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.

After over three months away from the racetrack AMALIE® Motor Oil Top Fuel team owner and driver Terry McMillen is ready to get back to racing at the upcoming E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park this week. His team, led by crew chief Rob Wendland, used the downtime effectively to streamline his organization and also maximize the newfound family time. McMillen and Wendland have a strong relationship and have put together a plan for the rest of the season they both feel could lead to their first NHRA Mello Yello championship together.

How ready are you to get back to racing?

Terry McMillen  –  “It is almost like starting the year over. You have all that anticipation. We built a new car over the winter and took it to Gainesville. We never got to run it so it has never been down the track. We are excited to see what the new car will do. (Crew Chief) Rob Wendland and the entire team have done a fantastic job just keeping everything going. All our wish lists or want to do lists are all completed. It is time to leave the shop, hear some noise and smell a little nitro. This is the longest we have ever been home sitting at one time. It is just go time. It is going to be different by far.”

TM- “We only have two qualifiers so it is not like you can go out there and try and hit a home run. You have to get the car down the track to make sure you are in the show. There could be close to 20 cars going into Indy so you can’t make a mistake. Hopefully you get that first run in that sets up the weekend.”

TM- “It is going to be different to not be able to interact with the fans the way we normally do. That has been the mainstay of our sport, the fan interaction and the business to business. We are going to be pre-signing hero cards and we’ll all be wearing masks. You appreciate the fans now more than ever because they have a choice where to spend their money and they come out to see us race. You want to give back but it is a difficult time and we want to be as safe as possible. I think everyone understands and we are all just going to have to tip toe this thing and get through the end of the year to regroup and go into 2021.”

Have you been able to get some of the projects that you have been putting off?

TM – “We moved a lot of the shop stuff around and got it organized internally in the shop. We made a specific area to work on our heads and a place to work on our superchargers. We permanently wired some of the equipment that was previously just temporarily wired. We made some upgrades inside the trailer and we also polished all the aluminum on the outside. We had never had the time to do that. We relocated some cabinets and made the flow of the shop a lot better.  We have sections for everything and have streamlined a lot of things.”

What has been the hardest aspect of this layoff (mental, sponsorship, etc.)?

 TM – “There are so many things that have been challenging. You have to look at it from the sponsor perspective which is near and dear to me because Amalie Motor Oil is my family. Not being able to run Gainesville was extremely disappointing. Whenever you reschedule an event it seems to never be quite as good. You lose a little of the impact but Amalie has such great customers so we are hoping to over deliver later this year. It is trying times for all our sponsors. They have all done a good job of staying focused and giving us the opportunity to keep everyone working. We are ready to be at the top of our game when we get back to Indy thanks to their support.”

How have you kept your team motivated during this stretch?

TM – “Really Rob has done a great job of handling the crew. I don’t have to be down in Indy every day. They have their schedules and internal communications and they are working off a master list. When something is done it gets checked off and then everyone is updated. We are making sure that every little detail is covered. Ultimately, that will be where it starts for winning races when we get back to the track.”

TM – “You have to have the small things covered. When the small details are handled it seems like the bigger issues take care of themselves. We are making sure we have the parts that we need to have to make this all happen. It is a juggling act. I would rather be going 300 mph with my hair on fire because we have so much to do because we are racing. The only nice thing about the break is it has been a more relaxing time to work on our to-do list versus a mid-season thrash when we need parts by next week. It has been extremely busy regardless and I am trying to figure out how I ever had time to race.”

Your son Cameron is going to race Junior Dragsters at second Indy race. How excited are you about that?

TM – “The biggest positive about the layoff has been we got the chance to do things we normally never would have done at this time of the year. We fostered dogs and we got to spend more time with Cameron. We tested his Junior Dragster a couple weeks ago. He is going to get to run the second Indy race. As a six year old that is pretty cool and I am excited we will be racing at the same track at the same time. That is a milestone for me. I am all excited about it. I can’t wait to get out there.”

