Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 76

Billy Stocklin
N THE UPSTAIRS PORTION of Stevie “Fast”
Jackson’s Bahrain 1 Racing trailer, there are two
chairs that sit in front of computers, each holding
a considerable amount of data for what is currently
the quickest NHRA Pro Mod in the world.
It’s the Sunday morning of eliminations at the
NHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio – the
eighth of 12 races during the 2019 season – and I
sit down in the chair closest to the stairs. After a
lengthy talk with Jackson regarding the talented
crew chief who’s helped him to an impressive sea-
son, Billy Stocklin makes his way up the stairs to find his seat
is taken. “I usually sit there,” Stocklin says to me and, in this
case, “usually” being a nice way of saying “always.”
Stocklin, by nature, is a creature of habit. It’s part of his
analytical approach that includes meticulous notes, jotting
down a great deal of data, and making sure to gather every
piece of information to ensure no stone is left unturned.
I move over a chair – Jackson’s chair – now seated in front
of a computer with a screensaver that humorously states,
“Billy is my Daddy.”
Back to the matter at hand, I ask Stocklin about
his notebooks. In drag racing circles – or at least
crew chief and driver circles – Stocklin’s logbooks
are the stuff of legend. Want a detail about a par-
ticular run – any run – down the track – any track
– and Stocklin has it in one of these logbooks.
Stocklin leans over and opens a bottom drawer.
In it are a handful of red logbooks, some black
ones and a few others of various colors. These
aren’t held in a special vault, but they may as well
be. The logbooks are the Stocklin Bible to success,
and a peek into what makes Stocklin as brilliant
of a crew chief as any in the sport.
The attention to detail is unrivaled, the ability
to sniff out a pattern is unequaled and results,
no matter the class, no matter the power-adder,
are incredible. While some crew chiefs are play-
ing checkers with a Pro Mod, Stocklin is most
definitely playing chess at 250 mph. “Billy is the
smartest human being I knew when it comes to
a race car,” Jackson says. “He is meticulous. He
doesn’t miss a single detail.”
For Stocklin, this is who he is. His mind is al-
ways running – crunching numbers, charting con-
Dr ag Illustr ated
ditions and planning for what’s next. It’s always
been that way, even when he was racing. If his
mind wasn’t planning, if there wasn’t attention
to detail and copious amount of notes, then what
was the point? In Stocklin’s mind, without that
approach he’s just wasting time.
“You know, I think there’s lots and lots of smart
dudes in motorsports. I think a lot of the guys that
you see at the top are way smarter than me, like
just pure intelligence,” Stocklin says. “But they
don’t have a systematic enough approach. And
I know there’s lots of guys that don’t even keep
logbooks. They just kind of have it all in their
head, they just kind of wing it.
“And they do well,” Stocklin adds. “And some
guys will say, well, that’s because that combi-
nation has an advantage, or this or that. To me,
that’s not something I worry about, because I
don’t have any control over that. You know, like
we might make little cracks at each other and I
love joking with my buddies that race the other
combinations, but the reality is that’s not my
place. My place is in here. This is where I can
do the most damage.”
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D r a g Il l u s t r a t e d . c o m
STOCKLIN HAS ENJOYED
A BANNER YEAR IN 2019,
MAKING THE TUNING
CALLS FOR STEVIE “FAST”
JACKSON, THE NHRA PRO
MOD POINTS LEADER.