Drag Illustrated Issue 129, January / February 2018 | Page 38

Dirt
JOE BAKER
quicker but out-of-shape 3.88.
“I felt like I was going home after qualifying,
but I made a good run when I needed to, and
then when Bubba Stanton also went out in round
one, I was suddenly feeling pretty good about my
chances!” laughs Baker.
Things continued to fall into place for Baker
when his round two competition, Neal Light,
couldn’t answer the call due to breakage. Baker
took the green and clicked it early, coasting to the
win with a 6.60 at 79 mph. In the finals, Baker
went up against Southern Outlaw Tour standout
Johnny Pilcher, as the fans were treated to a clas-
sic blower versus nitrous final. It would be Pilcher
who got the slight holeshot out of the gate, but
wasn’t able to hold off the top end charge of Baker,
who crossed the finish line with a winning elapsed
time of 4.02 to Pilcher’s slower 4.08.
Baker says he always feels confident go-
ing to Montgomery, regardless of how the car
was running.
“I’ve had to do a lot of trial and error with this
new car,” Baker says, “but I also felt like I was
turning a corner a few months ago when I went
to the finals of the previous Southern Outlaw
Tour race, and then to win the season-ending
event was great.”
Baker hopes to continue his winning ways in
2018, where he plans to resume racing in his lo-
cal SOT series, while also considering a return
to ADRL competition.
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Megan
Meyer Inks
2-Year Title
Sponsorship
with NGK
By Rob King
NGK’s General Manager of Marketing. “Megan
is a strong role model to the next generation of
racers and NGK is honored to support her.”
Meyer boasts an impressive NHRA track re-
cord, competing in 17 races in 2016 and winning
her first national race at the NHRA 4-Wide Na-
tionals in Charlotte, North Carolina, that year.
She has a low elapsed time of 5.15 seconds, with
her fastest time at 283 mph.
“The entire Randy Meyer Racing team’s perfor-
mance this year has been one of our best years
yet by reaching 13 final rounds in 20 races, and
winning 7 of them.” Meyer added. “The top speeds
and elapsed times that we posted this year come
from the development of the NGK Spark Plugs
we use.”
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38 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 129
N
HRA Top Alcohol Dragster star
Megan Meyer and NGK Spark Plugs
announced during the Performance
Racing Industry (PRI) Show that the
spark plug company will serve as Meyer’s title
sponsor for 2018 and 2019. The partnership
continues a decades-long tradition of NGK as
the preferred performance spark plug for the
Randy Meyer Racing team, as NGK sponsored
Meyer’s father and team owner, Randy Meyer,
for many years.
“I am more than excited to partner with NGK
for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. NGK is a large
company that focuses on the sportsman side of
drag racing,” Megan said. “With our grassroots
team, I believe together we will win [the] World
Championship next year.”
Following in her father’s footsteps, Megan
Meyer began racing in 2004 at just 10 years old.
She spent several years competing in the NHRA
Jr. Dragster League, and after graduating from
the league in 2011, she raced in Super Comp for
four years. Meyer obtained her NHRA Top Alco-
hol Dragster license in 2015 and has since won
two national events in the class.
“Megan and the Meyer Racing team embody
the passion for performance and professionalism
that NGK prides itself on,” said Danielle Orlando,