How do you plan for so many back to back races as an independent team?

TM – “You just have to approach it like any other race. The biggest key for us is having the inventory of parts. What you have to keep in mind is a lot of the vendors have also been closed down. Getting parts will be tricky because they might be backed up with orders from everybody. That is a big key to this whole thing. I think Rob has done a great job to make sure we have all the parts that we need either in our hands or the orders have been placed to we are all set once the season gets rolling again. That is going to give us a leg up. If you can finish the year with what money you have that will be a huge accomplishment or anyone. This year could feel like an Ironman Challenge. You have to manage all your parts and be smart about it. Sometimes that Hail Mary may not happen because you can’t afford to hurt those parts.”

What has you most excited about this run for the Mello Yello NHRA championship?

TM – “I think we have as good a chance as anybody whether it is the most funded teams or not. We are in a position today like no other time. We are prepared to go the distance. We are prepared to go to battle. We are going to have a good car. If this car shows us what we believe it is going to do that chassis will help us succeed. Rob has done a great job of tuning. We will be contender once we get the whole package together. The set-up of this season has definitely leveled the playing field. It may not be about dollars and cents this time. Used to be on Friday night big teams could go out and swing for the fences to get the No. 1 spot and get those bonus points. There isn’t a Friday night now so we all have to be a little more conservative on how we approach the race track. Our notes will be very important. We are going to have to rely on data that we have and certainly in this business a little bit of luck helps too. If you push everything hard enough you will create opportunities and that is what we have to do.”

Talk about your relationship with Crew Chief Rob Wendland…

TM – “There is no doubt about it, he is my best friend. We are not together every day we think alike. We have the same common goals. We have the same passion for what we do. When you add that combination up, it can be dangerous in a good way. With this shorter race season I feel like we have a really good opportunity to really get in there and mix it up. I would be shocked if we are not a top five car. Rob has kept everything on track. I am the most blessed guy to have him by my side.”

How excited are you to send the Amalie Motor Oil Top Fuel dragster back down the track?

Rob Wendland – “I am very excited to get back to the track for sure and I am excited to run this new car that we have. Racing in some of the conditions we will face over the next month, hot tracks, that kind of thing, I think this car is going to do really well. This morning we had a meeting discussing the 2020 NHRA policies. We have to follow this protocol because if we don’t we don’t get to race. That opened everyone’s eyes a little bit. Based on the performance we had earlier in the season I am extremely excited to hit the gas again.”

How have you kept the team motivated?

 RW – “Our separation wasn’t extremely long. Terry took really good care of this team. We had some time off but we came back and we all sat down and discussed every project that we wanted to do but never had time for. We went into serious detail with it. I told the team we have to work like we are going to race tomorrow. We got a tremendous amount of things done, lots of organizational things and maintenance things. We built a number of things we hadn’t had time to build before. We made the most of this time being productive but we also got to spend some time with our families. That was huge. We picked a number of days we were going to work and when we weren’t working we were spending time with our families. The motivation came from the more we do now and the better we are organized the better team we will be and the more successful we will be.”

As a crew chief how do you plan for so many back to back race weekends?

 RW – “We are going to go into Indy in full race mode. We are going into this race with the same mindset as if we were just racing last week.  We just need to get those hits on the new dragster in testing on Friday and see what this thing is going to give us. Our goal is to get two or three hits and get a handle on this race car. As far as fourteen races in a row kind of thing I have prepared everyone the best I can as far as our forecast of parts that we are going to need. The way that we run the car is we are conservative because we have to keep an eye on the budget. We are cautious about parts and wear and tear so I can’t see how the reduced schedule or back to back races is going to hurt us. We do better if we can go from one race right to the next one. We tend to get on a better roll that way.”

How well do you think the Amalie Motor Oil team is suited for the two Saturday sessions and then into racing on Sunday?

