is something that I will never take for granted. Rob, his family, and my entire team mean the world to me.  This certainly is a setback, but I am not going to say it’s the end.” 

“Amalie has supported us through the good, the bad and certainly the ugly. When other teams were laying off their crew during the height of the pandemic, Amalie made sure that I was able to keep my team intact and employed. I know that this decision was extremely painful for Amalie, as it is for me, but I look forward to what the future has to offer, and I won’t give up hope that I will be back on the track in a competitive fashion again one day.” 

McMILLEN SHOW FLASHES OF GREATNESS AT GATORNATIONALS

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (September 27, 2020) — It took almost seven months but Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team finally delivered for the NHRA AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals fans. Today in front of an impressive crowd at Gainesville Raceway McMillen raced to a semifinal finish before being upended by eventual runner-up Billy Torrence. The day was one of solid progress and a big-time upset for the team from Elkhart, Indiana. 

“We were ahead in that semifinal race against Billy Torrence and then it just dropped a cylinder at like 1.5 seconds out,” said McMillen, driver of the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster. “It started spinning the tires. It just didn’t work out. It has been a great weekend. We put on a great show in front of our AMALIE Motor Oil family. It was a successful weekend but certainly we wanted to go to the final and give ourselves a chance to win. We had the car to get there but we just made a mistake out there and it didn’t like it.” 

McMillen and his Rob Wendland tuned Top Fuel dragster struggled in qualifying trying to get a handle on a hot track with only two qualifying sessions. The driver and crew chief combo put their heads together overnight and decided to get aggressive in their first round race with Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta. McMillen’s best time of the weekend was a pedestrian 4.72 second run in qualifying and they dramatically improved with a 3.747 second blast to get the first round win over Kalitta. The first round win highlighted some of the positive moves the team made. 

“It was awesome to be here because with the Amalie executives out here at the track and our customers it is really good for them to see all this sport has to offer,” said McMillen. “You see the interaction with the fans and it helps everyone understand a little more about what our sport is all about. It is not just about race cars going down the track. We are taking care of the fans who are our potential customers for future sales. That is really important. Getting back here to Gainesville where we started something where we didn’t have the chance to finish was important. We finished it today the best that we could. Overall it was a good weekend we just have a couple bugs we still have to work out.” 

In the second round McMillen had lane choice over three-time world champion Antron Brown. Once again the Rob Wendland tune-up was up to the challenge for another round win. His time was slower but it was enough to trailer a tire smoking Brown and advance to the semifinals. The next round did not unfold in McMillen’s favor but with another race this coming weekend the team was taking the positives and moving forward. 

“In reality the more you race the more efficient you become,” said McMillen. “It is good for the team and good for everyone. You get a little more information every time. This is like our ninth run on this clutch pack so we are still learning this clutch system we are getting a better handle on it. It throws us a bone every once and a while. In Indy we went 3.72 and first round today we went 3.74 but we have to find consistency. Rob has done a marvelous job of giving us a good race car. The inconsistency of the clutch discs is something we are working through and that is something he can’t control. We have to continue to work on that clutch package.”  

McMillen and the Amalie Motor Oil Top Fuel team will be back in action at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway with two qualifying session, Saturday, October 3. 

Gatornationals Qualifying Results 
Q1: 4.724 sec, 162.96 mph; Qual. 9 
Q2: 5.111 sec, 137.40 mph; Qual. 11 
Bonus Points: 0 

Race Results 
E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.747, 321.27 mph def. Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich., Mac Tools dragster 3.877, 310.91 mph  

E2: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.827, 310.63 mph def. Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco dragster, 4.575, 178.06 mph 
E3: Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 3.817, 321.88 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.841, 311.34 mph 

McMillen Has More Goals On Tap Exiting U. S. Nationals

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photo © Cori McMillen

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind (September 6, 2020) — Entering the 66th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team had a number of goals most importantly picking up their second win at the historic event. In addition to victory the team was looking to continue gathering data and runs on a brand new chassis as well as making a switch in their clutch package. The three rounds of qualifying for the event including a Friday night session gave the team the opportunity to run in optimal conditions. 

