The kindest most genuine? I dunno if he takes the no. 1 spot, though I agree that he certainly is among a small and select group of really open and honest folks on RU-vid who are a joy to follow. Brent from PFI Speed and Steve from Steve Morris Engines are just two examples I regard as highly and value as much.
Clay Millican is a Class Act and a super nice guy. He appreciates his fans and his fans appreciate him! Big Jim O and the Crew are absolutely amazing. Watching them completely tear down and rebuild the engine and clutch assembly is incredible; and they do it in such a short amount of time! They are all great people and I greatly appreciate your video! 💥💨👍
Clay is such a humble person. Musta been a really fun experience for you. Been watching his channel for 2 years, he is really quite informative. Seems like he'll converse with anyone.
@claymillican25 no sir, thank YOU and your team for opening the fence and letting us in!!! I have 2 questions tho... Who let Pete Harrell in there, lol!!! And my last question, when are you doing a Drag and Drive event with Dently?? #stomponthatloudpedal!!!! 😊
I’ve been into NHRA for several years have gone into pits numerous times and Clay is the most personable active top fuel anything you’ll find onsite. People like him and his time like this is what brings people like us. Enjoyed this immensely!
Yeah I like him and Leah, they're both cool people. After a race one weekend me and my buddy were cruising the pits (we were both students at a motorsports university) she was out with her crew packing things up, we popped in for a minute and after talking with her for a few she actually invited us in to help out, afterwards we all kicked back and grilled burgers & dogs with some beers, coolest experience of my life. Funny thing is, he actually works on her car now for tsr and she remembers that night. Her and Millican are definitely in it for the fans
Kenny Bernstein is an Ahole! Tried to get his autograph once and he turned around and walked away from me! The races was over, the car was loaded up, there was no reason for him being rude to me.
When Clay said you have to "see it, hear it, and feel it", it is absolutely true! Being right next to the cars as they run is just, in one word, exhilarating! The vibrations that are felt cannot be accurately described! I actually live about a mile (as the crow flies) from a major Midwest drag strip. The tunnel under the tower, and the drag strip itself, make almost a perfect straight line to my house. I can feel it inside my home when a nitro top fuel car takes off! That is the power of 11,000 to 12,000 hp accelerating! Man, what a rush! Thanks to you and Clay for this access to the inner workings of a top fuel team!
I live 10-12 miles from the now closed Atlanta Dragway in Commerce GA and could hear them at my house. I could easily tell if it was a single run or when one of 2 cars lifted - the noise level would change.
Takes a ton of time and money to fire up warm up do a burnout and make a pass and then engine gets rebuilt after each pass very impressive how fast these engines get rebuilt takes tons of knowledge and skill to rebuild a engine in 45 minutes appreciate you bringing us along Jacob @Sally's Speed Shop
What an outstanding video! Watched Clay Millican Qualify on Saturday at Bandimere (I almost cried when I left knowing this was the last Mile High Nationals plus I raced my drag bike there more times than I can count) and he won on Sunday! Congrats to Clay and thank you to Sally's Speed Shop for all the Geek Stuff I want to know!
My first experience with Top Fuel, was when I placed in a model contest sponsored by our local Navy recruitment agency here in Indianapolis, IN. The took us to the Nationals on finals day. They had a Navy sponsored funny car. When we got to the pits, we were allowed full access to the pit, even let us sit in the car. Imagine being a 12 yr old kid with a full-blown Hemi in your lap, mind boggling! Everyone was exactly like Clay, extremely polite, accommodating and knowledgeable. I didn't want to leave. I am 60yrs old and this video took me right back to that place in time. Thank you, Sally's Speed Shop and again CLAY MILLICAN for being hospitable and knowledgeable to your fans. This just reaffirms why Clay is my utmost favorite Top Fuel Driver, besides Big Daddy! Christopher Burton, Indianapolis, IN, Racing Capitol of the World!🏁🏁🏁🏁
In the last couple of NHRA races, I went to. Good old Clay was right out talking to the crowd. That is a great thing about pro-drag racing. You can get up close and personal with all the big-timers. NASCAR . F1 or Indy cars. would shoot you if you got close to the drivers or the cars. However good old Clay. He is the greatest people person in all of motorsports. Ya just have to like him. Rock on Clay. I'll be watching ya,
What are you talking about? Nascar drivers, F1 drivers and indy car drivers interact with fans all the time. You can get a pit pass at all of the races.
