Clay Millican loves to shine when he pulls to the starting line, but what he enjoys even more is showing out. Friday at Maple Grove Raceway — jokingly nicknamed the House of Chaos by its owner, “Captain Chaos” Kenny Koretsky — Millican did both, grabbing the provisional No. 1 position to open the NHRA Countdown to the Championship at the 40th annual Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish.
The Top Fuel veteran powered his Rick Ware Racing PowerEdge dragster to a 3.704-second run at 336.32 mph, putting him in line for his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 27th of his career. Millican, who entered the playoffs seventh in points, credited his team for a performance that could prove critical in the opening round of the six-race postseason.
Millican’s run drew extra meaning because of his connection to Koretsky, who purchased the Top Fuel operation in the early 2000s from Peter Lehman and once put Millican in the driver’s seat. This week, Koretsky called with a message Millican described as both encouraging and blunt.
“We call those cake points. That’s what all the kids on the team say,” Millican said of the three bonus points awarded to provisional leaders. “But I had a lot of pressure on me, and pressure can only come from within or from a friend. On Thursday, I was on the phone with Captain Chaos himself. He told me, ‘Coming to the House of Chaos, I expect something good out of you.’ He gave me some choice words about how I stomped on that loud pedal. It was good to hear his voice and good to know he still has that fire in him.”
For Millican, who has not yet won at Maple Grove, the timing of the run was critical. Justin Ashley sits second after a 3.738 at 331.69, and Doug Kalitta is third with a 3.756 at 335.40. Millican admitted he did not expect his early-session pass to hold as the track cooled later in the evening.
“I said at the far end, ‘That won’t hold,’” he said. “We were the first pair of cars out, and most of the time, that gives. I thought it was going to take a .67 or .68 to stay No. 1. But some of the big hitters didn’t make it. Brittany didn’t make it. Doug didn’t make it. So when I found out it stayed, I was pretty excited. Back to those cake points — we need them.”
The run also marked a milestone for co-crew chiefs Jim Oberhofer and Niicky Boninfante, who have built momentum through the summer. Millican said the credit rests squarely on their shoulders.
“Qualifying, the only thing a driver can do is screw it up. And luckily, I didn’t mess it up bad enough that it didn’t go down the racetrack,” he said. “At Brainerd, we went to the final but had a parts failure. At Indy, we beat Shawn Langdon first round, then had an electronic part that never breaks break. The car’s going rounds. It’s putting numbers up. I like our chances.”
The House of Chaos nickname also fit Boninfante, whose large family turned Maple Grove into a hometown race.
“Nicky has got more cousins and family members than you could ever imagine,” Millican said. “Y’all just think I have an accent. You need to meet his cousins and family.”
Looking forward to today’s qualifying sessions, Millican noted that atmospheric conditions could determine whether his time stands.
“If there’s cloud cover, somebody could rip one off,” he said. “Is there a 60 out there? Yes, it’s weather dependent. If it’s cooler, that 70 won’t hold. If it’s 80 or 90 degrees, I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
Consistency has been Millican’s mantra, both last year when he remained in championship contention deep into the Countdown and this season as the team has eliminated costly mistakes.
“The biggest thing is consistency,” Millican said. “Home-run hitters can go on streaks, but consistency usually wins. We’ve done that the last few weeks, and I like our chances.”
Off-track, Millican said he feels motivated by new partners brought to the sport through Rick Ware Racing. The organization has introduced companies ranging from Arby’s to PowerEdge and Schluter Systems to drag racing.
“Back to that pressure thing,” Millican said. “The Arby’s thing has been so much fun. Rick Ware has brought so many new people to the sport. We had 100 people here today from Schluter. A huge majority had never been to a drag race before, and when I got back from doing television, they were still in hospitality. That’s encouraging. That’s exciting because we’re introducing all these new people to drag racing.”
Millican added that the PowerEdge partnership, tied to DENSO, represents a long-term growth opportunity. “Drag racing is alive and well,” he said. “I don’t care what people on the internet say. Drag racing is kicking butt.”
The impact of small points in qualifying also came into focus Friday. Millican trails sixth-place by only nine points, and his provisional lead could help him climb further. His crew chief Jesse Schneider keeps close track of those details — and doesn’t hide his excitement.
“Our car chief, Jesse, you’ve got to watch him when things like that happen,” Millican said with a grin. “He’s like a UFC guy. He butted heads with me when we got back. He gets fired up about it as much as anybody. The little points matter. Yes. Just through qualifying, you actually could move up a spot.”
