Skillman Takes Brainerd Win Momentum into Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis native and second-year Chevrolet Pro Stock driver earns berth in Countdown
DETROIT (Aug. 30, 2016) – Drew Skillman inched the Chevrolet Camaro SS toward the staging line without hesitation just as he had done dozens of times the previous two years in Super Stock and Stock Eliminator. This time, though, it was two-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock champion Jason Line’s car lined up parallel to Skillman.
There wasn’t time to be nervous and barely enough time for a prayer. In 6.5 seconds, the Pro Stock final of the 2015 season opener was finished, and a new chapter in Skillman’s racing career had begun with a blur.
The Indiana native recounts with a hearty laugh the experience of being the first driver in 41 years to reach the finals in his Pro Stock debut at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got this. I’m fixin’ to wear everyone out,’ ’’ he said. “But it was just a straight drop from there. I had a big reality check. Those guys are very competitive and hard to beat, and every little mistake compounds. In that class, there is no forgiveness. If you miss it a little bit, you’re behind. You don’t have any room for error.”
Through 39 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events, Skillman acknowledges his share of errors in the Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS. Principally, because he’s “very green.”
“Everywhere I go I learn some new way to lose or screw something up,” said Skillman, the 2015 NHRA rookie of the year. “I think that really doesn’t change much in drag racing. I think if you race for 50 years you still learn something every time you show up. I’m still green with car setups and what I’m really looking for. The more runs, the better I am about judging what happened during the run to help the guys tune and fix the car. That’s something we just have to work on with time.”
He’s also had a hefty share of success, and enters the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway in suburban Indianapolis with momentum gained from his second career victory this month at Brainerd, Minnesota. Skillman, who earlier in the event clinched a berth in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship for the second consecutive season, defeated Line at his home track in the final.
Experience will prevent a stumble similar to 2015.
“Ego doesn’t help you; you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with and we’re blessed to have surrounded ourselves with great people with the intention to win,” said Skillman, 28, who also has advanced to four semifinals in the 17 races this season.
Skillman is a solid sixth in the Pro Stock standings coming into the final event before the six-race playoff among 10 drivers for the championship. Line, who has seven wins in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, will seek to wrap up the No. 1 seed for the Countdown. Chevrolet drivers occupy seven of the top 10 spots in the Pro Stock standings.
“Now we’re moving forward,” said Skillman, whose in-house Indianapolis program has a technical alliance with Gray Motorsports. “The Grays never stop innovating. Our program is evolving every day. I see us being more and more competitive every race in the Countdown.
“I’m here to win a championship.”
Family time at the track
Unlike many other motorsports competitors, Skillman didn’t cut his teeth on the go-kart or motocross track, or in junior dragsters. His paternal grandfather, Ray, raced in the 1960s, and in 2012 the family unceremoniously re-entered racing after purchasing a pair of Ford Mustang Cobra Jets.
“We’ve been around racing our whole lives and kind of as a family drag raced,” Drew Skillman said. “I was kind of held off from racing. I rode skateboards and worked and went to school.
“I’ve always liked cars. It’s all I’ve ever done is be around cars. Of course, motorsports is always enticing. We always raced on the street and I always had a fast car. That’s what we did. I was involved in some form of motorsports all the time, just not sanctioned.
“We ended up getting these two Cobra Jets to collect and had no intention of going racing but just wanted to take them out once. We were horrible. That didn’t work out so we were going to go out one more time. It was way harder than I thought it would be. I struggled. We knew we could figure it out. How hard could it possibly be, but it took us three years to win the first race. Three years of going home with nothing, and then we finally win one and that made it worse. That’s when we started trying to get more competitive.
“We went again and again, and seven years later I’m racing Pro Stock. It got out of control and stayed that way.”
Ray and Drew’s father, Bill, continue to compete as their schedules allow in Stock categories, with an eye on how Drew is progressing.
“We love drag racing,” Drew Skillman said. “We pursue it because we’re passionate about it, not as a financial gain. We race as a family, too. This is how we spend time together. We see each other every day at work but that’s not spending time together. Traveling the country together is a lot of fun and spending time with all the guys on the team has been a fun experience. We’re out here to have fun and win races.”