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McMillen Buys Indiana’s First Dragstrip

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Elkhart, Ind. (July 12, 2022) – It’s no secret that NHRA Top Fuel veteran Terry McMillen has always had interest in owning a dragstrip. A few years ago when he was in the very public  process of purchasing Osceola Dragway in Osceola, IN, a lawsuit against the county for rezoning the property put the sale on hold.  The owners were eager to sell, and with the uncertainty of the pandemic and how long the lawsuit would last, McMillen gave them the option to sell to a different buyer who didn’t need the land rezoned to purchase. That buyer ultimately turned the land into farmland.

Over the next few years McMillen would check out tracks that were listed for sale, hoping to find one that made sense for the future of his family, but there was always something that made him rule each track out.

They say everything happens for a reason. Recently, McMillen was having a conversation with Mark Cregier, the track owner of Bunker Hill Dragstrip, in Bunker HIll, IN, the track where Cameron McMillen, Terry’s son races his Jr. Dragster. This conversation unexpectedly turned to health issues Cregier had been dealing with and his thoughts about possibly selling the track. It was during that conversation that McMillen realized why the deal with Oseola didn’t go through, and why the other tracks he looked at weren’t the perfect fit for his family. It was because the track meant for his family to own was Bunker Hill Dragstrip.  

In 2021 the McMillen family spent almost every weekend racing there. The racers welcomed them with open arms, and the McMillens were proud to call Bunker Hill, Indiana’s first dragstrip, their home track. This is also the track where Cameron got his first win, that in itself makes it a special place for their family. 

Before they knew it, Cregier and McMillen had put together a deal for the McMillen’s to purchase the track. 

“First of all I need to thank Mark for everything he has done at Bunker HIll Dragstrip. He bought the track during the pandemic to save it. He made several much needed updates to the facility and never stopped working on improvements, in fact, just last week the parts for the new track scraper he purchased were delivered. Our plan is to continue with what Mark started.”

The speed in which ownership will change hands feels like the 330 mph that McMillen is used to driving. Starting Friday July 15th, Terry, Cori, & Cameron McMillen will be the new owners/operators of Bunker Hill Dragstrip. Cregier has committed to helping them learn everything they need to know before he walks away. 

“If Mark wouldn’t have agreed to stay and help my family get started, I don’t think we could have done it. We are excited to work beside him and finish this season as a team.”

Ownership may be changing but it will be business as usual at Bunker Hill Dragstrip. Friday’s test and tune gates open at 5:00pm with cars on track at 6:00pm. It is 25 dollars to test and 10 dollars for spectators. Kids 12 and under are free. Saturday is a Summit Super Series points race featuring, Jr’s, Street, Sportsman, Modified, and Top along with the newest class to join the Bunker Hill racing family, Indiana Outlaw Gassers. Spectators are only 10 dollars and kids 12 and under are free.

AMALIE joins McMillen and Dan Mercier Racing 

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Elkhart, Ind. (March 24, 2022) -AMALIE® Motor Oil joins Dan Mercier Racing as an associate sponsor on the Mercier Racing Top Fuel Dragster driven by Terry McMillen, a two-time NHRA winner, including the 2018 US Nationals. AMALIE will also be an associate sponsor on the Mercier Racing A-Fuel Dragster driven by Dan Mercier

“We’re so excited to have AMALIE joining us for 2022,” McMIllen said. “The pandemic caused us to have to pause our contract with AMALIE. So, having them on the side of our Mercier Racing dragster just feels right. Dan runs a family friendly team that fits so well into our family racing roots and the AMALIE Family.”

“AMALIE, a family owned company, manufactures and blends a wide variety of high quality, top performing lubricants for automotive and Industrial applications,” said Harry Barkett (President and CEO of AMALIE). “Both Terry McMillen and Dan Mercier are considered part of the extended AMALIE Family. Terry has been a friend and the pilot of the Xtermigator for over 20 years, he is a true professional and competes with the highest level of intensity I’ve seen.”  Harry continued, “Dan was a customer for years prior to becoming an AMALIE distributor.  He is a consummate businessman who is doing a tremendous job growing our brand north of the border and we look forward to continued success on and off the track.”

Dan Mercier is the owner of Alpha 3 in Montreal, Quebec and is AMALIE’s largest distributor in eastern Canada. Mercier has competed in A-Fuel and Top Fuel Dragster. He has raced a limited Top Fuel schedule with McMillen in the past and is looking forward to working with McMillen again.

 “I am tremendously proud to be associated with AMALIE Motor Oil,” Mercier said. “My team and I feel that wearing AMALIE’s colors in 2022 is a sign of confidence from the management of this great company.” 

Mercier’s relationship with AMALIE goes beyond that of a sponsor and racer or even that of a manufacturer and distributor. 

