DI146
FEATURES
18 Like Father,
Like Daughter
18
“All the Track
Will Hold”
With two wins in three races in the
legendary “Popeye II” Pontiac Firebird,
Tricia Musi has what it takes to make
history repeat itself as she chases her
first NMCA championship in the car
her father, Pat Musi, drove to multiple
championships. By Ian Tocher
26 Making up for
Lost Time
Bill Skillman was 50 years old when he
made his first pass down a drag strip in
2012. Today, he’s racking up many more
passes in NHRA’s SAM Tech Factory
Stock Showdown, where he and son
Drew are two of the series’ toughest
competitors. By Kelly Wade
43 Record Year
After refining his Fulton-powered ’68
Camaro over the course of the 2018
season, Jim Halsey and his Maryland-
based team have climbed to the top
of the PDRA’s Switzer Dynamics Pro
Nitrous class, posting two wins in the
first three races of the season.
By Nate Van Wagnen
92
92 A/Fuel School
Veteran A/Fuel dragster driver, tuner
and owner Randy Meyer is off to an
incredible start to the 2019 season,
leading his team of 20-something-
year-old drivers to six wins in a dozen
consecutive final rounds.
By Nate Van Wagnen
43
COLUM N
54 On the Road
With a list of tracks visited approach-
ing 140, it’s hard to believe a Memorial
Day visit to Great Lakes Dragaway was
Van Abernethy’s first to the legendary
Wisconsin quarter-mile drag strip.
CO LU MN
57 The Real Deal
Tommy D’Aprile experienced a wide range of emo-
tions at the PDRA North-South Shootout, where
he won the rain-delayed Virginia race and lost on
a holeshot in the Maryland final round hours later,
learning a lesson in dealing with disappointment.
DIALE D IN
63 Dragway 42
This rural Ohio drag strip was
one step away from meeting its
demise before Ron Matcham and
his family stepped in to purchase
and completely renovate it.
ON THE COVER Six-time NHRA world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr.
as photographed by Brooke Hachat at the JEGS High Performance headquarters in Delaware, Ohio.
6 | Drag
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 146
DEPARTMENTS