Clay Millican had a lot of fun at the recently completed NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kan. However, it paled in comparison to the week before.

Millican admittedly entered the 11th stop on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule inspired. 

A few weeks ago, he was not enthused watching another driver behind the wheel of his race car. On Saturday, the driver of the Parts Plus-sponsored dragster got to be that guy.

Millican got the nod to drive the Nitro Ninja Dragster fielded by the Lagana Brothers, Dom, and Bobby, at the highly successful Northern Nationals in Martin, Mich. Yes, he drove some else’s dragster and loved it. 

“That was one of the coolest things I have done in I don’t know how long,” Millican said. “I mean, it was old-school match racing at its best. And for me, personally, it was one of the most pressure-packed runs that I have made, because Dom Lagana could have invited anybody in the country, in the world as far as that goes, to drive his race car. But yet he chose me to do it. So the last thing I wanted to do to was go out there and to put it in golf terms, shake it, you know what I mean. Go out there and mess up.”

For Millican, seeing Lagana coordinate and command the efforts for the family-owned dragster was well worth the price of admission if he had been charged to get in the event. 

“To watch Dom Lagana is unbelievable,” Millican said. “That guy is one of the most motivational, unbelievable spirits because he’s not slowing down. I mean, anybody could not fault him if he was down and out, and I’m sure he has his down-and-out moments. 

“To watch him around that race car, you could tell he was at home. To watch him, get down and do the bottom end with no questions asked, no nothing. To watch his face while I was sitting in his car, warming it up, you could see pure joy. For a guy that’s been through what he’s been through, he’s an incredible human being and I absolutely had a blast.”

Lagana was critically injured in a non-racing automobile accident on August 10. He has since returned to the NHRA tour as a crewmember on the CAPCO Racing Top Fuel dragster. 

Millican has had a connection with Dom for decades and has remained one of the biggest fans.

“We’ve known him since he was a pre-teenager,” Millican explained. “So we’ve watched him grow up, and we’ve not only raced against Bobby and Dom, we raced with them. There were times when the Werner Enterprises team made sure they were able to go, whether it meant rolling a motor over so they had a motor for their car or them going with us to the NHRA races when we weren’t doing IHRA. There’s a big connection, long history and it was an incredible, unbelievable, awesome weekend that I will not forget.”

Millican said one day if Dom chooses to drive again, words won’t be able to describe being able to witness the feat.

“I think it would be just absolutely awesome,” Millican said. “He’s an amazing young man. If he makes that decision, the entire industry will work their tails off to help him make it happen. The video of him being in the funny car warming it up was awesome and if he wants to do it, no doubt he can make it happen.”