“I fell in love with AMALIE’s products 4 years ago,” Mercier continued. “In the last 30 years, I tried several lubricant companies for my racing cars and the results were always the same; they were acceptable, but they never improved the performance of my cars in any meaningful way. To my great surprise, both in the Top Fuel and A/Fuel categories, AMALIE’s oils have made the difference in our engines. For example, before our switch to AMALIE’s lubricants, in the A/Fuel category, we changed the rod bearings every run and now we can easily do 8 to 10 runs. This proves the incredible effectiveness of AMALIE’s oil formulas. You have to visit the manufacturing plant and their laboratory to understand the scale of this company in North America and their commitment to quality and performance.”

Mercier Racing is currently planning on a 6-8 race schedule that will start with the Virginia NHRA Nationals May 13-15.

Allstar Performance joins Cam McMillen for 2022 campaign

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Gainesville, Fla. (March 4, 2022) – Cameron McMillen will make his 2022 debut at the 7th Annual Baby Gators in Gainesville, Florida this weekend. He will carry the colors of his new primary sponsor Allstar Performance in a design created by Jeff Kolts of E1GH7 Design Method. The 8 year old, Elkhart, Indiana native, is the son of 2018 US Nationals Top Fuel winner Terry McMillen.

McMillen can’t wait to to suit up for his first time out this year. “I’m really excited about racing in Gainesville,” said Cam. “I really like how the Allstar colors on the side look. I’m also excited about racing my friends Rydin and Zandir Cook.”

“The future of motorsports rests not only in the hands of these young racers but with their parents who give their time and support so they can pursue their racing careers, said Scott Walstrom, Director of Marketing for Motor State Distributing, parent company of Allstar Performance. “Our relationship with the McMillen family spans decades and Cam was wearing Allstar apparel since the day he arrived. Growing up in the pits had a huge impact on Cam’s decision to be a Jr. Dragster racer but you still must have that desire and passion to race. Allstar is proud to be represented by Cam, and the entire McMillen family. We couldn’t be happier with how the new design by Jeff Kolts turned out, it looks amazing. We wish Cam and all the Junior Dragster Racers the best of luck in Gainesville and future races. Chomp…Chomp!!!”

McMillen’s Jr. Dragster will also carry associate sponsors Race Quip, Amalie Motor Oil and The Misfit Q.

“We’ve been looking forward to this day for awhile,” Terry McMillen said. “Divisional races have always been the backbone of NHRA Drag Racing and the Jr. Dragster division is not only where the future of this sport is, but it’s where family and friend bonds are created for a lifetime.”

Cameron made his NHRA debut at an exhibition pass in 2018 at the NHRA Reading national event at 5 years old. He raced last season at Bunker Hill Dragstrip where he won his first race and he was selected as the Most Improved driver at the season-end awards banquet.

Cameron will spend a little extra time in Florida when is Jr. Dragster will be displayed with other Southeast Division 2 Jr. Dragsters at the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals. The Jr. Dragsters will also make exhibition runs during the national event, including a pass during Sunday eliminations.

The Baby Gators kicked off March 3rd. Tickets are still available for the Divisional event which will run through March 6th. If you can’t make it to Gainesville, the eveni will be Live Streamed on NHRA.tv.

The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will be run the following weekend, March 10-13.

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. 

[Read more…]

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.” 

AMALIE MOTOR OIL TOP FUELER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS IN ST. LOUIS

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ST LOUIS (October 4, 2020) — Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team continued to show off their 2020 season improvement with a dominant performance during the lone qualifying session at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. McMillen blasted to the No. 2 qualifying spot with a 3.715 second run at 319.45 mph on Friday night and took some serious momentum into race day. A long day of rain delays put the pressure on all the pro teams but McMillen’s crew was up to the task.  

In the opening round McMillen further showed his Rob Wendland tuned AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was going to be one of the race cars to beat at World Wide Technology Raceway. The team had a favorable match up against journeyman racer Todd Paton as eliminations began under cool conditions. McMillen got the jump off the starting and never trailed in the race as his 3.777 second at 325.53 mph pass advanced him to the quarterfinals against fellow championship contender Billy Torrence. 

The quarterfinal race was one of the best side by side races of the day. McMillen was giving up lane choice but that was not a competitive disadvantage thanks to the excellent effort by the NHRA Safety Safari. Both Top Fuel dragsters launched nearly simultaneously with Torrence getting a slight advantage. That edge would prove to be the difference as the Amalie Motor Oil dragster barreled down the track and crossed the finish line in 3.714 second, a thousandth of a second quicker than his qualifying run. Unfortunately Torrence got the win light by less than two feet and .0046 seconds at over 325 mph. 

