Megan Meyer Prepared to Defend RMR's Lucas Oil Nationals Titles

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photos courtesy of Randy Meyer Racing and Alkey Alex Drag Racing Photos

BRAINERD, MN (August 17, 2016) – Powerhouse NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team Randy Meyer Racing enters this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals with intentions of winning the event for the third time in three years with as many different drivers. Team owner, tuner and driver Randy Meyer won it in 2014, former RMR driver Mark Taliaferro won last year, and now Megan Meyer looks to add her name to the history books at Brainerd International Raceway.

“Racing at Brainerd has always been a dream of mine,” Meyer said. “Some of my earliest memories are at BIR with my sister and I riding our scooters and selling t-shirts in the pits. As we got older, we were fortunate enough to bring both of our Junior Dragsters to BIR for a couple of years when they allowed juniors to race during the divisional race. Rachel and I claimed a couple of wins, and it was a really fun time to get to race at the same time as our dad and share the winner’s circle with him. Now, it's my turn to return to the track and try to take down some of the fiercest competition in the Alcohol class. I'm very excited to get back in the seat after claiming another runner-up at our last race in St. Louis,” said Megan, who is second in national points after a win and three runner-up finishes in national event competition and two runner-ups on the regional level.”

Meyer will be back to competing on her own this weekend after racing alongside younger sister Rachel at the last two races, where the Meyer sisters experienced mixed results.

“After the disappointing outing we had at the Topeka regional race, where Rachel and I both lost first round, we were all beating ourselves up pretty bad. We have some of the best dragsters in the nation and for us to go out and lose first round was very upsetting. We made some changes and ran a few test runs at the next race in St. Louis, and our efforts paid off on race day. We walked home with a Semi-Final and Runner-Up finish, and the track record mph of 274,” Meyer recalled.

A final round appearance was a timely confidence booster for Meyer, who will race for the next five weeks at national events in Brainerd, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, as well as LODRS regional events in Bowling Green, KY and Earlville, IA.

“I'm glad that we're going into our 5-week tour on a positive note and a happy race car. Over this year we've collected a lot of important data and have ran some incredible times, but we've also ended up hurting some critical parts in the process. With our rig only going home once or twice in the next 5 weeks, we have to be careful not to do too much damage so we don't run out of parts and products. Thankfully, we have some pretty great companies on board with us that supply us with the necessities of racing, such as Lucas Oil, NGK, Moroso, Boninfante, ARP, Mahle-Clevite, Goodyear and Gunk.”

This weekend, Megan Meyer and the Racers Evolved team will also receive support from John Haley #1 Roofer, a family-owned business based in Brainerd. John Haley #1 Roofer is a Twin Cities leader in residential and commercial roofing, siding, gutters, remodeling, windows and repairs.

“After first partnering with Randy Meyer Racing to advertise my business in 2014, I knew I had to partner with RMR again this year with Megan driving. The Meyer family is always fun to spend time with and they do a great job on the racetrack. I think Megan will be the #1 driver in Top Alcohol Dragster this weekend,” claimed John Haley.

“We are excited to have John Haley #1 Roofer back on board with us for the Lucas Oil Nationals again. We have a great relationship with John Haley, and we will be entertaining him and some of his guests this weekend as we try to bring his company back to the winners circle,” Megan added.

Randy Meyer shared his daughter’s sentiments, adding, “We have a tough field this weekend; even though there is a small car count, they are the quickest and fastest cars in our class. The cold weather conditions will be right for our car to run in the low 20s.

“We would like thank John for his continued support of the Randy Meyer Racing Team, and we hope to get him another Wally this weekend.”

Top Alcohol Dragster competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals begins on Friday with two qualifying sessions, followed by a third and final session on Saturday morning. First round of eliminations is scheduled for 2:30 PM on Saturday. Eliminations will continue on Sunday. FOX Sports will air their Lucas Oil Series coverage of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals on Thursday, August 25th, at 10 PM on FS2. Six additional replay dates are currently scheduled for FS1 and FS2.

