Dirt
DI Driver Blog Roster Grows
Muncie Dragway, as well as some NHRA Super
Comp races. Her priority this year is to focus
on traveling. She hopes she can compete at the
coveted U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis over Labor
Day weekend.
“I really want to go to the U.S. Nationals, so
bad! At least for the experience of going down the
track,” says McCreery. “2018 was really a training
year for me. This year I’m ready to win.”
The Muncie, Indiana, native chose to con-
tinue her education after high school at UNOH
because of the strong focus they have on racing.
“UNOH has been a great school for me,” McCre-
ery says. “I was drawn to it because of their focus
on racing. They support my racing 100 percent.”
She’s currently a Junior and majoring in busi-
ness administration with a concentration in mar-
keting and automotive management. If becom-
ing a professional racer in the Top Fuel class
doesn’t work out, she sees her future running a
business that’s involved in the racing industry.
Keep up with McCreery’s 2019 season
through her DI Driver Blog presented by
UNOH on DragIllustrated.com and follow her
on Twitter at @maycemccreery and Instagram
at @mayce_mccreery.
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Mayce McCreery chronicles life
as a UNOH student racer
By Allyson Johnson
T
hrough a new partnership with
the University of Northwestern Ohio
(UNOH), sportsman racer Mayce Mc-
Creery has signed on to become the
newest “driver blogger” on DragIllustrated.com.
McCreery’s first blog post went online in Febru-
ary and will appear monthly on the site as the
UNOH student races through the 2019 season.
This year will be McCreery’s first season to
run one of NHRA’s most popular sportsman
classes, Super Comp. She started driving her
Super Pro dragster in 2018, but is moving into
the Super Comp class in 2019. Over the winter,
McCreery and her team have been hard at work
getting her Nye’s Automotive/Moser Engineer-
ing dragster ready for competition, including
updating the chassis from a hard-tail dragster
to a 4-link car.
While she doesn’t have her racing schedule
completely finalized yet, she’s looking forward
to competing in Super Pro at her home track,
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Pleasanton Ready Mix
Joins Scrappers Racing
for 2019 Title Bid
M
ike Salinas and his Scrappers
Racing team are on the verge of a
breakout season in the NHRA’s
Top Fuel ranks in 2019. One of his
first customers will be there to enjoy the ride.
Salinas announced ahead of the season-open-
ing NHRA Winternationals that Pleasanton
Ready Mix Concrete has signed as an associate
sponsor for the 2019 season with Salinas’ Top
Fuel team, continuing a steady momentum the
team has been building heading into the season.
Pleasanton Ready Mix was Salinas’ second
customer at his business 36 years ago and he
has maintained a strong relationship with own-
er John Santos, who is also a major drag racing
fan. With Salinas looking to take the next step
as a team in 2019, it was a natural fit for the
sponsorship.
“This is really exciting for us to add Pleasanton
as a sponsor for 2019. It’s a great family with great
people and they love racing,” Salinas said. “They’re
going to be able to meet with the top people in
their industry at the races to help them and it’s
really a perfect opportunity for everyone involved.
We’re aggressively going after sponsors and we
want to be around like-minded people such as
John who want to be a part of this team and be
involved in this sport. It’s very exciting to have
this come together before the start of the year.”
It’s another big step in the right direction for
Salinas and his Scrappers Racing team, which
added Brian Husen as tuner and Alan Johnson
as tuning advisor in the offseason. Adding a
close-knit sponsor is another boost of momen-
tum, while Pleasanton Ready Mix is just as excited
with the partnership.
Santos bought the company in 1983 and now
has 12 concrete trucks for the successful business
based in Pleasanton, California, which is less
than an hour from San Francisco, Oakland and
San Jose. Santos believes working with Salinas
and traveling to a number of races will be a great
benefit for his company, furthering a relationship
that is nearly four decades old.
“I’ve known Mike for 36 years now,” said Santos,
who owns Pleasanton Ready Mix along with his
son, Rob. “He came through the door of our shop
looking to buy scrap metal, back when he was
first getting started with his business. I told him I
had three old mixer trucks out back that he could
have. The first thing he asked was, ‘How much
do you want for them?’ I told him he could have
them, just to take them, but he was determined
to buy them. I wouldn’t let him.”
Nearly 40 years later, Salinas hasn’t forgotten
that act of kindness, and neither has John Santos.
“We couldn’t be happier for Mike and the world-
class team he’s assembled with Scrappers Racing,”
Santos added. “We’re excited to go along for the
ride with them on the Mello Yello NHRA Drag
Racing Series tour. Mike’s a great man, and we’re
proud to be associated with him.”
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26 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 143
By Josh Hachat