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Bobby Hilton did many things in his storied Top Fuel career but participating in a boycott was never one of them. 

Hilton, more commonly known as the driver of the Jim & Allison Lee dragster in the 70s and 80s, fields a Nostalgia Top Fuel car driven by his son Tyler. He's a two-time IHRA Top Fuel national event winner, including a prestigious win at the $20,000-to-win 1980 IHRA Spring Nationals event. He was also an NHRA Div. 2 Top Fuel champion. 

When the All American Fuel Dragsters [AA/FD] announced their intentions to boycott the upcoming Holley Hot Rod Heritage Series event in Bowling Green, Ky., Hilton was never on board with the plan. The AA/FD group plan to race the same weekend elsewhere. 

"I never agreed with the whole battle, to begin with," Hilton said. "I showed my disapproval of it right off the bat. I would never; my family would never allow us to participate in any kind of boycott or protest. It's just not our nature. We'll be at Bowling Green to support the fans that have supported us over the years."

Hilton said the NHRA's Heritage Series is essential to his program. 

"I feel like it's an NHRA-recognized national series," Hilton said. "It's sanctioned. It's at the highest level it can be for the type of car we run. We can match race these cars all day, I did it for the first couple of years to get Tyler seat time, but that's not what we want to do. We want to race competitive, high-level racing. These cars are very, very sophisticated now. And so that's the level we want to race at."

Hilton is unsure as to whether he will be the lone wolf or if he will have company at Bowling Green, but the water remains murky at this time. 

"I'd like to throw out a car count to you and names, but honestly, right now, it's more like a card game," Hilton admitted. "Nobody will show their cards because look, at the end of the day, man, when you leave Bowling Green, you're going to leave with full pay and full points, whether it's one car or 20 cars. So, if you're racing for points, which the top six, eight cars in the country are, then it's a big deal. 

"The Funny Cars run one more race than we do. So they get one taken away. For us, man, every race we run is a points race. So I don't know, I want to say we should have four to six cars. That's what I'd like to see. I've really, really been pushing for that within the group."

Hilton believes the boycott will be successful for the racers to get what they want, but in the end, their actions will leave a scar for years to come. 

"Everybody just wants to go back to normal after Bowling Green, but it'll never be back to normal, man," Hilton said. "It's a scar; it's a cut that's not going to heal for a long, long time. I'm passionate about it. I really am. I feel like we brought a lot to the table. We are one of only three cars that made every race in the last five years. From coast to coast, man, blowing it up, burning it up, getting our truck stolen, everything. So I'm passionate about it for sure."

A source close to the situation confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com that the AA/FD group, along with the Midwestern Extreme Top Fuel, all of whom were initially scheduled to appear in Bowling Green, will now run as part of the Mid West Drag Racing Series' Summer Speed and Fire Spectacular event, June 17 - 18, at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis. 

Class frontrunners Adam Sorokin, Jim Murphy, and recent March Meet winner Bret Williamson are expected to be in St. Louis, where they will likely race on the same eighth-mile format as the MWDRS.

Some call their actions a boycott, while others describe it as just racing another event.

As Hilton sees it, just using the name boycott is a word that leaves a lasting impression. 

"it's a strong statement, man, but a boycott is nothing more than a personal vendetta that's drug other people into it," Hilton said. "Really, that's what's going on right now. They didn't get their chocolate milk with their cookies. They got plain milk with their cookies. And look, man, Jim and Allison, my dad, John Hilton, they would have never in a million years been involved with any kind of boycott or protest. 

"We do this for the love of it. We're certainly not doing it for a living. We don't carry that kind of weight. I feel like an NHRA sanctioned heritage race; one brings a guaranteed purse to the table every race. Two, it brings a great safety crew, too, Safety Safari, and a full tech crew to make sure that we're up to speed. So just those things are worth it.

"I saw it all back then, even in my dad's day with the PRO [series, opposite of Indy] and stuff, it didn't work. Where'd we end up two or three years later? Right back at Indy, right? And everybody is pissed off. So yeah, that's how I see it. A wound that will take forever to heal. It's going to take a lot of work to heal it up because, look, it's hard to slap them guys in the face, NHRA. And that's what it is. I just feel so bad for the spectators, man, that have waited to come to that drag race, see nitro cars run, and then only get to see a handful. It's terrible."