Championship Drag Racing

O'Reilly Mid-South
Nationals
Memphis, Tenn.
(Sept. 18-21)

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Clay Millican 104+ Octane Boost Top Fueler

Reports: Sunday Saturday Pre-race

Memphis, Sunday: Clay Millican of Team 104+ Octane Boost/Lehman Racing won his first round of eliminations at the NHRA Mid-South Nationals at the Memphis Motorsports Park.

Millican, a Top Fuel driver from nearby Drummonds, Tenn., defeated Paul Romine with an elapsed time of 4.683 seconds at 311.70 mph, just before rain began falling on the track.

After several hours of rain, officials announced that the race would be postponed until Monday. Eliminations will resume at 11 a.m.

Three Top Fuel pairs were unable to make first round runs, and will lead off Monday's competition. Millican will face the winner of the Tony Schumacher/David Grubnic match-up in the quarterfinals.

Memphis, Saturday: Clay Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., drove his 104+ Octane Boost/Lehman Racing Top Fuel dragster to the number six qualifying position for Sunday's finals at the NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Millican's best run came in the second qualifying round on Friday night, where he clocked an elapsed time of 4.587. Saturday's weather proved to be much warmer, which affected most of the Top Fuel field, as few drivers were able to better their times from Friday. Millican achieved his top speed of the four qualifying runs, however, in Saturday's second run with 320.05 mph.

"Being at my home track and having so many of my friends and family here has been very fun," said Millican. "I'm excited about tomorrow's eliminations and hope that we can get the car down the track fast. It would be awesome to get my first NHRA win in front of my hometown crowd."

This is just Millican's second Top Fuel race in Memphis. His first race at the NHRA Mid-South Nationals was in 2000, when he and his crew were new to the Top Fuel scene. Millican has since become the 2001 and 2002 IHRA Top Fuel Champion, and is on his way to a third straight championship this year. Millican has gradually built his NHRA schedule, as he raced in just four events in 2001, seven in 2002, and is scheduled to appear in 12 races this year.

Millican will face number 11 qualifier Paul Romine in the first round of eliminations

Memphis, pre-race: Clay Millican of Team 104+ Octane Boost/Lehman Racing, a native of Drummonds, Tenn., will race this weekend in the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at the Memphis Motorsports Park. This marks the second time that Millican, a Top Fuel driver, has competed in an NHRA event at the track.

"I'm so excited to be racing in Memphis," Millican said. "It is going to be so awesome to have my family, friends, and fans cheering me on at my hometown track. Hopefully I will give them a good show and get the car down the track fast. If we win this race, it is going to be the biggest party that the town of Drummonds has ever seen."

Millican has a rich history with Memphis Motorsports Park. He was there to witness the ground-breaking when the facility was being built, and raced a 1972 Plymouth Duster in a Test-n-Tune event on the day the track opened in 1986. Accompanying Millican that day was his oldest racing buddy, Keelin Hooten, who is now a crew member for Team 104+ Octane Boost/Lehman Racing. Millican still goes out to the track for Test-n-Tune nights when he is not on the road for a race.

"To be able to go to my hometown racetrack and race against the best of the NHRA is pretty cool," Millican said. "I have been to this race every year to watch those guys, and to actually compete against them here is something I never thought would happen."

The last Millican competed at an NHRA race it was at the K&N Filters Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J. Millican was the No. 2 qualifier and advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Top Fuel points leader Larry Dixon.

Millican is currently in 15th place in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings, an impressive feat considering that he has raced in only seven of the 17 NHRA races this year. He is scheduled to race in 12 of the 23 NHRA events this season, and is viewed as an up-and-coming star in the league. He has qualified for eliminations in all of the NHRA races in which he has competed this year, and was the No. 2 qualifier in three of those races. He hopes to build on this success in Memphis.