Matt Wilson of Team SuperGrip kept the company’s final round streak alive on May 20 as the tire executive raced to victory in the NHRA Thunder Valley Celebrity Drag Challenge at historic Bristol Dragway.
Meanwhile, before racing began, NHRA Top Fuel driver Clay Millican, whose Bristol win in 2017 was named one of NHRA’s top 75 moments this year during the organization’s 75th anniversary, was on hand to coach the celebrities and make the first official run to christen the newly installed racing surface at Bristol Dragway in the track’s Corvette pace car. Millican drove the beautiful black Chevy to an elapsed time of 12 seconds with a speed of 115 mph in the right lane.
“It felt really good to me, and I didn’t feel any bumps in the right lane, so that’s a good thing; the surface was very smooth,” Millican said. “I think Friday night with the right conditions, we could see a new track speed record set.”
Wilson took Millican’s tips and suggestions to heart and used them to defeat WCYB Executive Sports Producer Heather Williams in a thrilling final round, extending Team SuperGrips hold on the annual event that showcases the drag racing talents of area celebrities and also provides a preview of the upcoming SuperGrip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 12-14, round No. 9 of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Wilson also took round wins over WJHL’s Kasey Marler, Bryan Clemmons of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, Steve Wilmoth of TriCitiesSports.com and WJHL Sports Director Kenny Hawkins in the opening rounds. Team SuperGrip member Sean Embree won the event in 2024 and was runner-up to pro football player AJ Johnson last year.
“I had a lot of fun out there, this event is such a blast,” Wilson said as he was presented his trophy and plaque. “I really enjoyed the competition and I’m looking forward to a great weekend in June for the SuperGrip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.”
Wilson also earned an award for producing the Quickest Reaction Time at .240 of a second. He needed that type of starting line advantage to beat Williams in the final round, who had ran great all day, defeating Mark Lester of T3 Vodka, Baylor Hall of Birthplace of Country Music, Charlie Fugate of Food City, and former Tennessee State Senator Jon Lundberg of The Corporate Image to advance to the final.
“In all the years I have been in the Celebrity Challenge this is the best I have done, so I am really happy,” Williams said. “Matt was really on his game. In the final, I looked over and he was gone at the green light. Congrats to him. In the past I was usually out by round two, so this is great.”
The 32 participants drove identical 1.5 L turbo Buicks and received excellent coaching from Millican, who also promoted the race with some early morning interviews on both television and radio.
Millican gave a pep talk to Baylor Hall from the Birthplace of Country music, and the drag racing rookie proceeded to win her first-round match against Earl Neikirk.
“It was really cool when Baylor won on a holeshot,” Millican said. “She did exactly what we talked about. She didn’t totally understand what she did but she executed it perfectly. I thought It was interesting with all the celebrities coming up and asking me for tips and suggestions to help them run faster, because they wanted to win their round so bad. You can tell everyone that was here today really supports the track and is looking forward to the race coming up in June.”
Before racing began Millican talked about his top NHRA Moment, his 2017 Top Fuel victory at the Thunder Valley Nationals that took place on Father’s Day two years after he lost his young son Dalton in a motorcycle accident. After a very successful IHRA career with six championships and 51 victories, Millican had a slow start in NHRA and posted several runner-up finishes until that fateful day at Bristol in 2017.
“It was meant to be, just an amazing day that I will never forget,” Millican said. “I know my son helped me get the win. I could feel his energy with me all day. I have since won races at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the Winternationals in Pomona in Southern California, but that win at Bristol will always be my most cherished victory.”
Millican said he was so happy that NHRA recognized the moment as part of its 75th Anniversary celebration. He said not a day goes by when he doesn’t talk about that win with someone.
“The overwhelming support from fans, racers, staff here was tremendous that day,” Millican said. “Everybody knew how big that win was. I admit, I still have a hard time watching the video of that interview because it is so emotional.”
Millican is looking forward to trying to earn another Bristol victory coming up on June 12-14 and improve upon his current points position. Since his 2017 win at Bristol, he has earned two No. 1 qualifying positions (2018 and 2024) and also won the 2024 #2Fast 2Tasty Challenge. Millican also posted a runner-up finish at Bristol in 2004 to Tony Schumacher.
He says he and his Rick Ware Racing team are excited to breakout a new notebook on Bristol with its brand-new track surface.
“The team is excited to try out the new surface,” Millican said. “I think on the first run Friday you will see most teams go with their baseline tune-up that goes down the track and according to what you get on that run, will determine if they swing for the homerun on Friday night. We are visiting some new tracks this year and this year at Bristol even though we’ve raced here for many years will sort of be like that with the new track surface. We are looking forward to the challenge.”