Drag Illustrated Issue 139, December 2018 | Page 89

30 UNDER 30 · 2018
JORDAN ENSSLIN
■ THE ENSSLIN NAME is well
known in racing, so it’s no sur-
prise that third-generation racer
Jordan Ensslin is one of this year’s
30 Under 30 recipients. He’s con-
sistently been a frontrunner in
PDRA’s Pro Outlaw 632 category,
winning the PDRA Fall Nationals
this year. Most impressively, the
22-year-old is this year’s NMCA
Nitrous Pro Street Champion.
“I’ve been driving since I was
six, racing a Jr. Dragster back in
the day,” Ensslin says of his road
to success. “It led up to driving
the big car when I turned 18. The
best part of it is driving and rac-
ing with my dad and my grand-
father. Three generations of us
being able to do it together is
pretty exciting. There’s no words for it, honestly.”
Jordan’s grandfather, Larry, was part of the
Jim Carlton team that made it in at No. 8 in
the Sonny Leonard 200 MPH Club. The family
trio pull from their combined decades of knowl-
edge to field successful teams, but Jordan is not
simply following the footsteps of his elders. The
college student has a knack for numbers and is
applying this expertise to the track.
“I’ve taken what they’ve taught me and bettered
myself and been able to expand on it with new
things we’re trying inside the clutch can,” Ensslin
explains. “It’s rewarding and surreal. I really like
numbers. I love math. I hate school, but math
just came easy to me, and I think that’s what’s
helping me out inside of the tuning window be-
tween the clutch, air differences,
different race tracks. I’ve come up
with a few formulas we’ve been
using to make adjustments. My
dad saw we went a .25 back-to-
back-to-back even though we had
different air and different track
temps. Crunching numbers is the
biggest thing. It’s really helped
us in different aspects of racing
and tuning.
“I want to thank my family, our
crew, our car owners, Matt and
Tom Edmunds. We wouldn’t be
where we are without everybody
supporting us. It’s amazing how
things are coming together. I also
want to thank Bill Neri for help-
ing get the four-link straightened
out in my car mid-season. He re-
ally helped us accomplish our goals and made the
car run faster than it’s ever been.”
Ensslin also expresses thanks to the team’s
long list of sponsors. He’s currently getting an
accounting degree, putting his love of numbers
to good use both on and off the track, but there’s
no doubt that his passion for racing is front and
center. – L I SA CO L L I DI
E R DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
MATTHEW D E YOUNG
■ ALL IT TOOK was one Facebook post for
Matthew DeYoung to get back involved in the
sport he loved.
He had grown up around the sport before
moving into photography, but a pit stop at Wild
Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix ended
up bringing him back. DeYoung was en route to
a photoshoot in Tucson, but made a quick stop
at the track, taking a picture on the starting lane
in Phoenix and posting it to Facebook. His friend
Jim Hughes, the owner/operator at Tucson Drag-
way, commented on the post and asked if he was
ready to get back involved, and DeYoung couldn’t
type his reply quick enough. “That was all it took,”
DeYoung says.
Now, DeYoung is finishing his third year as the
track manager at Tucson Dragway having helped
make sweeping changes to a facility on the come
up. It helped earn DeYoung a spot on the 2018
30 Under 30 list and the 26-year-old continues
to be thankful for the opportunity.
“It’s been a lot of work, but I love a challenge,”
DeYoung says. “I wouldn’t want to do anything
different. I love the people we’re meeting and
we’re set to be a national event track. We want
to bring in as much as we can.”
DeYoung has been active in every aspect of the
track’s overhaul, from painting all the buildings
blue and white to doing their own track prep
to bringing in a number of new events. It has
reinvigorated the track, the participants and
brought out a bigger fanbase than the facility has
ever experienced. More than 10,000 spectators
showed up for Street Outlaws this year, marking
the biggest crowd the track has ever had.
“It’s been great to see the excitement of the
community,” DeYoung admits. “It’s just the little
things and paying attention to the details, and
now we’re seeing racers come back who haven’t
raced in years. We want to make everyone feel as
happy as the guy who won.”
DeYoung has helped make incredible strides
and the effects and energy at the track is palpa-
ble. Tucson Dragway will host its first NHRA
Divisional event in 2019, while DeYoung and
the team continue to work nonstop, all with the
goal of create the best experience possible at the
dragstrip.
“Every year we want to do something differ-
ent,” DeYoung stresses. “How do we improve
something every time a big race comes back?
That’s what we want to do. We’re seeing a turn-
around and we want to continue to draw every-
body together.” – J O S H H AC H DI
AT DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
December 2018
DragIllustrated.com
| D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 89