Terry McMillen's Hoosier Thunder Motorsports

McMillen captures top spot in qualifying and semi-final finish

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:45:56 -0600

EDMONTON, Alberta - The River Cree Resort and Casino IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals provided several bright spots for Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster, including the top spot in qualifying and a semi-final finish.

McMillen captured the top spot in qualifying during the rain shortened second session. McMillen's 4.834 second pass provided plenty of excitement and fireworks for the Canadian fans in attendance. The aggressive tune-up the team chose for the run would push the head gasket and torch the engine block and head, providing the Canadians with an American style nitro 4th of July fireworks show.

"We wanted to put up a big number for Jet Label and Northern Provincial Pipelines", McMillen said. "Darrell and Rob from Jet Label and Dwight from Northern Provincial give us so much support here in Alberta we wanted to do well for them."

While McMillen's number one qualifying effort won't go down in the record books, the incremental numbers would prove to be a stronger performance than recorded.

"We dropped a hole early in that run and then pushed out the head gasket around the 660 foot mark," McMillen explained. "We thought if we could run on seven cylinders and run the last 300 feet with one of the head gaskets out, we would have something to work with in the last session."

In preparation of the final qualifying run, the Indiana based Hoosier Thunder team put in a new motor during a brief rain storm. With a cooler track and temperature, McMillen's team tuned-up the Nitro "InstiGator" for another run. "We just couldn't figure out how much horsepower that track wanted," McMillen said about his final attempt. The 4.834 second elapsed time from earlier in the day would be enough to hold off Bruce Litton's 4.848 second pass.

Comp2Kids auction winners spend weekend in Dallas

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:41:27 -0600

For the second season in a row, Terry McMillen and the Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team have donated a weekend racing trip to the Comp2Kids organization.

For the second year in a row Greg Tusar of Goldman Sachs has been the winning bidder. Greg has generously donated his auction item to Adrian and Alex Brown of Houston Texas.

"We consider Adrian and Alex a lucky charm," McMillen said. McMillen has piloted the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel dragster to runner-up finishes in both the events that the Brown's have attended.

Adrian and Alex forwarded this letter to our team:

Castrol Raceway teams up with Paradise RV and SMS Equipment for Rocky Mountain Nationals

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:57:06 -0600

EDMONTON, Alta. - IHRA has announced that Paradise RV and SMS Equipment have teamed up with Castrol Raceway as partners for the upcoming River Cree Resort and Casino Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Paradise RV will serve as the presenting sponsor for the upcoming Nitro Jam race at Castrol Raceway while SMS Equipment will sponsor Saturday's "Night of Fire" show. The River Cree Resort and Casino Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Paradise RV will be held July 3-5 at Castrol Raceway.

"We are excited to have Paradise RV and SMS Equipment come onboard for the Rocky Mountain Nationals. It is always one of the biggest drag racing events of the year and we look forward to working together to put on a great show for the Edmonton race fans," said Castrol Raceway owner Kimberly Reeves.

Rain delays first round loss - Gerthe still optimistic

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:21:11 -0600

TULSA. Okla. - New Breed Racing's Alesi Gerthe competed at her third IHRA national event of the season at Tulsa Raceway Park, June 13-14, 2009.

The weekend began with a display for Wolverine at a Tulsa area Academy.

"We had a great time at the Wolverine Boots and Apparel/Academy Sports and Outdoors display. It is always fun to introduce potential fans to the sport of drag racing. Wolverine's Jeremy Pevehouse brought all kinds of goodies for the display and fans had the opportunity to win a free pair of Wolverine boots. We would like to extend our thanks to Wolverine, Academy and Harmony from IHRA for putting together an awesome display," said Alesi.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:54:05 -0600

McMillen inches closer to first round win at Englishtown

Elkhart, Ind. - If close counted for anything in drag racing, Terry McMillen would have already won his first round in NHRA competition. While McMillen plays a high speed version of Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the element of surprise may no longer be a secret weapon for the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster.

McMillen captured the 11th spot in the rain shortened qualifying session at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown this past weekend. He would face rookie of the year candidate, Shawn Langdon, in round one of eliminations.

McMillen's starting line advantage (0.029) would help him to lead much of the race, but Langdon would take the win in one of the closest battles of the weekend.

Gerthe looks for more in Tulsa after semi-final in Dallas

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:20:28 -0600

TULSA, OK - New Breed Racing's Alesi Gerthe will compete at her third IHRA national event of the season when she rolls into "Tulsa Town" for the Sooner Nationals at Tulsa Raceway Park, June 13-14, 2009.

Fresh off her semi-final round appearance in quick rod at the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals two weeks ago, the nineteen-year-old college student is looking forward to this event in many ways.

McMillen set sights on Englishtown

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:15:44 -0600

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - When Terry McMillen bumps his Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster into the staging beams at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park it will mark his fifth start in NHRA competition. While McMillen holds a perfect 5-0 qualifying record as owner/driver, he's looking for a little more this weekend.

