After completing the best season of his drag racing career, Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil Top Fuel Dragster, is making plans for an even bigger 2009 season. McMillen made five final round appearances with two wins in IHRA competition in route to a third place finish in championship points. He also competed and qualified in two NHRA events, including the 13th spot in the fastest field in NHRA 1,000 foot history during the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

"We've been blessed with some of the best partners in the business," McMillen said from his Indiana race shop. "It's no secret that this is probably the toughest economy that most people have faced in their lifetime. It's been tough on racers, race teams and on families all over the world. Our partners have remained solid through this down period and we're focused on helping them grow even more during 2009."
After completing the best season of his drag racing career, Terry McMillen, driver of the Amalie Oil Top Fuel Dragster, is making plans for an even bigger 2009 season. McMillen made five final round appearances with two wins in IHRA competition in route to a third place finish in championship points. He also competed and qualified in two NHRA events, including the 13th spot in the fastest field in NHRA 1,000 foot history during the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

"We've been blessed with some of the best partners in the business," McMillen said from his Indiana race shop. "It's no secret that this is probably the toughest economy that most people have faced in their lifetime. It's been tough on racers, race teams and on families all over the world. Our partners have remained solid through this down period and we're focused on helping them grow even more during 2009."

McMillen's continued efforts with his partners have resulted in win-win situations that all of his partners continue to enjoy today. McMillen's decade long relationship with Amalie Oil continues to grow, which is something that both he and Amalie take great pride. "Terry continues to be one of the greatest ambassadors for our company," said Andy Bornstein, Business Development Manager for Amalie. "He's always working to help us grow our business and our relationships."

Working for his partners is something that McMillen takes very seriously. "If a partner invests a million dollars or ten thousand dollars in our motorsports marketing program the most important thing to me is that they get a return on their investment that they're excited about," McMillen said. "It's nice to walk into a boardroom and know that you have delivered more than they expected."

"We want to go fast, have fun and win races just like any other team out here. But, the bottom line - at the end of the day - we have to answer the question, 'how much did we help our partners with their marketing objectives'? As long as we can continue to over deliver on that promise, we'll all continue to be successful."

Just how many races will McMillen compete in during the 2009 season is still up for debate, but the picture gets a little clearer each day. "We're meeting with Amalie and Jet Label & Tape, Flatout Gaskets, Global Power Systems, Paradise RV & Coach and everyone involved with our team," McMillen said. "I think we'll have a definitive answer before the end of the year."

"We were down at the PRI show and spoke with Clevite, Perfect Circle, Impact Racing, NGK, MSD, Ringer Gloves, Holbrook Performance and Crane Cams," McMillen said. "Every last one of them said they'd be back with us again next year. We're going to do everything that we can to make sure they're represented well."

After completing his first season as Top Fuel team owner and driver, McMillen likes his chances for improvement during the upcoming season. "We're going to be even more competitive than we were last season," McMillen said. "I've got my entire team back next year, including Doug Kuch making the tuning calls. I'd like to think that if were given the opportunity we can be in the middle of the hunt for a championship."

With all of the news lately about teams that won't be racing during the 2009 season, the pressing question for McMillen is how many races can he attend? "I can tell you this," he said, "We will run a nice mix of races next season in both NHRA and IHRA. Do we have enough budget to run them all? I think we're a lot closer than a lot of people think. We've got a couple of potential new partners that could make huge impact in how many races we can attend. If we can find a couple more... who knows, maybe we can be in the hunt for an NHRA and IHRA championship next season. How cool would that be?"