Nitro Jam

What is Stomp the Loud Pedal?

Clay Millican, from Drummonds, Tenn., has loved drag racing his entire life. Clay got his first race car at the age of 16 and began racing in the mid-eighties at local 1/8 mile drag strips near his Tennessee home. Clay has always favored cars built by the Chrysler Corporation, known affectionately to their fans as “Mopars”. Clay began racing in what is known as bracket or E.T. racing, but advanced to race in Index classes, such as Super Gas, Super Comp and Modified Eliminator, where he even held an E.T. record in A/Dragster. However Clay’s lifelong dream was to run Nitro Top Fuel, having seen “Big Daddy” Don Garlits run his Top Fuel dragster, the “Swamp Rat”, at Lakeland International Raceway in Memphis during the late seventies.

Top Fuel dragsters are the quickest accelerating vehicles on the planet. They produce over 11,000 horsepower on nitro-methane fuel. They can go from zero to 100 miles per hour in as little as 8 tenths of a second, and Clay has driven his Parts Plus dragster over 294 miles per hour in just an eighth of a mile (660 feet). The cars can reach a top speed of 335 miles per hour in just 1,000 feet, and will subject the driver to over 4g’s upon acceleration, and over 5.5g’s on deceleration. It was no wonder Clay was mesmerized, and knew instantly that was what he wanted to race!

Clay worked throughout his early racing career to pursue that goal, winning at local, divisional and National events in various sportsman classes. But the realization of his Top Fuel dream came about in 1998 when friend Peter Lehman suggested they team up to campaign a Top Fuel car. Peter would serve as Team Owner and Clay as driver. Good friends would make up the all-volunteer crew, with wife Donna alongside for emotional support. The only experienced person in the new team was Mike Kloeber, who would serve as Crew Chief.

At the time, Clay was working as a forklift driver at Kroger, and Donna encouraged him to leave Kroger and pursue his dream, while she would then work full time to pay the couple’s bills. Turning in his notice, Clay traveled to Florida to obtain his Top Fuel Competition License with the help of Funny Car legend Paul Smith. They then debuted the car one week later at an NHRA event held near Chicago, Illinois with sponsorship provided by the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Clay’s debut was also marked by the fact that his was the first ever Top Fuel car to go down the track at Route 66 Raceway.

Though Clay made his debut at an NHRA track, he and Peter decided to race instead in the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). Not only were the events fewer in number, but the Top Fuel fields were commonly smaller, and it would be a better learning experience for their new team, and would hopefully require a smaller budget.

Along with the great fortune of acquiring a major sponsorship from trucking giant Werner, Inc., the decision to race in IHRA proved to be the best they could have made, as they ultimately ended up winning no less than six Top Fuel Championships from 2001 until 2006. They also scored three consecutive final round appearances in NHRA in 2004, but chose to race the full IHRA schedule during those years.

Clay still stands as the winningest Top Fuel driver of all time in IHRA with 52 National Event wins. He also holds the all-time record of 60 appearances in a Top Fuel final round. Clay’s accomplishments and records while racing in IHRA have yet to be improved upon by any driver. Making the move to race full time in 2000, he won 68% of all races he entered from 2001 to 2006. In addition, Clay racked up the following records:

•The only driver to advance to every Final Round in a single season (2003)

•The most consecutive Top Fuel Event wins with 10 (2002).

•The most consecutive round wins in all of Top Fuel racing with 30 (2002)

•The most wins in a Season with 11 (2002).

•Clay was the first driver in the four second zone in IHRA, and still holds the IHRA World Record in Top Fuel with an elapsed time of 4.48 seconds at 328 miles per hour in the 1/4 mile. That record will never be bettered as IHRA no longer campaigns a Top Fuel program. Clay also holds the distinction of winning the largest payout in the history of Top Fuel by winning the Rocket City Nationals held in Huntsville Alabama, which earned him a record $106,000 for being the number one qualifier and winning the event.