The slow mo at the end with the footage pulsating is just insane 😮 Jacob you out did yourself on this video Jacob just amazing Brother @Sally's Speed Shop
This is by far the most thorough Top Fuel video on RU-vid. Thank You Some of the highlights for me personally were when you took your dad behind the starting line and the impression he got there compared to being in the stands. I will never forget that experience. Another highlight was when Clay emphasized the shutdown. Most people tend to think the show is over at the 1320 or 1000-foot mark, but for a driver, this is the big time. Getting a fast car stopped is exciting, to say the least. Keep watching to the very end.
Great video, I'm a big Clay Millican fan. The one top fuel fact that you left out, and blew me away was when I realized that on an optimal run, from start line to finish line, the engine turns LESS than 1000 revolutions
I definitely should have mentioned that. It's wild to think about that fact! But it makes perfect sense when you break down just how quickly they make the run.
Yes there is nothing like experiencing top fuel dragsters and funny cars up close and personal. From being in the pits and getting your 1st wiff of nitro when they do a start and throttle blip. Watching them in the dark is another must do. They are loud yes but it's something you feel through your entire body more than you can hear. It's like the boom from fireworks except way more intense.
Clay is so cool and humble at the same time!!! Great channel. I love the "loud pedal" . I didn't realize the blower was not a screw type. I'm excited about going to the fall nationals next month Charlotte/concord.
I'm not a big "drag guy", beyond a passing interest and a fascination with the technical aspects of the performance of the engines, but this is really enjoyable to watch - 10/10. Millican was very generous with his time and knowledge, without giving away trade secrets and it was all delivered in a very genial, listenable and non-technical way so anyone can get the general idea. The performance stats and the engine specs are just mind-blowing. I admit I was stuck in the past and still thought top fuel engines produced "only" 5,000HP!!
Awesome video about an awesome drag racer! Clay Millican is the man! Just a good ol' Tennessee boy stompin on that loud pedal. Here is a very interesting fact about Top Fuel. Back in 1979 Shirley Muldowney, the First Lady of Drag Racing, spent approx. $247,000 to run her pink English Leather sponsored top fuel dragster. (she finished 4th in points that year, right behind Don Garlits.) Today it takes about 4 million dollars to run a top fuel car, 16x what it did in '79. Yet compared to other forms of motorsports, drag racing is relativity cheap. 8 digit budgets are commonplace for NASCAR, Indy and Formula cars. Thought a lot of fans would enjoy reading about that. Keep up the great work on your videos!
THIS WAS AWESOME!!!! I immensely enjoyed this!!! I’m a huge “car guy” and (unfortunately) didn’t ever get the chance to learn about what it took or how to properly build a top fuel engine. All I knew is they ran on nitro and were REALLY expensive to build/run... As a USAF veteran, the way we pull “G”s (kickin’ the tires and lightin’ the fires) is WAY different than the extreme experience top fuel drivers experience. (Save the one brave “Full-Bird” officer testing rocket sleds way back in the day....that’s the only thing I can think of that compares...) Thank you very much for the knowledge of how truly incredible the top fuel engine/dragster really is and what makes it work!!! It is truly fascinating stuff!!!
There is nothing more impressive then watching masters of their crafts. My hats off to all in the pits. You guys and gals ROCK Thank you for sharing this info.
Good gosh! I could listen to and watch these folks for hours! Staggering power vs metallurgy vs cost vs crew fatigue vs rules vs...? Nevertheless, you and Clay Millican produced a clear and easy to understand primer on this. I myself haven't been to a Top Fuel race in roughly 50 years. That sound! That way it just vibrated the heck out of my guts was terrifying. My Dad was annoyed that I curled up in the bleachers; I missed the grand finale main event hiding behind my knees, lol! They closed Hawai'i Raceway Park decades ago, so no joy here. Now...I wanna rematch! I wanna return to the mainland at least once to experience these cars in person. Of course...these cars make four times the power the dragsters made then....(shiver)....maybe I should just use a big, ol' subwoofer with this computer of mine and spill a little Cox nitromethane model airplane fuel on the table to get the atmosphere, lol! Mahalo for an absolute blockbuster (literally), Jacob! Aloha to you and your Dad!
DUDE!! Thank you so much! This was AWESOME!! Best video ever on the workings of a top fuel team. I love watching them strip that motor down and rebuild it. Kudos to that crew! Clay is the BEST! You do great work...appreciate your enthusiasm and passion for this amazing form of racing!! Goosebumps!
Clay is a class act no doubt about it. We love watching clays videos. This was a excellent video. Thanks for bringing this kind of content to the public. Anything to increase intrest in racing before we lose our sport and race tracks forever. Thanks!!!
Could not have picked a better top fuel driver for this. Clay Millican is number One. Personality, faith, work ethics, not to mention sharing his journey with us. Great job, great video!
