Driving a Top Fuel dragster shouldn’t be as easy as Spencer Massey is making the process look.

He earned his Top Fuel license just days before the IHRA season-opener in San Antonio, Texas and drove his way to the winner’s circle during that event. Three weeks later, he added a win at the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, NC., to prove he’s no fluke.

“I’m having a ball,” Massey said. “We came all the way from Texas to Rockingham and we keep getting the round wins. I’ve had my license for three weeks and won two national events.”

Massey warns his success is nothing more than having the perfect combination of talent behind the Mitch King car.

Driving a Top Fuel dragster shouldn’t be as easy as Spencer Massey is making the process look.

He earned his Top Fuel license just days before the IHRA season-opener in San Antonio, Texas and drove his way to the winner’s circle during that event. Three weeks later, he added a win at the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, NC., to prove he’s no fluke.

“I’m having a ball,” Massey said. “We came all the way from Texas to Rockingham and we keep getting the round wins. I’ve had my license for three weeks and won two national events.”

Massey warns his success is nothing more than having the perfect combination of talent behind the Mitch King car.

“If it was this easy, then everyone should be doing it,” Massey said. “Mitch King has a great car and Paul Smith has one of the best tune-ups, it runs down the drag strip and never hurts anything. It runs 4.70s and could run 4.60s, but there’s no sense in stepping on it and hurting ourselves.”

Massey entered the first event full expecting a limited schedule. The next IHRA event wasn’t on the initial list. However, with the success – the likelihood of the team being in Milan remains strong.

“We have a large point lead built up and you haven’t seen the last of us,” Massey added.


RACING THE CHAMPION – Massey raced the defending world champion Bruce Litton for the second time this season. This time was in the final round and while Massey will admit the champion might not have expected him to be a force in the first event; he was more than prepared for the rematch.

“I knew he was going to try to get a light on me because that’s how I beat him in San Antonio. I have been working hard on improving my lights in this car. I usually have really good lights in the A/Fuel car. I haven’t been able to cut what I call a good light in this car. I’ve tried lots of things including the positioning of my foot and how I do it in the injected, nitro car we race over in the NHRA. I went back to the routine I use in the A/Fuel car and had a .038 light in the finals.”

Massey said his starting line and driving confidence can be directly attributed to the team Mitch King has assembled.

“If it weren’t for Paul Smith and Mitch King, it wouldn’t be as easy,” Massey said. “Paul Smith puts the car down the track without it blowing up and making you worry about what it’s going to do. All I have to do is get in the car and worry only about cutting a light and keeping it in the groove and getting on the parachutes. That’s all a driver should ever concern himself with is only driving the car.

“If you had to get in the car and worry about the rods coming out of it, or having bad oil pressure, you might have not be able to cut a good light having all of that on your mind. You need to have a good team and a good crew chief and that’s what we have.”