In late 2005, Peter informed Clay that he had decided to pursue other interests. They departed amicably, and remain good friends to this day. Left without a team owner, Clay then scored a new owner in the form of Kenny Koretsky, a successful NHRA Pro Stock racer. Clay won another IHRA championship in 2006 with Kenny, also known to many as “Captain Chaos”.

Then Werner Trucking, Clay’s sponsor throughout most of his IHRA career, was forced to shut down their sponsorship at the end of 2006 due to the soaring rise of fuel costs. Koretsky had purchased the Nitro Fish Racing Apparel Company in 2005, and it was decided that Nitro Fish would sponsor Clay’s Top Fuel Team and that they would campaign the car in NHRA for 2007.

Clay continued to race in Top Fuel in NHRA, but on a part time basis from 2008 to 2011, as sponsorship woes plagued him and many of the top fuel teams during those recession years. Then in 2012, a new partnership with Memphis-based Parts Plus, who is still his sponsor as of 2021, allowed him to compete on the full NHRA tour with Mark and Lauren Pickens as new owners, who raced under the MPE Motorsports banner.

Clay, with Parts Plus on board as a major sponsor, then raced for Bob Vandergriff Motorsports in 2013. After that team disbanded, Clay and Parts Plus went to Dexter Tuttle Motorsports for another full season in 2014. When Tuttle’s expanding businesses forced him to cut back his Top Fuel involvement for 2015, Clay once again found himself without a ride.

Enter Doug Stringer, a successful marketing guru, and at that time a NASCAR Team owner. Doug and Clay had already formed a friendship years before. Doug had actually worked on Jim Epler’s funny car and loved drag racing, but was in NASCAR when he and Clay began talking about a possible Great Clips sponsorship, as Doug was their Marketing Director at the time. Doug is quoted as saying “I love drag racing, but I went to NASCAR to make a living.”

As mentioned, Clay had approached Doug about involving Great Clips as a sponsor for his Top Fuel car. One conversation led to another, and Doug invited Clay to bring his tractor trailer containing the race car to Doug’s house in McLeansboro, Illinois, as Doug was hosting an after-party for a Jason Leffler Memorial Race. Doug later recalled that once he saw the operation pulling in, he knew he was going drag racing. Doug then later called Clay and asked if they could form their own team. Naturally Clay agreed. They purchased a dragster from Steve Torrence while Parts Plus remained on as Sponsor, and it was now known as the Stringer Performance Parts Plus Nitro Top Fuel Team and the rest, as they say, is History.

Stringer Performance, which was Doug and wife Whitney, decided to base their drag racing operation out of McLeansboro in two shops located behind Doug’s home. But they were in need of a full time Crew Chief. David Grubnic, known to all as “Grubby”, was an Australian who at the time was racing in Top Fuel as well for Kalitta Motorsports, but had been let go by the team in April of 2014. Donna was one who always liked to remain in the shadows of the operation, but had the ear of Clay in all things important. She suggested to Clay that they hire Grubby as their new Crew Chief. In talking with him about the possibility, they learned just how ‘smart’ Grubby was about tuning a nitro car, and he was brought aboard in 2015. That partnership earned Clay two 1,000 foot national elapsed time records, and three National Event wins including Bristol on Father’s Day, a race which both Clay and Doug say is their all-time favorite race win. Clay made the quickest ever pass by a Top Fuel car in September of 2017 when he covered the 1,000 foot in 3.631 seconds at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois just outside of St Louis. Clay then broke that record with a blistering 3.628 second pass at the Fairplex Fairgrounds in Pomona, California later that same year. Then, as continually happens in racing, change took place once again within the Stringer Performance/Parts Plus Team, as David Grubnic announced his departure at the end of the 2018 season. As an even further blow to the Parts Plus Team, the rest of the crew left with Grubby.

2022 Clay Millican Joins Rick Ware Racing (RWR)

Rick Ware Racing has announced the formation of the number 51 NHRA Top Fuel racing team, which will debut at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals. The number 51 Top Fuel entry will be driven by NHRA Pro Clay Millican. The Tennessee native with three NHRA Top Fuel wins, 19 NHRA final-round appearances, and six IHRA Top Fuel Championships will put his experience to good use to help RWR establish itself and complete the remainder of the 2022 championship.

