
Senior staff writer
Grandfather Ray Skillman and father Bill Skillman have given Pro Stock competitor Drew Skillman their advice for the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg over the Labor Day Weekend.
“They keep telling me not to screw this up,” Drew said from Ray Skillman Auto Group in Greenwood where he is employed.
Drew Skillman, 28, is the youngest of the Skillman drag racing clan. He reached the finals in last year’s U.S. Nationals before losing to former teammate and 2015 Pro Stock champion Erica Enders.
“We’re looking forward to winning the ‘Big One;’ said Skillman, who ranks sixth in NHRA Pro Stock points in his second full professional season. “We had positive test runs with our race motor and spare motor.”
Skillman has a guaranteed spot in NHRA’s Pro Stock Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Sixth in points, he began racing in Sportsman classes in 2010 and won Stock and Super Stock titles in Atlanta in less than two years.
The Skillmans make the U.S. Nationals a family affair with Ray in Super Stock, Bill in two different classes and Drew in Stock Eliminator.
Other Southside drivers in Sportsman competition include: Casey McCarty, 1987 Pontiac 455; Ron Finney, 2011 dragster 605; Robert Goodrich, 1993 Ford; Randy Shipp, 1960 Corvette 960; Joey Shipp, 2001 Olds 586; and Randi Lyn Shipp, 1967 Pontiac.