Driver Matt Gillen, crew chief (and proud dad) Bill Gillen and crewman Jimmy Mayfield from Gainesville helped set the Outlaw Jr. Dragster world on its ear this weekend by obliterating the 4.213 second record (on a 330 foot course) at Northwest Tennessee Motorsports Park.
Gillen's time was a blazing 4.188, making him the first ever Jr. Dragster racer to dip into the teens. He backed it up an hour later with a 4.197 second time, proving it was no fluke. Until this weekend, the three year old series' best elapsed time was 4.225.
The first thing Bill Gillen did was to dedicate the record to the memory of his late teammate, Barry Sisson and his surviving family, Lisa and Joshua Sisson.
Gillen was quick to point out he had a lot of help achieving his goal of setting a world record. He thanked Arlen, Tim and all the crew at Motivational Tubing, saying they had by far the best chassis in the world. He then thanked Roy and Russ at Whaley Unlimited Horspower for a fast engine. He also thanked Monte at Northwest Tennessee Motorsports Park for giving them a great track to race on.
He even credited some of his competitors and friends Jimmy Spears and Lynn Haddock, "for setting the bar high enough to make us try harder." Gillen finished by adding, "We feel really blessed to have this opportunity to be able to do this with the friends that we consider family."
-- Tim Glover
Wednesday
January 15th, 2025
10:30AM