Clay On TV

As one of NHRA’s most popular drivers among the fans, Clay’s outgoing personality, drag racing knowledge, and ever present smile have opened the door to several opportunities in Television, as well as in Social Media.

Working alongside Producer Ray Iddings, Clay has hosted many performance/racing based cable TV shows.

His first full time effort was “Blow It Up”, featured on SPEEDTV in 2007. This show centered on pitting host Clay against owners of various race cars with the intent of literally blowing up the engines through brutal racing scenarios and exercises.

In February of 2009, Clay returned to SPEEDTV with another drag race show entitled “Drag Race High”. This new show focused on two groups of students from two different San Diego high schools who would build cars to race each other. The Teams were given $10,000 each to build drag cars in their auto shops at each school, with Clay as Head Judge of their work as Host of the fun show.

Clay also hosted “Pinks All Out” in 2009, the popular drag race show where losers literally gave their “pink slips” or car titles, to winners.

In 2011 filming began on “Burnout: The Ultimate Drag Race Challenge” on MTV2 with Clay as host. The Series focused on students from UTI who were given the parts necessary to build drag race machines, competing to eventually crown a Team Champion.

And in 2014, Clay co-hosted Gear Heads on MAVTV along with JR Todd. This show focused on building the ultimate drag race machines out of Houston, Texas based Fastlane Garage.

What’s is Burnout? 

Burnout is the ultimate drag racing challenge in which two teams of 10 students are chosen from Universal Technical Institute (UTI), an automotive technical school. These two teams are tasked to build cars that they will ultimately race at the end of the series. They are given 100 hours and along the way, judges give them challenges in which they compete for added hours to their build time. When the teams line up their rides at the end series, there can be only one winner and the losing team gets their vehicle CRUSHED…That’s right “CRUSHED” in front of the Burn Out Cameras and teams.

You may know the two hosts of “Burnout”.  It’s 6-time Nitro Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican and freestyle Motocross rider Carey Hart. Joined by the hosts for special contests and challenges are even more of the greatest racers in the NHRA. Jason Line, Cruz Pedregon, and Antron Brown to help along with the team challenges. Watch Burnout only on Clay Millican’s SOTLP channel on POWERTube TV!

 

What is Nitro Jam TV?

6 Time Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican, along with co-host Carissa Biele, bring you all the wild Nitro “Jammed” packed event action in this series, made for the International Hot Rod Association. Watch as the hosts follow the series and cover all the killer action on and off the track. Watch it only on Clay Millican’s SOTLP channel on POWERTube TV!

 

What is the Nitro Jams Race Series? 

IHRA Nitro Jam is a drag racing series organized by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). The series features various categories of drag racing, including Top Dragsters, Nostalgia Funny Cars, Jet Cars, Pro Modifieds, Pro Stock, and Sportsman classes. The IHRA Nitro Jam events typically took place at various race tracks across North America.

IHRA Nitro Jam events offer an action-packed experience for motorsports enthusiasts, showcasing powerful vehicles and intense racing competition. Fans can witness high-speed runs, hear the thunderous roar of the engines, and enjoy a thrilling atmosphere. The series attracts both professional racers and amateur competitors, providing a platform for showcasing their skills and pushing the limits of speed.

The Future of  Stomp On That Loud Pedal on PT:

Boss One Media’s creation of the POWERtube TV streaming network was built for shows like this. For years we’ve received an outpouring of feedback from national and international fans asking for more diverse shows. The POWERtube TV network will now act as a launch pad for great new shows like this. With support from viewers and marketing partners, these shows will continue to be created and cast out for the world to view on the multiple platforms POWERtube TV supplies. With everyone’s help through their social platforms and word of mouth, we can build a network “Community” together and help these creators produce more episodes and seasons for your viewing pleasure. Our goal is simple, highlight talented individuals and bring them to the elevated stage they deserve! Click the “Join the Community Button” and stay informed!