Damn! This is Arizona Nationals week (Apr. 2024), if you are there, please go up and thank Clay for taking the time and having the extreme patience to let Sally's do what I consider the most informative, personal and insightful interview I've ever seen. I learned more in this interview than I have in being a fan of Top Fuel for 50 years. I don't know why but I've never heard anyone elaborate on negative G's like Clay did and even mentioning that Big retired because of a detached retina? I wouldn't have minded if this interview had been and hour and a half long! Clay's a beauty, no doubt. 'Special thanks, Sally's!
Thanks for watching! We tried to take a deep dive for you because Top Fuel is so mind blowing when you look at how it truly works. Luckily Clay is a saint who loves sharing his craft with the world!
THANK YOU CLAY FOR GOING SO IN DEPTH. I'VE BEEN WATCHING DRAG RACING SINCE THE FIRST TELECAST OF THE U S NATLS. GREAT VIDEO. I LEARNED THINGS I DIDNT KNOW. MY FATHER RAN A FI. INJECTED ALTERD ON ALCOHOL, IN THE LATE 60s, HE WOULDN'T TELL ME ANY SECERTS 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
Thank you Clay. I can still feel the bodily assault of my first time watching a side by side sub 6sec run. Hell I can't imagine what 4 lanes of 3 sec cars does to the body ?
Thanks for talking to clay What a great guy I have been to santa pod many times (England) And as a diesel enginer it's amazing to watch the engine being re built If I had a bucket list I would love to attend a meeting in the USA. Thanks for the youtube
Had no idea about the difference of stroke, compression and the big one to me was timing. Amazing stuff and and amazing driver and team. Thanks for sharing!
Great video. The info Clay shared was outstanding! If you have never attended a Top Fuel event, please take the time to do so. The power of these cars is indescribable!
I must say, I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Nothing like a master at his trade. Chemistry, physics, mechanics, technology..oh man what a badass sport..and it is Americana! I love it. The driver usually gets the attention but the wrench-turners are gods. Just awesome!
What a great, educational video! I'm a huge Clay Millican fan, so enjoyed this even more. He's great at explaining everything as well. Really appreciated this! 😊
What a treat! You could have been around race cars all your life but the numbers presented doesn't make sense... one plus one no longer makes two.. It bends your mind... Also the segment of the team taking the engine apart ... An absolute display of Team work with No ego between them at all.. It's such a treat...
Greatly appreciate you alway taking the time and being so willing to teach us the intricacies of this sport. Always awesome videos. Best of luck, God bless!
So many awesome points and facts in this video and I've seen top fuel pretty close so can appreciate and agree theres no other feeling you can compare it to but 18:10 4 lanes of top fuel how are you guys not shifting the earth off its axis!? Massive respect to Clay and the team for doing videos like this I've seen a similar one where he was going through rough costs of all the components and he said you'll see guys loose a race jump out the car and throw the helmet on the ground in frustration and he never gets like that because "I just got to stand on the loud pedal of 10,000bhp"
Thanks for this so much. Clay, really appreciate it, and also a note to the creator to say thanks for doing it. Clay - on some national event, you might see a 50 year old man in medical scrubs come walking around your pit area with a paper sheet across his chest held by clothespins “Here to see Clay”. Thanks for what you guys are doing (for the third time).
I've followed Clay for quite a while. The guy is genuine. And very smart. He'll try to tell you he's not but this guy is really smart. Loved this video. Excellent content and very educational. But you have to go to one of these races and experience these things. When they say ground pounders they are not kidding. Awesome video.
Awsome stuff! I knew a little about the top fuel scene but now I feel really edjubicated on the subject. Lovin your channel dude! Keep up the good work!
If you really loved the pro race, you need to go to a nostalgia show. (NHRA or Nitro Chaos if you can’t get to a national show). You get to see amateur guys do all this at a baby level with almost the same parts. But the uniqueness and variety seen with that rule set is definitely a sight. Bowling green or the California race is the way to go.
When I’m at a set of traffic lights in the UK I always count how long it takes for the driver at the front to react to the lights going green . It can be around 3 seconds before the green light travels through the eyes of the driver and then on to the right foot causing the wheels to rotate very slowly taking the speed up to a giddy 5 mph ! I alway tell the wife a TF car would be up 300 + mph in that time 😄
Clay isn’t just a driver, he’s a walking encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to his car’s components. I’ve always been a huge fan of CM, definitely my favourite Top fuel pilot.
To fix the main studs from pulling out of the block you could switch to a billet steel block instead of billet aluminum. It would add a couple hundred pounds but it would be stronger and add a little bit more down force to the rear tires.