ABOUT MEGAN MEYER
No stranger to a life in the fast lane, Megan Meyer grew up around the sport of drag racing. In 2004, at just 10 years of age, she was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster, alongside her younger sister, and took over the driving duties with no hesitations. Megan stepped up to the Super Comp class in 2010 after a successful career in the Junior Drag Racing League, earning two track championships. She is now making the transition to Top Alcohol Dragster with her father and veteran driver Randy Meyer as her mentor and driving coach. Follow Megan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meganmeyer.racing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/meyersisters), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/meganmeyer.racing).

ABOUT RANDY MEYER RACING
A highly respected member of the NHRA Drag Racing family, Randy Meyer has had a successful career spanning over 35 years of drag racing as driver, team owner, and crew chief from AHRA Pro-Comp to IHRA Top Fuel and NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. Focusing on the things that brought the team to existence has been the reason that Randy Meyer Racing has been so successful. In 2002 he handed the driving duties over to Gary Ormsby Jr. to become the first Top Alcohol Dragster to run in the teens with a solid 5.135 ET. The following year, Meyer tuned Alan Bradshaw to become the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion. Randy has returned to the driver’s seat since then, and has earned multiple Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 and Central Region points championships. For more information on Randy Meyer Racing, please visit www.RandyMeyerRacing.com and like RMR on Facebook (www.facebook.com/randymeyerracing).


Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team receive support from the following companies: Meyer Truck Center, Racers Evolved, John Haley #1 Roofer, Denver Print House, Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK, Herbalife Nutrition, Team Racepak, Copeland Fabrications, Aeromotive, Goodyear, ARP Bolts, MAHLE/Clevite, Litton Financial, Trinity Performance Wear, and Grinds Coffee Pouches.

Hometown Runner-Up Finish for Megan Meyer at NHRA Kansas Nationals

 

A fantastic hometown showing for NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Rookie Megan
Meyer, as she earns another runner up at Heartland Park Topeka for the 28th Annual NHRA Kansas Nationals.

The busy weekend also marked the first time that Megan would be racing alongside her father, veteran TAD racer Randy Meyer in NHRA TAD National competition. The Meyer Racing team would have their hands full sorting two cars, as Randy would struggle in early rounds of qualifying.

“Going into the Kansas Nationals we knew we would have our plate full. This was only the second time we've had both Top Alcohol Dragsters running at the same time this year, and it was a big mountain to climb for our team. The stress was high with the tire shake that we had in my Dad’s car for the first 2 qualifiers which once again, caused a lot of problems. But we faced them head on and fixed the damage and was able to get the car turned around to qualify 5th and win first round.”

In qualifying, Megan Meyer would start off strong, running a 5.287 second E.T. at 268.81 mph - moving her into the No. 2 qualified position at the end of round one. Second round, she would chatter the tires out of the gate, shutting off. But in the final attempt, Megan would grab the top qualifying position for the first time in her career, running a 5.250 at 270.54 mph in the Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel Dragster. Her father, Randy, would take the No. 5 position with his Meyer Racing Dragster, and would be on the same side of the ladder as Megan. Potentially, if both the Meyer dragsters advanced in the first two rounds of eliminations, they would be meeting in the semi-final round for the first time.

Saturday evening, Megan would face the number fourteen qualified Monroe Guest in the opening round of Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations. Guest would immediately smoke the tires, while Megan would run a great looking 5.258 second, 274.83 mph for the win into the second round.

"We kept it very consistent with my car all weekend - same crew, same motor combination that we've been running all year that is proven to win races. We had an outstanding performance on Saturday as we ran a pair of 5.25s and set low ET all weekend. I claimed my first official number 1 qualifier, and I couldn't have done it without my guys.”

Megan would have the competition bye in round 2 for an automatic advance to the semi final round, where she hoped she would face her father Randy, who did advanced over his round one competitor. Megan would begin the session with another strong showing, running a conservative 5.364 at 269.13 mph for her competition bye run. Unfortunately, her father was eliminated in round two by Lee Callaway, whose 5.353 at 267.22 mph run would grant him lane choice over Megan in the semi final round.

