Gut-Wrenching Loss Creates Determination for Millican and Parts Plus

READING, PA – At times races are won and lost by such small numbers and that was definitely the case for Parts Plus Top Fuel driver Clay Millican at the recent NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, IN.

Having qualified number 9 in the quickest Top Fuel dragster field in the history of the NHRA, Millican and crew felt optimistic with the Straightline Strategy Group owned, Parts Plus sponsored dragster going into the Labor Day eliminations.

“Our chassis had been front-halved just before the event and everything was stripped, cleaned, and put back together with no testing prior to qualifying at the US Nationals,” mentioned Millican. “We knew it might take a few runs to get everything squared away and we were fairly content with the 3.706 we posted in qualifying.”

In Millican’s first round match up, Doug Kalitta took the stripe by a mere .003 margin of victory as both dragsters ripped 3.721 elapsed times with the slight difference only in reaction times. That race turned out to be the closest match up in Top Fuel eliminations as Kalitta went on for the class win.

“We took an hour to shake off the loss and went back to work on making our dragster the best for the upcoming Countdown to the Championship,” mentions Millican. “We feel confident and ready to turn on some win lights as we head to Reading, PA for the Mopar Nationals.”

Millican and Crew Chief Mike Kloeber have arguably been the Cinderella story of the NHRA Top Fuel season as the Parts Plus team performed the expectations of most pundits. Anyone who knows Millican and Kloeber are likely to agree that the strong effort will continue for the battle for the championship.