Dirt
Mr. & Mrs. Drag Racer
Kevin and Ivey Brannon
make up one of bracket
racing’s power couples
By Lisa Collier
the two, but there’s certainly no gimmes either.
“We’re pretty intense when we run each other,”
admits Kevin.
Although Kevin often stands in the limelight,
and Ivey is quick to point to his success, she’s a
respected racer too. She won her first race out
bearing her new name, the Darlington IHRA
event. Also, this year she won the NHRA Four-
Wide Nationals and went to another IHRA final.
She also finished third in the world in IHRA Top
Dragster in 2014. Who won that year? Kevin.
“It was the first time I’d ever been to the IHRA
Finals,” Ivey remembered. “I was the only girl
across all the Pro Am classes. Being able to race
Kevin at four cars, knowing one of us was going
to the final, and then be able to stand on the start-
ing line and watch him win it all was really neat.”
Although Kevin’s had many successes, his shin-
ing moment came with the 2015 NHRA Super
Comp title. “The guy that could catch me was
running. I was sitting two pairs behind him.
Getting to watch him lose and knowing I had
the championship was definitely one of the best
moments of my career.”
Kevin points to his employer and engine
builder, PAR Race Engines, as well as Maddox
Race Cars, FTI Transmissions, Ivey Hutto Golf
Carts, Mickey Thompson Tires, Lucas Oil, and
APD Carburetors for making their operation a
resounding success.
“Special thanks to her mom and dad and my
dad for all their help,” Kevin adds.
It’s family that brought them this far and it’s
family that will keep them moving forward. It’s
clear that Kevin and Ivey are individually great
racers. Now that they share a last name, this quiet
a