NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Way back in 2005, an 11-year-old fan met rookie Funny Car driver Robert Hight. Both had dreams of making it big in the sport and at this weekend’s Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, they’ll finally share the same stage when Jacob McNeal makes his Top Fuel debut in Scott Palmer’s dragster.

Hight, who first learned the ropes as a crewman for John Force Racing, has had a rocketship ride to fame and world championships behind the wheel, while McNeal has been sweating his way to the cockpit, progressing from Jr. Dragsters to bracket racing while busting his hump in the Texas oilfields scrimping and saving for this day.

“It's freaking awesome; I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid,” said McNeal, who will turn 29 next month. “Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, so ever since I could work, I've had a job. I drove a Jr. Dragster for a buddy, and they let me in their big car. and I won my first ever race and then I won the Race of Champions at the [Division 4 E.T. Finals] in 2012 right out of high school, and ever since then I knew I wanted my own stuff, so I had to go to work in the oil fields. I got a bracket dragster and learned how to race, but Top Fuel has always been my dream.

The McNeal family now owns Poseidon Oilfield Services as well as tucking and contracting companies in Longview, Texas, and the young McNeal has the funding to fuel his dreams.

He got his first taste of nitro in Randy Meyer’s A/Fuel Dragster after licensing and then racing at last season’s Division 7 event in Las Vegas before good friend Fred Spell Jr. put him together with world champion tuner and driver Del Worsham, who has made a third name for himself in teaching new nitro drivers the ropes and in whose dragster McNeal licensed this winter. 

“I watched Del my entire life, through his Funny Car and the Al-Anabi car and he must have thought I was like a little fan girl,” McNeal remembered with a laugh. “But we got my license done in three runs because I just needed to upgrade my Alcohol Dragster license. I went 277 mph to the quarter in Randy’s A/Fueler and 280 to half-track in Top Fuel. My first pass in Del’s car was a 4.17 and then I went 4.02 and 4.01 Pretty good and I didn't blow anything up, and as fast as Randy’s car was, going from that car to Top Fuel like getting in a smart car versus a real race car.

Spell also connected McNeal to Palmer, who also has been known to rent his dragster to interested parties. After having Alex Laughlin drive his car for a season and a half, Palmer had made it known earlier this year that he’d be renting out his car much less frequently if at all, but knew he had to give McNeal a shot,

“He changed my mind,” admitted Palmer. “My whole life's devoted to drag racing, I have nothing else, so for him to come in, it helps our sport because he's a good guy for the sport. He’s like Alex Laughlin: Polite, good personality, does all the right things, works hard. He's good for our sport, whether it's here or it could get a ride. When I started racing 20 years ago, there were 25 cars and there was no chance we were even going to qualify, but we went anyway. We went and took our ass-kicking and just kept on going, and now that there are less cars they’re all fast cars. There are not many little guys; we need to bring some little guys back.

“We actually weren't gonna run the Four-Wides for his first race, but after watching Vegas and everybody talked about how difficult it was, it just sounded like something our team would do: Put somebody new in at a Four-Wide,” Palmer continued, “But Jacob is a hell of a racer. He runs all the big bracket races and this ain't somebody who's just jumping in. He stages right, he does everything good but I told him I said you got big shoes to fill because we loved Alex Laughlin. Alex fit in with our team so good, but Alex wanted to run more races, so his deal [driving fulltime for Jim Dunn] worked out good. He wanted to run more races with me, but if somebody's gonna drive my car, they need to run less races, because I have to drive at eight to 12 events for the people who helped me personally, like Kent Longley and Marck Recycling, and Tommy Thompson.”

McNeal, who made test runs in Tulsa last weekend in Palmer’s dragster, will also run at least the Gerber Collision and Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago and perhaps some match races, but has his sights set on a full-season ride in the now too distant future, and has cut consistent lights in the .050s.

He even had a fabricator friend build him a replica cockpit with a video screen where he reruns the in-car footage from his license and test runs.

I'm like the little Energizer Bunny,” he said. “You would think I'm still an 18-year-old kid out here doing this stuff but I love it. I fit in perfectly with this team and Scott lets me work on the car. I love to work. Even being the owner of my company, I still go work and I rig up the jobs. I just hate not working.

“This weekend, I’d be happy to qualify. That's my goal for this weekend and If we got to the second round that would be freaking incredible. I'm a competitor. I want to win.”