The Meyer Sisters Duo Dominates Drag Racing with Two Wins This Weekend
Mar 19, 2019 | Featured, Megan Meyer, Race Results, Rachel Meyer
The Meyer Sisters Duo Dominates Drag Racing with Two Wins This Weekend
While Megan Meyer was racing at the 50th annual NHRA GatorNationals in Florida, Rachel Meyer was in Missouri at her home track competing at the opening bracket race for the year, and both girls parked their dragsters in the winner’s circle even though they were 1,000 miles apart.
Driving the Randy Meyer Racing Team’s NGK Spark Plugs Top Alcohol Dragster, Megan came into the GatorNationals fresh from a runner-up finish at her first race of the year the previous weekend. Although the races were held at the same track, the track prep and weather conditions were not the same and the team had to touch up their tune-up for the NHRA National event with teammate Julie Nataas also competing in the A/Fuel class. Randy powered Megan to the no. 2 position in the final qualifying session with a 5.19 ET at 280 mph while Julie sat in the no. 10 spot with her 5.30 pass.
Megan went on to defeat Ken Perry in the opening round of eliminations before facing Julie in second round. Julie shook and slowed to a 5.39 pass while Megan had the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win, running her career fastest speed for the win at 283.91 mph in 5.17 seconds. Megan moved on to take out Jeff Veale with another 5.17 ET at 283.79 mph before facing Mike Bucher in the final round.
The weather conditions were perfect for both nitro-injected cars to power down the strip at 66 degrees and track temp of only 83 degrees. Although Megan has made it to the final round before at the GatorNationals, this time she got her first win with a stunning 5.20 ET at 285.35 mph, the second fastest pass in Top Alcohol Dragster history.
“I was stunned and speechless when we ran our top speed twice this weekend,” said Megan. “Each win is special, and this one has so much meaning behind it. We struggled a lot at this race last year, I couldn’t even get past first round, and we left the track devastated. But, we returned with our heads high and get to leave as the champion. I’m blessed to have the best group of guys on my team who work late nights and long hours to make sure our dragsters are the best when we arrive in the staging lanes. My dad had to basically throw away all previous notes of racing in Gainesville since there is a new track surface now, but he still he had the car dialed-in to run smooth and fast out there. We didn’t have any major thrashing between rounds, we hurt two heads in eliminations, but they can be easy repairs. Other than that, our maintenance was normal: roll in bearings, drain the oil and add in fresh Lucas Oil, 5 gallons of nitro, and 16 new NGK spark plugs. Our car is very happy right now and we hope to continue this momentum onto Dallas.”
Megan has now achieved her lifelong goal of becoming the winningest female in Top Alcohol Dragster and plans to add a few more Wallys into the team’s trophy room this year to keep that title. Catch the round-by-round replay on Fox Sports 2 Thursday, March 28 at 9pm ET.
In the Midwest, Rachel Meyer competed in the Gold Race event held at Mo-Kan Dragway in Asbury, Missouri in the Super Pro class with her Super Comp dragster. Running only to the eighth-mile on the track, Rachel dialed her bracket car in the 4.81-4.83 second range to win all six rounds of eliminations at her first race of the year. Rachel’s winning time in the final round was a 4.88 ET at 127 mph on a 4.83 dial in with a .004 reaction time. This is Rachel’s second win in the Super Pro category at Mo-Kan.
Before she drove her dually and trailer through the gates, the Randy Meyer Racing Team made some major changes to Rachel’s Super Comp dragster over the off-season, including a motor-swap at the end of 2018. “We rebuilt the transmission and spare tranny and I completely rewired my car and replaced my switch panel with a brand new one from Taylor Cable,” said Rachel. “Over the off season I broke out the practice tree, which I have not done in years, and really tried to focus on being consistent and being able to tell myself if I felt early, late, or right on time.
“I felt really good about the race as soon as I woke up. I was completely calm and kept cutting killer lights in time trails and eliminations and my car was running excellent. As I kept going rounds I was getting nervous, so I just kept taking deep breaths and calming down before I staged. I made sure to keep my heart rate down so I could relax between rounds. It just felt natural being in the car.
“I have a feeling this year is going to be my year and I keep telling myself that. Confidence is definitely a key factor in racing. If you keep doubting yourself then it will reflect on your performance, but if you keep telling yourself ‘I got this’ or ‘I am going to win’ then your performance will reflect that. I got a lucky round once or twice, but for the most part it was me doing a good job on the tree and at the top end.”
The Meyer Sisters Racing Team will next be seen racing together in Dallas, Texas at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Central Region event. The girls had a great performance here last year and hope to do even better when they return this year.