Drag Illustrated Issue 112, August 2016 | Page 93

PHOTOS: DAVID SMITH Y, IT’S ALL NEW known as the driver of Jay Blake’s familiar orange-and-blue Permatex machine since 2010. Driving for Blake, the only blind crew chief in motorsports, Veney won several NHRA divisional and regional events, as well as his first national event last year. He also earned the NHRA East Region championship in 2012. Outside of the driver’s seat, Veney first worked as a writer and statistician for NHRA’s in-house magazine National Dragster when he was fresh out of college. It was a job that Veney enjoyed having, and a job that enjoyed having Veney just as much, as evidenced by the crowd of National Dragster staffers and media members who August 2016 flocked to congratulate their former colleague when he won the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk last year. Veney has also written on a freelance basis for dozens of publications, companies and fellow racers over the years. He actually already had a full-time job as a technical writer from his home base in Indianapolis when he was offered the FOX gig. At 50-years-old, Veney maintains both positions, traveling to all 24 NHRA Mello Yello Series events and completing his other work when the “LIVE” light goes out. It’s an incredibly demanding schedule, and driving one of the best alcohol floppers in the country just didn’t fit in. “The whole thing just came out of nowhere,” Veney said in his initial announcement. “I was already entered for all 13 races this season, but you can’t work a full-time job, do a TV show every other weekend, and race. This is probably the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I’m going to be an actual grownup for once and choose work over racing.” Speaking to us between flights on the NHRA’s “Western Swing”, Todd Veney revealed to Drag Illustrated the reasoning behind his decision and what racing life has been like since peeling his name off the window of an alcohol Funny Car and placing it on the back of a producer’s chair. DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 93