“We had a number of things we want to accomplish this weekend at the U.S. Nationals,” said McMillen. “We wanted to get another U.S. Nationals win in the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster of course but we also wanted to continue to show the rest of the class that we are one of the top teams. Even though we didn’t get our top goal we accomplished all our other goals.” 

On Friday night after a lengthy delay McMillen and his Rob Wendland tuned AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster made a 3.799 second run at 323.27 mph which was quick enough to place the team 10th on the qualifying sheet. It was the first run in the cooler night conditions since the team brought out the new chassis. 

“We knew we would have really good conditions on Friday night,” said Wendland. “We had a killer tune up in this Amalie Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster but we got delayed almost two hours and the conditions changed dramatically. We were able to make a few changes but I know there is more in this tune up. We got some good data and I know we can run in those conditions if we need to again.” 

During Saturday’s two qualifying sessions McMillen’s team got information from both runs in spite of one run being less that successful. The opening run of the day was a tire smoking 4.267 second run which was followed by a much improved 3.773 second run at 317.87 mph which left the team as the No. 11 qualifier. 

“We learned a lot from the first run on Saturday and put it to good use on the final run,” said McMillen. “Rob was excited to see how the car reacted and we felt good going into race day. We got a good handle on the new clutches and we knew we were headed in the right direction. The one thing was we were a little behind the eight ball and know we would have a tough first round.” 

In the opening round today McMillen squared off against Leah Pruett the No. 6 qualifier. It was a battle of two Top Fuel championship contenders. In an epic race McMillen made another dramatic performance leap running 3.726 seconds at 320.13 mph which was the fourth quickest run of the event. Unfortunately, Pruett was beside him making the quickest run of the event, a blistering 3.703 seconds at 325.61 mph pass. The team took the best of the situation and will head to the next race, the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, September 26-27. 

Qualifying Results 
Q1: 3.799 sec, 323.27 mph; Qual. 10 
Q2: 4.267 sec, 195.36 mph; Qual. 11 
Q3: 3.773 sec, 317.87 mph; Qual. 11 
Bonus Points: 0 

Race Results 
E1: Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Mopar dragster 3.703, 325.61 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.726, 320.13 mph 

SEMIFINAL FINISH HIGHLIGHT OF STRONG DAY FOR TERRY McMILLEN

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 19, 2020) — What a difference one day made for Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team. After two tough runs in qualifying at the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis, McMillen’s team rolled into race day as the No. 12 qualifier and facing a first round match-up with the winningest Top Fuel racer ever, Tony Schumacher. The AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was up to the task and not only advanced from the first round raced to a semifinal finish and a jump in the Mello Yello point standings. McMillen moved up to No. 9 in the points and is just six points out of seventh place. 

“I think everything on that car was gone through with a fine tooth comb last night,” said McMillen, from his lounge at the end of the day. (Crew chief) Rob (Wendland) had the chance to look as some other things. We found a couple different spots that we needed to tickle differently. We did that and from then on it has been fast.”

The opening run today for McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was one for the ages. McMillen never trailed in the race, grabbing a starting line advantage and posting low ET for the event. His winning elapsed time of 3.765 seconds at 320.66 mph propelled him into a second round match-up with three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown.

“You can walk back after that run with your chest sticking out a little bit,” Rob Wendland, McMillen’s crew chief. “(Hall of Fame crew chief and Wendland mentor) Austin Coil would let me look at runs. He told me what he liked about me was I looked at all the bad runs not the good ones. I knew I needed to know why it did something. If you figure that out that is a good mentality for tuning. Seeing your plan come together is very gratifying. We have been working to get to that run for a long time. It was showing us something but it was really hard to figure out. I kind of thought we were being too big of wimps with it and it was the right call,” Rob

In the second round McMillen again brought a strong race car to the starting line. Both drivers launched aggressively but it was McMillen and his Amalie Top Fuel dragster getting to the stripe first.  Another strong run of 3.796 seconds which was again the quickest run of the quarterfinals set him up against T.J. Zizzo.