In their only previous encounter, Lee Callaway took the win light over Megan Meyer. This time, Callaway would get the starting line advantage over Megan, with a 0.026 reaction, to Megan’s 0.065. But Megan’s Racer’s Evolved dragster was able to reel him back in by 1000 feet, taking the win with a 5.298 at 270.59 mph over his 5.360 at 267.59 mph.

This would place Megan in her fourth final round this season - with two runner-up finishes at the Gatornationals and LODRS Belle Rose regional event; as well as her first win at the Charlotte 4-Wide event. She would face the defending event champion, Joey Severance, for the first time in her career.

Megan would be out of the gate first, but ran a slightly off-paced 5.445 at 263.20 mph. Severance quickly bridged the gap and continued on for the win, running a 5.327 at 270.27 mph. Megan would earn the hometown runner-up at Heartland Park Topeka for the Kansas Nationals.

"Despite the high-stress weekend, we had a great time as a family and team at Heartland Park. The facility looks incredible and hats off to the new owners for all that they did to put on the Kansas Nationals. I enjoyed the displays we did together to promote the race, and I greatly appreciate the recognition I received from the local community.”

Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team also introduced a new partnership with Denver Print House, a one stop facility specializing in award winning decorated apparel over the weekend. The Denver, CO based organization developed and printed the new Megan Meyer and Randy Meyer Racing team t-shirts in their state of the art production plant. Fans interested in getting one of the colorful new shirts can email shop@randymeyerracing.com with their t-shirt size to order.

"Denver Print House also is a great match for my team since I am a freelance designer. We are working together with Racers Evolved to help bring great design and artwork to the Sportsman classes."

Fox Sports will air their Lucas Oil Series coverage from the NHRA Kansas Nationals on FS2 at 9 PM ET on Thursday, May 26. Re-air dates are scheduled for May 28th at 9:00 AM (FS1) and June 9th at 9 PM (FS2).

Meyer Leaves Charlotte with First Event Win, National Points Lead

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photos courtesy of Randy Meyer Racing

CONCORD, NC. (April 26, 2016) – A/Fuel dragster rookie Megan Meyer and her family-based team continue to impress in their bid for the NHRA Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol Dragster national championship. Meyer drove her Racers Evolved dragster to her first national event victory at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals last Sunday, marking just her second national event start.

 

Meyer, the daughter of 2003 world championship tuner Randy Meyer, qualified number two with a 5.252 ET at 278 MPH. Randy gave her a consistently quick and fast race car as the 22-year old driver marched through eliminations with elapsed times of 5.308, 5.281 twice, and 5.325, all at or approaching 280 mph. Meyer and final round opponent Josh Hart were close for the first half, but the Racers Evolved machine charged ahead for the Four-Wide Wally.

 

“It was so emotional. Going down the track, I saw Josh’s nose disappear behind me by half track. I was cheering by the time I pulled the parachutes. It was everything that you dream of. It was a very emotional moment for me and for my parents. We were all crying. We were all so happy. It didn’t take us long to get this first win, but it’s been a long process. This is something we’ve been planning my entire life. It’s finally here and it’s exactly what I thought it would be,” Meyer said.

 

Meyer also received a reward for her offseason work behind the computer screen, as the NHRA presented Randy Meyer Racing with the Best Appearing Crew award. She also won Best Appearing Car at her first race last month.

 

 

“Winning that award was very rewarding. I had some help from Matt Levonas with the design. He helped design the car wrap and crew shirts. We worked together, then we had some help from Racers Evolved because the look came from their Megan Meyer Signature Series shirts. As a designer, it felt good to get those two awards at my first two races. My dad has won Best Appearing Crew before, but never Best Appearing Car, so that one was special for Randy Meyer Racing,” added Meyer, who majored in Graphic Design.
 

