Curtesy of Drag Racing Edge / Words Brad Littlefield / Photo David Smith
Megan Meyer stood tall over a loaded Top Alcohol Dragster field at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago by using deadly consistency, a trait that has propelled either her or a Randy Meyer teammate to the final round in seven of her eight starts in 2017.
The second-year A/Fuel Dragster driver has gone to the late rounds at most starts this season and mentored rookie teammates to great success such as Gainesville winner Justin Ashley and her sister, Rachel, who reached the Topeka final in her debut. A win in Chicago gave Meyer her first national event win of the season and a victory to go along with her wins at Gainesville Raceway and No Problem Raceway on the regional level.
Like many of the top drivers in the country in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series ranks, Meyer was competing in two events in the same weekend after earning a berth in the JEGS Allstars special event. Her Allstars bid ended with a red-light to best friend Mia Tedesco in the semifinal round. Tedesco ultimately lost to Joey Severance, who Meyer would face the next day. Meyer was happy to get another shot at the Tree less than a day after triggering the red bulb.
“That was the second time I red-lighted this car, and I do not take it lightly at all,” said Meyer. “It’s hard when you defeat yourself when you have a shot at winning the round. We were upset and disappointed, but it was nice to forget about it on Sunday and get redemption going against Mia in the semi’s again. My crew guys helped talk me through it each round.
“That’s the first time I had two races in the same weekend with the alcohol car. There was a two-year period where I raced Super Comp and Jr. Dragster at the same time. It was two completely different cars then, but it helped with the Jr. side of racing and helped me win the track championship in 2010. It’s not the first time the team ran the JEGS Allstars, so we knew what to expect.”
Meyer made her way through eliminations with steady 5.3-second performances. She was a bit off the pace of the 5.1-second, 280-mph-plus numbers that she was able to put on the scoreboard during cool conditions earlier in the season, but the consistent tune of her father Randy along with quick reaction times carried her to the money round where she recorded a 5.42 at 263 mph against an off-pace Severance.
“It’s pretty cool to have a chance to run against [second-round opponent Chris] Demke and Joey and all those guys and be able to say we came out with the win,” said Meyer. “We were trying to find more power with it. It was pretty slow for what we were used to. We were pretty surprised to win with the numbers we ran, but we’ll take it.
“It was nice having two cars there. It was unfortunate that Justin went out first round, but it was a good experience for him to pedal through tire shake for the first time. It was nice to have the extra help in the quick turnarounds in the late rounds.”
Meyer thanked sponsors Weld Wheels, Meyer Truck Center, Lucas Oil Products, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK Cleaner, MAHLE-Clevite, Technician Academy, Team Racepak, ARP Fasteners, Taylor Cable, Taylor TOP Glass, and Burnyzz Speed Shop.
