Drag racing is full of family trees of drivers.
Fathers to sons to daughters to cousins, it is seemingly a tree will never-ending branches.
Back in the 1960s and 70s, Jim and Allison Lee of West Virginia campaigned Top Fuel cars throughout the country. The cars had several drivers over the years – one was Bobby Hilton.
Hilton’s driving days are way behind him, but now his son Tyler is trying his hand in the cockpit.
“I was very pleased when Bobby contacted us last year about his son coming to school to get licensed so he could race a Nostalgia Top Fuel dragster,” said Frank Hawley, who captured NHRA’s 1982 and ’83 nitro Funny Car world championships. “It was great to meet Tyler and visit with Bobby again.”
Hawley has been running his – Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School for over 30 years. Hawley has taught 1000s of drivers to improve their driving – one being Tyler Hilton.
Tyler Hilton went from Hawley’s school to driving a Nostalgia front-engine Top Fuel dragster, a tribute to the one the Lee family campaigned and his father drove.
“We’ve been following these guys and are really proud of how Tyler has done so I wanted to give everyone a look at this great car and family,” Hawley said.
Tyler Hilton is running select NHRA Heritage Series events this season. The beautiful dragster Tyler is driving is named Great Expectations III, following in the line of family-themed race cars.