In addition to the on-track action, the RMR team enjoyed spending time with Charlotte-based sponsor GUNK. The team attended a Charlotte Knights baseball game with GUNK’s TORC Truck racer, Arie Luyendyk Jr., before the race. Meyer also had the opportunity to bring GUNK’s Junior Dragster driver into the staging beams for a four-wide exhibition on Sunday.
 

“That brought back a lot of memories. It’s hard to believe it’s only been five years since I made my last pass in a Junior Dragster.”

 

With her first national event win out of the way, Meyer and her team will continue to focus on consistently winning rounds. She’s been to the final round at four of the five events she’s ever entered, with three of those finals being in 2016. The Charlotte win gave her the national points lead as the team heads into the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston this weekend, a race RMR has won the last three years in a row.

 

 

“We’re all very excited for Houston. I do feel a little extra pressure after that first win to keep it going, but I have an amazing crew. It’s my parents and my uncle and a few guys who help out at various races. Those guys have been with us for years and they know how to do every job on the car. Having that consistent crew makes for a consistent car,” Meyer noted confidently.

 

Fox Sports will air their Lucas Oil Series coverage from the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on FS2 at 9 PM ET on Thursday, April 28. Re-air dates are scheduled for April 29th at 12:30 PM (FS1) and May 1st at 10 AM (FS2).

 

ABOUT MEGAN MEYER

No stranger to a life in the fast lane, Megan Meyer grew up around the sport of drag racing. In 2004, at just 10 years of age, she was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster, alongside her younger sister, and took over the driving duties with no hesitations. Megan stepped up to the Super Comp class in 2010 after a successful career in the Junior Drag Racing League, earning two track championships. She is now making the transition to Top Alcohol Dragster with her father and veteran driver Randy Meyer as her mentor and driving coach. Follow Megan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meganmeyer.racing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/meyersisters), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/meganmeyer.racing).

 

ABOUT RANDY MEYER RACING

A highly respected member of the NHRA Drag Racing family, Randy Meyer has had a successful career spanning over 35 years of drag racing as driver, team owner, and crew chief from AHRA Pro-Comp to IHRA Top Fuel and NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. Focusing on the things that brought the team to existence has been the reason that Randy Meyer Racing has been so successful. In 2002 he handed the driving duties over to Gary Ormsby Jr. to become the first Top Alcohol Dragster to run in the teens with a solid 5.135 ET. The following year, Meyer tuned Alan Bradshaw to become the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion. Randy has returned to the driver’s seat since then, and has earned multiple Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 and Central Region points championships. For more information on Randy Meyer Racing, please visit www.RandyMeyerRacing.com and like RMR on Facebook (www.facebook.com/randymeyerracing).

 

Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team receive support from the following companies: Racers Evolved, Lucas Oil, NGK, Gunk, Herbalife 24 Nutrition, Team Racepak, Litton Financial, ARP, Horsepower & Heels, Boninfante, Copeland Race Cars, Taylor Cable, Aeromotive, and Clevite.

Megan Meyer to Debut Racers Evolved A/Fuel Dragster at NHRA Gatornationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

Second generation A/Fuel Dragster pilot Megan Meyer will begin her 2016 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster campaign this weekend at the NHRA east coast opener, the 47th Annual NHRA Gatornationals, March 18-20. Meyer will compete in a nitro-injected dragster owned and tuned by her father, 2007 and 2015 Gatornationals event champion Randy Meyer.

“I feel a little extra pressure and a little extra confidence,” Megan said. “We’re confident because we won it last year, but this is a new car and a new driver. This is my first national event so I’m a little nervous about that. It’s a bigger stage than a regional event. We had some great results with this car at Pomona, so I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Gainesville Raceway is a special place for Megan, not just because of her father’s history, but because of her own as well. It’s where she earned her Super Comp and Top Alcohol Dragster licenses, but she’s never actually competed at the historic track.