“The environment we are racing in is totally different,” said McMillen. “We don’t have four qualifying shots where you get to throw a home run shot on Friday night and move all the way to the top of the ladder. Everybody has had to make some adjustments to get the car down the track. You have to make sure you are qualified because race day doesn’t happen if you aren’t in. We came out on race day ready to roll and man, what a weekend.”

In the semifinal with a SummerNationals final round appearance on the line McMillen came up just a tick short. McMillen left the starting line first and was right beside Zizzo the entire length of the track but his performance fell off slightly, slowing his dragster to a respectable 3.891 second pass at 310.13 mph but it wasn’t enough for Zizzo’s 3.837 second run at 319.67 mph. While his day was wrapped up one round too soon for his taste McMillen has a ton of confidence moving forward with the rest of the season.

“The way I look at it right now any time we go to the starting line we are a threat. We can outrace any car out there on any given day. E3 here it just didn’t work our way. We dropped a hole early but we still ran a 3.89 which is pretty stout. There is just a little more fine-tuning and we will have it. The team and Rob did an amazing job. It was just the matter of getting the chemistry right with the parts and the team and we just went out there and made it happen. We made some statements today,” added McMillen.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.017 sec, 257.58 mph; Qual. 10
Q2: 6.311 sec, 100.25 mph; Qual. 12
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.765, 320.66 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Austin, Texas, Global Electronic Technology/Toyota, 4.447, 195.25 mph
E2: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.796, 321.96 mph def. Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco/Global Electronic Technology, 3.927, 308.35 mph 
E3: TJ Zizzo, Lincolnshire, Ill, Rust-Oleum dragster, 3.837, 319.67 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster,3.891, 310.13 mph

FIRST ROUND UPSET ENDS PROMISING DAY FOR MCMILLEN

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 12, 2020) — Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team had momentum on their side after a day of testing on Friday and a solid day of qualifying yesterday at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis.  Coming back to the track that a few years ago was the site of his biggest win, the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend, in 2018 the Elkhart, Indiana racer was full of positive energy. He had a brand new race car and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was ready to battle with a tough Top Fuel field.

In the opening session of qualifying McMillen and his Ron Wendland tuned Top Fueler made the quickest pass of the day and grabbed three valuable bonus points and went in to the final qualifying session as the provisional No. 1 qualifier. In the second round a couple dragster ran quicker but McMillen stepped up and jumped to the No. 3 qualifier position and a strong feeling going into race day. The track conditions during testing and qualifying were hot and as the second session came to an end a huge thunderstorm rolling over the race track ending the day for the racers and setting up a race day with completely different race conditions.

The NHRA made a number of adjustments to their racing schedule to maximize a safe racing environment for the teams and fans which included an early race start at 9 a.m. local time. McMillen’s first round opponent was not your traditional No. 14 qualifier. He would be facing three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown who struggled in his only two qualifying runs.

The pair pulled up to stage and as the tree lit up both dragsters leapt off the starting line with Brown grabbing a slight edge. As both 11.000 horsepower dragsters accelerated McMillen pulled even and looked to be pulling away before he hazed his Goodyear tires. That loss of momentum opened the door for Brown to go around McMillen. The Amalie Motor Oil dragster did not give up as McMillen got off the gas and then mashed the throttle pedal back down firing his race car back into motion but he was too far behind Brown as the finish line approached. McMillen tripped the lights with a 6.659 second run at 89.70 mph, a far cry from his best qualifying effort of 3.812 seconds at 316.75 mph.  

“We had a good day of testing and a great day of qualifying,” said McMillen at the end of the day. “We were No. 1 after the first round and stepped up in the second round. I have a great team and my crew chief Rob Wendland has done an amazing job with these guys. We just didn’t capitalize on a great opportunity. We had the advantage I feel and we will not lose that heading into next week. I am already looking forward to getting back to the track and make the most of this opportunity to race the Amalie Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster.”

Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.866 sec, 314.02 mph; Qual. 1
Q2: 3.821 sec, 316.75 mph; Qual. 3
Bonus Points: +3 (quickest of Q1)

Race Results
E1: Antron Brown, Indianapolis, Ind., 3.997, 242.71 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil, 6.659, 89.70 mph