Drag Illustrated Issue 139, December 2018 | Page 30

Dirt
Getting the Band
Back Together
Clay Millican to reunite with tuner Mike Kloeber in 2019
By Whitney Stringer
S
traightline Strategy Group, recent-
ly announced as the new ownership
group of NHRA Top Fuel team Stringer
Performance, is proud to announce the
addition of Mike Kloeber as crew chief of the
Parts Plus/Strutmasters Top Fuel dragster for
the 2019 season and beyond. Kloeber, who led
veteran driver Clay Millican to an impressive
50 IHRA Top Fuel wins and six IHRA world
championships within a seven-year period is
excited to have the opportunity to team up with
Millican once again.
“Getting a call from Doug Stringer with the op-
portunity to race with this team provides a path
to conclude some unfinished business for us all
– winning a NHRA Mello Yello championship,”
said Kloeber. “With the addition of partners
Scott Gardner and J.J. Koehler to the team, along
with Doug, whom I also share a history with, my
motivation couldn’t be any higher. Their exper-
tise and additional resources position the pro-
gram for exceptional growth and performance.”
While away from racing, Kloeber has held
various positions for a diesel-engine distribution
company in Ridgefield, Washington, overseeing
the engine manufacturing operations since 2010.
Most recently in 2018, Kloeber joined Plexus
Corporation as Quality Manager of a $25 mil-
lion business-unit involved in semiconductor
and automation control panel manufacturing
in Portland, Oregon.
Kloeber’s last involvement in racing was in
2014, running a few events with Sidnei Frigo’s Top
Fuel dragster, but he never lost his passion for the
sport or his desire to win a NHRA championship.
“A reunion with Doug and Clay is the exact
situation I’ve been looking for,” added Kloeber,
who had previously worked with Stringer on Jim
Epler’s Rug Doctor Funny Car.
Stringer couldn’t be happier with the addition
of Kloeber to the team.
“Sometimes life comes full circle, and we be-
lieve our company’s strong ties to faith and family
along with an agenda built on trust, passion and
desire with the ability to weather storms brought
this opportunity together,” said Stringer. “Mike
and Clay have had tremendous success in the
past and Mike fully embraces our team’s platform
and goals.”
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Issue 139