IHRA can be damn proud!

Watching new IHRA Top Fuel champion Clay Millican sign autographs and pose for photos a couple of months back at Rockingham Dragway, I'd have almost sworn he knew everyone at the track. And if Millican didn't know his latest well-wishers, he at least gave the impression that he was happy to see them and shared a smile with each and every person who stopped by his pit.

Millican had reason to smile after tying Don Garlits' consecutive win record and clinching the season title at "The Rock." But that's not why people flocked to him. It was Millican's genuine enthusiasm that drew their attention. You could see it in little kids' faces and in the eyes of senior citizens. He exuded friendliness.

That scene got me thinking; this is the real strength of IHRA right now. It's at the point where its drivers are legitimate drag racing stars, but remain accessible and "working class" enough to relate to the average fan. There's not an abundance of multimillion-dollar rigs in the IHRA pits, and those few that do exist typically host a driver who's getting his hands dirty and prepping his ride for its next pass. Let's put it this way: you're not likely to see an IHRA driver chatting on a cellphone when there's work to be done.

That's an important asset at a time when race fans -- and Americans in general, I think -- are in a mood for real-life heroes who aren't consumed with wealth and ego. That's not to say IHRA racers aren't interested in the $1 million Summit Racing points fund or the recognition and respect that winning commands, but I think they're remaining well grounded in their success.

It's an area where racing, and drag racing in particular, has always excelled, and IHRA is particularly fortunate this year in that all five of its pro class champions, its most visible ambassadors, quite naturally fall into the "nice guy" category. Heck, one of them even has an official endorsement to prove it, as 2001 Funny Car champion Mark Thomas was named IHRA's Sportsman of the Year just a couple of years back. I recall him saying that night that the award meant even more to him than his four previous world championships because they only proved his worth as a racer, while the Sportsman award recognized him as a good person. That's real humility, especially coming from a now five-time titleist.

I thought the same thing while speaking with newly crowned IHRA Pro Stock champ Gene Wilson recently. I was struck once more with what a nice, normal guy he really is -- even after putting together a record-setting season that legitimately earned him some serious bragging rights. It would've been easy, maybe even a little forgivable, for the 28-year-old to develop a somewhat swelled head after tying the IHRA Pro Stock single-season win record on his way to the title; not to mention resetting both ends of the performance standards along the way.

But it didn't happen. In our conversation, Wilson seemed more in awe at winning his first race this year and heaped praise on his family and team owner Charlie Hunt and crew chief Gary Henry for their contributions to his good fortune. That's graciousness.

And at the last race of the year, I watched Pro Mod racer Mike Janis put in an epic effort to lead repairs on his badly damaged engine after a second-round win. Helpers from at least five rival teams lent a hand, though there clearly wasn't enough time to fix it before his semi-final date. By a stroke of luck, however, the round was delayed just long enough for Janis to make his appearance, and he went on to win his record-tying fifth event of the year.

Janis -- who in his first full season in the class clinched the 2001 championship a couple of weeks earlier -- didn't have to do all that work. He didn't need the points. He could've just put the car in the trailer and nobody would've faulted or even questioned the decision. But he didn't, and that's true racer's mettle.

Finally, I witnessed the quiet determination of Doug Vancil riding toward his first Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley title after a couple of promising seasons in which he came up just a little short.

Vancil's immaculate big rig certainly stands out amidst the standard "duallys" and closed trailers in the motorcycle pits, but he's clearly "just one of the guys" when he's racing. Not an emotional racer, Vancil remains on an even keel win or lose, but he's a fierce competitor, ready to rip an opponent's heart out with a killer light or big top-end speed on any given run. That's professionalism, though, embodying the best that drag racing offers: camaraderie and competitiveness.

Friendliness, humility, graciousness, mettle, professionalism: it makes for an admirable list of qualities. What's most impressive, though, is that by choosing different episodes each one of these racers probably could be shown to possess each trait in spades, and for that, IHRA -- and its champions -- can be damn proud.

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