RW – “We have had some success with that program. We have used Saturday as a little bit of a test day. I will say this we have missed some opportunities on Friday and had our backs against the wall on Saturday. It has worked out for us a lot and there have been times when we missed out. As a crew chief it is a tough call because you want to get up in the top spots in qualifying but we have raced a lot from No. 9 to No. 13. There are so many good cars out there that if you are No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8 it is like a final round match-up. You are going to be running another really good quality race car.”

RW – “These first two races it looks like we will be racing in the heat of the day. The tricky part will be our ‘night session’ will be Sunday morning first round racing at 9 a.m. in the morning. We have never experienced that before only maybe in testing have we hit the track that early. The conditions will be totally different than what we saw on Saturday. Crew chiefs can make that change, that testing on Thursday and Friday will be important to get up there early,”

What has you most excited about this run for the championship?

 RW – “For me it is a lot of pressure. I know that we have a team, a car and a driver that can actually win a Mello Yello Top Fuel championship. Who knows what is going to happen. All of a sudden we might look at this schedule and not have as many races as we thought.  I think we are going to go into every race thinking this could be our last race. We are going to get after it and race smart. You can’t try and over pressure yourself. When we won Indy I remember my father in law telling me just go A to B. He said don’t try to overthink it. He told me our car was running good and just make sure it goes down the track. That day it worked out for us. I don’t think a lot of these races will be a horsepower game because of the conditions we’ll be running in. It could be more of a finesse game at the start anyway. In that respect we have the same chance as anyone out there and maybe a little better.”

Can you talk about your relationship with Terry?

RW – “Usually during the season we both have motorhomes and we travel together. In between races we will stop at a campground and all the kids get together and go swimming or we do whatever together. Not a lot of crew chiefs have that kind of relationship with the owner/driver. He loves my kids as much as I do and I feel the same for his family. It definitely feels more like a partnership.”

RW – “When I open the shop I treat it like my shop and that is how I work with him to run the team. Every dollar we spend I treat like one of my own personal dollars. Terry appreciates that and I appreciate the opportunity he has given me. We have a very strong personal relationship that I really can’t describe. We tell each other that we love each other all the time and we mean it. I don’t know of a lot of other teams that have that kind of relationship. They might but I know we have a strong bond.”      

Special rates, meet and greet, autographs and more included in room packages during upcoming nationals

LAS VEGAS – NHRA fans rejoice!! Terry McMillen, driver of the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, is partnering with the Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on special room packages during the upcoming NHRA Denso Spark Plug 4 Wide Nationals, April 5 -7 and the NHRA Nevada Nationals, October 31 – November 3.

[Read more…]

North Dinwiddie, Va. (June 6, 2018) – Terry McMillen and his AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel team head to the Virginia NHRA Nationals near Richmond and McMillen can’t wait to get back on the track.

“We missed a great opportunity to make a move up the ladder in Chicago,” McMillen said. “We just had some fuel system issues in Chicago that we thought we had figured out on Sunday, but it just didn’t work out in our favor. We’re ready to get back out there and continue the success we’ve had so far this season.”

McMillen’s season is shaping up to be the best of his career. He currently has nine round wins, already the second best for an entire season. He won 14 rounds in 2017, including his first win in Las Vegas. He’s also been to 3 final rounds through the first nine races of 2018.

“I’m glad we’re back racing in Virginia,” McMillen said. “I’ve raced here a lot over the years in my Alcohol Funny Car. One of my first Top Fuel NHRA races was here in Richmond. The fans are great, the track is great and we’re looking for a great finish in Richmond.”

Professional qualifying begins Friday June 8th with eliminations on Sunday June 10th.

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2017) – Terry McMillen, driver of the AMALIE® Motor Oil XTERMIGATOR® Top Fuel dragster has made some unusual promises in the past, but at this weekend’s 30th annual Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, McMillen has reached a new level.