“I could not be prouder of this Amalie Motor Oil race team,” said McMillen. “My crew chief Rob Wendland has been doing an amazing job with the tune up. We are running in hot conditions and this weekend conditions were the exact opposite of what we had in Florida. This team executed and we made the most of our one qualifying run and we stepped up when we needed to against a tough team. It just didn’t go our way today.” 

The team brought out a brand new race car to begin the restarted NHRA season and through seven races McMillen knows he has a championship caliber race operation. Round wins are coming on race day and today under tough conditions McMillen’s Amalie Motor Oil team improved and posted some of the quickest elapsed times. With three races left McMillen in No. 5 in the points has the opportunity to realistically contend for a Top Three finish. 

“There is no quit in this team. We will be heading to Dallas and Houston with the goal of winning both of those races and then see where we stack up for a run to the championship. We will have points and half at the last race so anything can happen. I am proud of how this team fought this weekend under tough conditions,” added McMillen. 

Midwest Nationals Qualifying Results 
Q1: 3.715 sec, 319.45 mph; Qual. 2 
Bonus Points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q1)

Race Results 
E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.777, 325.53 mph def. Todd Paton, Rancho Santa Maria, Calif., dragster 13.707, 54.81 mph 

E2:  Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster, 3.717, 327.59 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.714, 323.50 mph 

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 

Terry McMillen Races to Final Round at Indianapolis NHRA Nationals

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Action photo courtesy of NHRA.com/National Dragster for media use only.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 9, 2020) — Today Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team started a race with a brand new perspective. For the first time in the veteran driver’s career McMillen was the No. 1 qualifier. The AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was up to the task and his Rob Wendland tuned Top Fuel dragster continued to show it is one of the top race cars on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. McMillen knew he had a great race car but he also knew that winning four rounds of racing would be a tough order no matter where he started in the qualifying ladder.

“Honestly, I tried to block the fact I was the No. 1 qualifier out of my head. I didn’t want that on my mind and because you start thinking about that and you get yourself in trouble,” said McMillen. “I just ran it like a normal race day. I didn’t care who was in the other lane. We just looked at every situation and ran our race. Whether we won or lost we were going to run on our terms. The No. 1 spot other than the prestige and finally checking that off our bucket list there was no distraction on race day.”

McMillen’s first round opponent was Lex Joon who continues to build a competitive Top Fuel team. The AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster stepped up and made another strong pass 3.799 seconds to get the win. The win moved McMillen into the second round against fellow championship contender Billy Torrence. In the quarterfinal match-up McMillen took a single for the win after Torrence experienced an issue after his burnout and was shut off by the NHRA starter.

In the semifinals McMillen took out Mello Yello point leader Doug Kalitta in one of the closest races of the day. McMillen got the jump off the starting line and never trailed in the race. Both dragsters began hazing the tires but McMillen was able to hold on and get the win advancing to his first final round since the Dallas FallNationals in 2018.

The final round, McMillen’s ninth of his career, was a showdown with the two-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence. McMillen’s Amalie Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster was looking to pick up its first win since he took the title at the U.S. Nationals almost two years ago. Unfortunately McMillen lost concentration for a millisecond and it was a costly mistake.

“I just flat lost concentration on the starting line and it cost us,” said McMillen. “This race car is just stout. Ever since we brought it out it has been good. We have been taking it to the shop and reworking a couple things on it and make it better. Every time it goes down the track we learn something new. You can’t complain it is a great car. The driver just cost us.”

Even though McMillen did not pick up his third career win the driver from Elkhart, Indiana has confidence and momentum heading to the biggest race of the year.

“You have to take away that we have a great race car. We have a good team behind that car led by (crew chief) Rob Wendland. That final round I was the weak link. The round before that I was the one that saved it. It is a give and take team effort. Ultimately the biggest positive out of today is we have a wicked good car and the driver just screwed up in the final round in the place you should never screw up. There is no one to blame but me.”

“We are immensely motivated. We had a good car two weeks ago and lost in the semifinals because we put a different blower on it.  It was down on blower boost. You look at our team and we are just going rounds and it was the quickest car two weeks ago. It was the number one qualifier at Indy3. That is a statement. On race day it wasn’t necessarily the quickest car but it was probably the most consistent car,” added McMillen.  

Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.299 sec, 191.29 mph; Qual. 13
Q2: 3.807 sec, 312.28 mph; Qual. 1
Bonus Points: +3 (quickest of Q2)

Race Results
E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.799, 307.44 mph def. Lex Joon, Indianapolis, Ind, 4.586, 181.86 mph
E2: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.886, 308.43 mph def. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors, No Time
E3: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 4.043, 283.85 mph def. Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, MIch., 4.053, 260.41 mph
E4: Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors, 4.273, 224.17 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 4.153, 240.59 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