"It's time for us to step up and get our first round win," McMillen said as he drove the team transporter into the Garden State for the 40th annual United Association NHRA SuperNationals "We've missed a few opportunities, but we can't make excuses. Our first priority is to get this car into the show and then take it one round at a time."

FREE Drag Racing

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:18:11 -0600

Got my attention too!!

Canadian Drag Racing at it's finest and it starts this weekend in Edmonton at the Castrol Raceway.

Help our friends kick-off the first major drag event of the season in Western Canada this Saturday, June 13th.

Click on the flier to the right, print it out and gain complimentary entrance at the spectator gate for you and a guest.

Make sure you tell them you saw it here at Hoosier Thunder.com

McMillen's first final round of the season brings peace of mind

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:16:06 -0600

ELKHART, Ind. - Hindsight is always 20-20 and "Monday morning quarterbacks" always have the winning combination. Drag racing, like other competitive ventures, lends itself to second guessing and doubt. Terry McMillen, team owner and driver of the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster, was beginning to form a few doubts of his own when he entered the IHRA Amalie Oil Texas Nationals recently.

In his second season as Top Fuel team owner, he had hoped to improve on his five final round appearances and two wins from the previous year. While team stats proved that he was no further behind last season's pace, it just didn't feel right to McMillen. Seventh in points after two IHRA events is not what he had envisioned.

"We spent a lot of sleepless nights," he confessed. "I guess we just expected more from ourselves early in the season." Trying to convince McMillen that his performance over the past three seasons was more than respectable wasn't welcomed. Fact is, McMillen's Top Fuel career has seen the final round in 8 of 24 IHRA races for a 33% average.

Winning one for Amalie - McMillen's big goal

Sun, 24 May 2009 21:09:11 -0600

DALLAS - Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster, has a Texas sized week planned in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. All of the plans lead to one ultimate goal for McMillen - to win the Amalie Oil IHRA Texas Nationals.

In his tenth season partnered with Amalie, McMillen has come close to winning a race sponsored by Amalie, including two final round losses last season in San Antonio and Epping, NH. He took pride in watching his InstiGator Funny Car win in Epping last season with team driver Paul Noakes behind the wheel, but McMillen can't find satisfaction until he drives his Amalie dragster into the winner's circle.

"This is a huge race for us in many ways," McMillen said. "Racing for Amalie at their event, in front of their guests, always raises the level of expectation for us. It would mean a lot to our team to get this win for Amalie."

After visiting the Dallas Raceway a few weeks ago, McMillen is also excited about racing at the new facility. "This is a beautiful track in a huge market for Amalie and IHRA," McMillen said. "To see what Kenny Barnes and his staff have put together is amazing. His attention to the details have been nothing short of phenomenal. Fans and racers are going to love this place."

Amalie Oil Texas Nationals - We're coming at ya Dallas

Wed, 13 May 2009 10:14:50 -0600

Just a few weeks away now. We can't wait to get there. Check out the commercial for it.

Be there....

Winning rounds on McMillen's mind

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:06:46 -0600

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - As Terry McMillen pulled into the heart of racing country and made the journey across the sandhills of North Carolina, he had one thing on his mind. Winning rounds.

McMillen drives that Amalie Oil/Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster and knows that if he's going to have to start winning rounds sooner rather than later. The Indiana based team, tuned by Doug Kuch, ripped off 5 final rounds with one win in IHRA competition only to finish third in championship points last season.

McMillen explains, "Someone might try to look at Rockingham and say 'it's early in the season'. I look down the list of racers that are going to be here and our team can't afford to give up one round of racing to any of them."

"Top Fuel was tough enough last season," McMillen continued. "You can't let your guard down for a minute around here or someone will take your lunch before you know it."

McMillen's team overcomes challenges - but can't get round win

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:26:46 -0600

ATLANTA - Terry McMillen fought off a stomach virus most of the weekend during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. McMillen was able to put his Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster into the 13th spot, but not without a lot of effort.

"I don't think it's suppose to be this hard," McMillen said. "We certainly did it the hard way."

Shortly after arriving in Atlanta, McMillen experienced either a stomach virus or food poisoning that kept him under the weather for most of the weekend. Saturday brought more bad news for McMillen's team. Crew Chief Doug Kuch learned that his father passed away suddenly. "We were all sad to hear about the Kuch family loss," McMillen said. "Our prayers were with Doug and his family. Doug decided to finish the race with us and then head home for his family."

Qualifying at Atlanta

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:10:41 -0600

This is the pass that got us in the show to stay. We ended up #13.

McMillen looks for improvement in Atlanta

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:20:57 -0600

ATLANTA - Terry McMillen and his Amalie Oil / Wolverine Boots and Apparel Top Fuel Dragster will make their fourth career NHRA start at this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. McMillen and his Elkhart Indiana based team is still is search of its first round win.

"I've got to be honest," McMillen said as he and his team set up their pit area for the race. "We've been disappointed with our performance so far this season. It's not that we've been that bad - it just hasn't been that good. We expect more from ourselves."