“I think the first thing I’m going to do when I get there is kneel down and kiss the track,” McMillen said as he traveled across Nevada en-route to Sonoma. “We had a rough weekend in Denver. We just couldn’t seem to get a handle on the altitude at the Mile High Nationals. So, Sonoma’s sea-level conditions will be a welcome site for me. I can’t wait to get this car back to the set up our crew chief Rob Wendland has worked so hard on that has had us competitive all year long.”

McMillen holds the eighth spot for The Countdown with just four races remaining to secure a spot in the Top 10.

“We’re looking at this and feel like we have to find at least three more round wins between now and Indy,” McMillen explains. “Traditionally we always seem to find a race on the Western Swing and do well. Even then, we always seem to come up a point short after Indy. I’m not sure three more round wins will be enough to secure a spot in the Top 10, but that should get us in the mix. Every little point, every round win counts, our AMALIE crew is going to do whatever it takes to get us there. An event win sometime in the next month would go a long way as well.”

As summer continues to countdown to the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis Labor Day Weekend, McMillen finds himself in his usual fight for a spot in the Top 10. This will be his strongest position in the standings at Sonoma, but one that does not leave a lot of comfort room for the Elkhart, Indiana team owner and driver. McMillen has a small lead over Scott Palmer, Troy Coughlin, Jr. and Shawn Langdon, who are all within reach of each other vying for a spot in The Countdown.

“It’s really going to get interesting over the next few races,” McMillen continued. “We all control our own destiny at this point. That includes our team. We are kind of leading our pack right now and the only way to continue to do that is to go out there and beat the best to stay where we are. I’m as confident as I have ever been at this point in the season and can’t wait to get things started in Sonoma.”

The Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals will feature two rounds of pro qualifying at 4:15 and 7 p.m. on Friday, July 28, and two final rounds of qualifying on Saturday, July 29, at 1:10 and 4:20 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 30. The event that will be televised on FS1, including live final eliminations coverage starting at 1:30 p.m. (PT) on Sunday, July 30. It marks the 15th of 24 events in 2017 and the second of three stops on the NHRA Western Swing.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 22, 2017) – Qualifying for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals starts Friday for Terry McMillen and his AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel team and while winning the race is a goal, winning the opening round is just as big for McMillen. McMillen has reset his career-best elapsed time and speed this season but has struggled since an explosion two races ago in Epping, New Hampshire.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world that Rob Wendland and his crew will get us back on track,” McMillen said. “This is the heart of the season. There are six races left before Indy and every round of every race is going to be crucial for us.”

McMillen has not had a round win since Charlotte, despite making solid qualifying efforts in the 3.70s. “The key for us is to get back to that consistency we had,” McMillen continued. “We lost to Leah in Atlanta with a 3.77 and then Clay in Topeka with a 3.76. Then we go to Epping and run a 3.73 and we think things are looking good. I think if we get back to that consistency, things are going to be fine.”

“I still believe an independent team can do this,” McMillen said. “Clay proved that last race with his first win. I couldn’t be happier for those guys. They’re keeping the dream alive for the independent team. It’s tough out here swimming against the tide of these team cars and alliances, but we’re too stupid to quit. We’ve come here to win.”

Professional qualifying starts tomorrow in Norwalk with eliminations on Sunday.

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 10, 2016) – Some called it the biggest explosion in NHRA Top Fuel drag racing in over a decade. Terry McMillen, driver of the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel team won’t argue that point.

“That was a career first for me,” McMillen recalled of the fiery explosion that totalled his race car. “Once I knew the rear tire was gone, all I wanted to do was keep it in my lane and not get into Tony (Schumacher, McMillen’s opponent). I’m just thankful no one got seriously injured.”

McMillen has always known that NHRA Drag Racing is a family sport and it was never more evident to him than immediately after the incident and the week afterwards as the team continued to rebuild for the upcoming Atlanta event this weekend.

