Terry McMillen Racing

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Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

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McMillen inches closer to first round win at Englishtown

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Elkhart, Ind. – If close counted for anything in drag racing, Terry McMillen would have already won his first round in NHRA competition. While McMillen plays a high speed version of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the element of surprise may no longer be a secret weapon for the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster.

McMillen captured the 11th spot in the rain shortened qualifying session at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown this past weekend. He would face rookie of the year candidate, Shawn Langdon, in round one of eliminations.

McMillen’s starting line advantage (0.029) would help him to lead much of the race, but Langdon would take the win in one of the closest battles of the weekend.

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Gerthe looks for more in Tulsa after semi-final in Dallas

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TULSA, OK – New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe will compete at her third IHRA national event of the season when she rolls into “Tulsa Town” for the Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park, June 13-14, 2009.

Fresh off her semi-final round appearance in quick rod at the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals two weeks ago, the nineteen-year-old college student is looking forward to this event in many ways.

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McMillen set sights on Englishtown

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ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. – When Terry McMillen bumps his Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster into the staging beams at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park it will mark his fifth start in NHRA competition. While McMillen holds a perfect 5-0 qualifying record as owner/driver, he’s looking for a little more this weekend.

“It’s time for us to step up and get our first round win,” McMillen said as he drove the team transporter into the Garden State for the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals “We’ve missed a few opportunities, but we can’t make excuses. Our first priority is to get this car into the show and then take it one round at a time.”

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FREE Drag Racing

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McMillen’s first final round of the season brings peace of mind

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ELKHART, Ind.  – Hindsight is always 20-20 and “Monday morning quarterbacks” always have the winning combination. Drag racing, like other competitive ventures, lends itself to second guessing and doubt. Terry McMillen, team owner and driver of the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster, was beginning to form a few doubts of his own when he entered the IHRA Amalie Oil Texas Nationals recently.

In his second season as Top Fuel team owner, he had hoped to improve on his five final round appearances and two wins from the previous year. While team stats proved that he was no further behind last season’s pace, it just didn’t feel right to McMillen. Seventh in points after two IHRA events is not what he had envisioned.

“We spent a lot of sleepless nights,” he confessed. “I guess we just expected more from ourselves early in the season.” Trying to convince McMillen that his performance over the past three seasons was more than respectable wasn’t welcomed. Fact is, McMillen’s Top Fuel career has seen the final round in 8 of 24 IHRA races for a 33% average.

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Winning one for Amalie – McMillen’s big goal

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DALLAS – Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster, has a Texas sized week planned in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. All of the plans lead to one ultimate goal for McMillen – to win the Amalie Oil IHRA Texas Nationals.

In his tenth season partnered with Amalie, McMillen has come close to winning a race sponsored by Amalie, including two final round losses last season in San Antonio and Epping, NH. He took pride in watching his InstiGator Funny Car win in Epping last season with team driver Paul Noakes behind the wheel, but McMillen can’t find satisfaction until he drives his Amalie dragster into the winner’s circle.

“This is a huge race for us in many ways,” McMillen said. “Racing for Amalie at their event, in front of their guests, always raises the level of expectation for us. It would mean a lot to our team to get this win for Amalie.”

After visiting the Dallas Raceway a few weeks ago, McMillen is also excited about racing at the new facility. “This is a beautiful track in a huge market for Amalie and IHRA,” McMillen said. “To see what Kenny Barnes and his staff have put together is amazing. His attention to the details have been nothing short of phenomenal. Fans and racers are going to love this place.”

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Winning rounds on McMillen’s mind

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ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – As Terry McMillen pulled into the heart of racing country and made the journey across the sandhills of North Carolina, he had one thing on his mind. Winning rounds.

McMillen drives that Amalie Oil/Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster and knows that if he’s going to have to start winning rounds sooner rather than later. The Indiana based team, tuned by Doug Kuch, ripped off 5 final rounds with one win in IHRA competition only to finish third in championship points last season.

McMillen explains, “Someone might try to look at Rockingham and say ‘it’s early in the season’. I look down the list of racers that are going to be here and our team can’t afford to give up one round of racing to any of them.”

“Top Fuel was tough enough last season,” McMillen continued. “You can’t let your guard down for a minute around here or someone will take your lunch before you know it.”

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McMillen’s team overcomes challenges – but can’t get round win

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ATLANTA – Terry McMillen fought off a stomach virus most of the weekend during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. McMillen was able to put his Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster into the 13th spot, but not without a lot of effort.

“I don’t think it’s suppose to be this hard,” McMillen said. “We certainly did it the hard way.”

Shortly after arriving in Atlanta, McMillen experienced either a stomach virus or food poisoning that kept him under the weather for most of the weekend. Saturday brought more bad news for McMillen’s team. Crew Chief Doug Kuch learned that his father passed away suddenly. “We were all sad to hear about the Kuch family loss,” McMillen said. “Our prayers were with Doug and his family. Doug decided to finish the race with us and then head home for his family.”

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