Dirt
NHRA Comp racer Tony Terry values
his people in racing and business
By Sadie Floyd
D
ivision 2 racer Tony Terry has
become a predominant fixture in
the NHRA since the 1980s and
continues to compete almost four
decades later in the prestigious NHRA Competi-
tion Eliminator class.
“I originally started out Super Stock racing in
the early 1980’s,” Terry said. “As a Super Stock
racer, I always admired Comp because it was as
close to being in a pro class as I probably could
get because I’m not able to be gone as many week-
ends as the professionals are. I also admired the
technology that goes into the Comp class.”
Terry noted that Comp veterans like David
Nickens and Mike Edwards were the catalysts
to him entering the class.
“I gotta say, people like Nickens, Edwards, and
all those guys were the ones that got me excited
about Comp racing and I ended up buying my
first Comp car in the early 1990s,” he reminisced.
“I started out with a Street Roadster and that was
a fun little ride.”
Terry went on to race a Super Modified car and
a Jerry Haas-built F/AA Chevrolet Cavalier in
the class. In 2011, he built the Chevrolet Cobalt
he now races.
“There is a certain prestige racing Comp and
that’s why I wanted to start racing the class,” he
added. “My wife always says you should dress
for the next level and that’s how I approach my
business life and racing. Super Stock racers are
good racers but I
wanted to move
myself along to
that next level and
that was Comp.”
When he’s away
from the racetrack,
Terry finds success
in the Volkswa-
gen and Subaru
dealership he
owns in Lynch-
burg, Virginia.
“I bought the
dealership in
1985,” he said. “I
started out selling
cars and saving
up my money and
some gentlemen
I knew owned a
dealership and
wanted me to buy
it. They gave me
an opportunity to
buy part of it and two and a half years later, I
bought them out. It’s been really good to me and
I’ve got some really good people working for me.”
The Forest, Virginia-native acknowledges that
his trust in his great staff at Terry Volkswagen
Subaru allows him to go play at the racetrack
during the weekend.
“Without my people, I really wouldn’t be able
to race like I do
because they give
me the freedom to
leave on Thursday
and not come back
until Monday,” he
acknowledged. “I
figure I put in
enough time in
the early years
to do that now. I
trust the people
that work for me.”
Above all, Terry
credits his wife as
his biggest sup-
port system.
“My wife, God
bless her,” he said.
“She never gets up-
set when I go rac-
ing. She doesn’t
come as much as
she used to but it’s
great to have your
better half understand what you do and what
your passions are.”
Almost four decades into his sportsman racing
career, Terry has not lost the love he has for drag
racing and Comp Eliminator.
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30 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 119
People First