“We all want to beat each other for about four seconds,” McMillen said. “After that, we’re a pretty tight-knit group. As soon as I got back to the pits Force (Funny Car Champion John Force) was there on his scooter telling me ‘whatever you need kid, we need you out here, we’re here for you’. Minutes later Tony Schumacher comes down to make sure I’m OK and I just want to make sure he’s OK. Then Don walks in (Don Schumacher, owner of DSR and McMillen’s chassis builder) and tells me not to worry about it. He’s already talked to his guys at the shop and they’re getting a chassis ready for us. That was pretty amazing since we had just started evaluating what happened on that run and Don’s already got a plan to get us back on the track.”

“I’m afraid to start thanking people for fear of leaving someone out,” McMillen added. “Amalie steps in with some extra support to get us back up and running, Weld Wheels steps in and supports us with a set of their new one piece wheels, Nicky Boninfante and the folks at Nitro Sew stepped up with a restraint to keep our blower with the car – it’s really just amazing.”

Anytime there is an incident like the one that McMillen experienced in Houston, a lot of evaluation goes into what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. This was no exception.

“The NHRA came down and we all evaluated the run on the computer and inspected the parts,” McMillen said. “I can tell you this, except for the blower getting away from the car, everything worked exactly as it should have. We looked at the run and there was nothing wrong with Rob Wendland’s tune up. We put a hole out, but the engine didn’t see any excessive pan pressure or blower pressure. We have devices on our car to shut it off if those events occur. Something just broke in the rocker assembly. Rob and the guys are doing a great job in keeping up with the parts. We looked at the valves and none of them had more than four runs on them. Goodyear was down there looking at the tires, Weld looking at their wheels, Schumacher at his chassis – everything did what it was suppose to do from that standpoint. If the blower doesn’t get into the tire, this is an oildown at best.”

“I know this,” said McMillen. “Rob, Bob and the guys and gal have put in a lot of hours this week to get this car ready for Atlanta. We’re not limping in here by any means. Call it whatever you want, XTERMIGATOR 2 or even XTERMIGATOR version 2.0. A lot of people went above and beyond to help us get to Atlanta and we’re not going to let them down.”

Qualifying for the NHRA Southern Nationals begins this Friday, May 13th in Commerce, Georgia. FOX Sports 1 has qualifying coverage on Friday starting at 7:30p.m. EST, Saturday at 10p.m EST with coverage of eliminations starting at 4:30p.m EST Sunday. For more information visit NHRA.com

LAS VEGAS  – Off to the best start of his NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing career, Terry McMillen driver of the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel Dragster heads to the fourth event of the season focused and confident. After his first final round appearance in Gainesville and currently fifth in the point standings with five round wins under his belt, who could blame him?

NHRA statistician, Lewis Bloom reported this week that only two Top Fuel teams have won at least one round in each of the first three events. The early season accomplishment goes to Terry McMillen and Clay Millican.

“Obviously our goal is to win”, McMIllen said. “Right now we just want to keep improving. We’re working hard at improving our early numbers and once we get that figured out we’ll be in the thick of the battle week in and week out. We’re just taking it one round at a time and we want to keep moving forward while we do that.”

Las Vegas is a trip that McMillen looks forward to each year. “We have a remarkable relationship with Tahiti Village,” McMillen said. “They have believed in us since the second year we started full-time NHRA racing. Staying with them for a race or a vacation is an awesome experience. They treat you like family.”

McMillen and his alligator themed AMALIE Motor Oil dragster will be on display from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday March 30th at Tahiti Village located at 7200 South Las Vegas Blvd. The public is invited.

McMillen will also participate in the NHRA Fanfest Thursday night March 31st. The two hour event kicks off at 6pm at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, with an autograph session from 7-8 p.m.

Racing for the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals starts April 1st with Friday and Saturday qualifying and final eliminations scheduled for Sunday, April 3rd.