“I participated in Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School with my Super Comp dragster when I was 16 years old, and it was a great learning experience to transition from junior dragster to Super Comp. Two years later I was back on the track getting my feet wet with our Top Alcohol Dragster. I remember that day very well because a few of the Top Fuel teams stayed to test, and I felt very privileged to be able to run behind them for the very first time. This experience helped put everything into perspective as to where I could take myself in this sport. I grew better as a driver each time we returned to Gainesville, and last year I made a huge stepping stone of running a 5.29 ET pass and had the help of Dave Hirata to sign off on my TAD licensing pass. So it is very fitting to have my first NHRA National race at the Gatornationals.”

The Gatornationals will be Meyer’s first of 18 events scheduled for her true “rookie” season. One of the aspects she’s most looking forward to is the opportunity to compete on a national level with drivers who she either grew up with, or grew up watching as Randy raced A/Fuel dragsters since before the 22-year old was born.

“There’s going to be lots of tough competition this weekend. I’m thrilled to be able to say that I’m ‘one of the guys’ now. I’m excited to be able to race against Mia (Tedesco). She won the Gainesville regional last weekend. We’ve grown to be really good friends over the last few years because we both come from a bracket racing background,” noted Meyer, who raced to the final round at her Top Alcohol Dragster debut in regional competition last summer.

This is also a debut weekend for Meyer’s primary sponsor, Racers Evolved, an apparel company with designs for racers, by racers. The drag racing and motocross-themed line of apparel includes a “Megan Meyer Signature Series” designed to match the car. In addition to gradually unveiling the Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster on their Facebook page this week, the company also launched their website.

“The main designs that we’re promoting should all be available to browse. All of the designs will also be available for viewing on my new Augmented Reality hero cards. It’s still very new technology, so there’s a section on the hero card that explains how to use it. We’ll have some giveaways and coupons on the Augmented Reality portion of the card, so it will be interactive for the fans. We’re actually doing a buy one, get one half-off offer if I win the race this weekend. If you’re not at the race this weekend, you can check out the designs at RacersEvolved.com.”

Megan Meyer and the Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster will take to the Gainesville Raceway quarter-mile for Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying sessions at 10:45 AM and 2:30 PM on Friday, March 18. A third and final qualifying session is scheduled for Saturday at 10:15 AM, followed by first round of eliminations at 5:45 PM. Eliminations continue on Sunday afternoon. FOX Sports will air Lucas Oil Series coverage from the NHRA Gatornationals at 9 PM ET on Thursday, March 24, with four scheduled re-air dates in the following weeks.

ABOUT MEGAN MEYER
No stranger to a life in the fast lane, Megan Meyer grew up around the sport of drag racing. In 2004, at just 10 years of age, she was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster, alongside her younger sister, and took over the driving duties with no hesitations. Megan stepped up to the Super Comp class in 2010 after a successful career in the Junior Drag Racing League, earning two track championships. She is now making the transition to Top Alcohol Dragster with her father and veteran driver Randy Meyer as her mentor and driving coach. Follow Megan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meganmeyer.racing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/meyersisters), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/meganmeyer.racing).


ABOUT RANDY MEYER RACING
A highly respected member of the NHRA Drag Racing family, Randy Meyer has had a successful career spanning over 35 years of drag racing as driver, team owner, and crew chief from AHRA Pro-Comp to IHRA Top Fuel and NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. Focusing on the things that brought the team to existence has been the reason that Randy Meyer Racing has been so successful. In 2002 he handed the driving duties over to Gary Ormsby Jr. to become the first Top Alcohol Dragster to run in the teens with a solid 5.135 ET. The following year, Meyer tuned Alan Bradshaw to become the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion. Randy has returned to the driver’s seat since then, and has earned multiple Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 and Central Region points championships. For more information on Randy Meyer Racing, please visit www.RandyMeyerRacing.com and like RMR on Facebook (www.facebook.com/randymeyerracing).

Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team receive support from the following companies: Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK, ARP, Clevite, Taylor Cable, Meyer Truck Center, Herbalife24, Team Racepak, and Copeland Race Cars.