NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Dan Fletcher knows that he’ll never challenge John Force’s current record of 157 NHRA wins. There’s also zero chance he comes anywhere close to Force’s 16 championships, but he’s quite secure in the knowledge that he’ll forever be ranked among drag racing’s all-time greats, particularly when it comes to Sportsman racers. Fletcher is one of just five drivers who have earned 100 victories, joined by Force, Greg Anderson, Frank Manzo, and David Rampy. And that club isn’t about to expand anytime soon.

Fletcher currently has 108 victories, and that is enough for third place behind Force and Anderson. While his pace may have slowed a bit over the years, Fletcher remains active, and he is almost certain to add to that total before he finally calls it a career.

“The importance of that [100 wins] isn’t lost on me. I realize it’s a big accomplishment,” said Fletcher. “Now, to be fair, I raced a lot, and I raced two cars at most events, but when you consider that 50 wins is a big number, 100 becomes even more impressive.

“I hate to even say this, but the last couple of years I feel like I should have maybe five or 10 more wins. I’ve lost in the semi’s a lot. I don’t keep score too much, but I took a lot of pride in being second behind Force. Now, Greg Anderson is at like 112, and that kind of bothers me. He picked up the pace while I fell off. I still think I’m good, but it’s the same story as 30 years ago. There is so much luck involved.”

By now, most people know a bit about Fletcher’s backstory and his rise to NHRA stardom. Working a nine-to-five job in the corporate world, he won his first NHRA national event in Columbus in 1994. He used the money won at that event to fund a trip from his New York home to the annual NHRA Western Swing and was rewarded with three more wins in Denver, Sonoma, and Seattle. 

Crazy as it might have seemed at the time, those four wins were all Fletcher needed to ultimately quit his job and hit the road as a full-time drag racer, a move he made in 1997. A young man with a young family, he threw caution to the wind and became a professional racer, even though most people thought he was crazy. The ensuing journey has been nothing short of a long and winding road, but the end result has been a career that most racers could only dream of. 

If he had it to do all over again, would he?

“In a heartbeat,” Fletcher said without hesitation. “Honestly, I should have done it two years earlier when it was easier to win, but timing is everything, and I caught lightning in a bottle. It all worked out. I don’t think there’s any way you could do what I did today, but back then, I found a way to make it work.”

After his stunning 1994 season, Fletcher continued to win at a solid and steady pace for the better part of three decades, scoring wins primarily in Super Stock and Stock, with added titles in Comp, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street. He’s one of just a handful of racers with wins across six different classes. 

Along the way, he also garnered three world titles, including Super Stock titles in 1998 and 2001 as well as the Comp crown in 2008 at the wheel of Rick Braun’s Econo Altered. Some other highlights include a 50th win in 2007 and a 100th victory in Chicago in 2016, where he won the Super Street title.

“I do have a couple of highlight reels,” Fletcher said. “The first sweep of the Western Swing was big because if I don’t do that, I don’t quit my job to go racing. Then, to sweep a second time [in 2013], albeit in two different classes. I actually doubled in Seattle, so it was four wins in three races.

“It’s also been big to have my kids win races. I won Comp in Maple Grove, and Thomas won in Stock [2009], and then last year, I won the SPORTSnationals in Georgia, and Timothy won the delayed final from Bristol. Oh, and when I won my 86th race to pass Bob Glidden, he actually called me. I won’t ever forget that.”

For all his success, there have also been a few speed bumps. Regular readers of NHRA National Dragster have firsthand knowledge of this thanks to Fletcher’s frequent editorial contributions, where he chronicled life on the road, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. 
 

Flat trailer tires. Traffic jams. Broken race cars. Frustrating losses. Missed flights. You name it, Fletcher has experienced it and so have most other racers, which helps explain why his editorial contributions were so popular.

“I haven’t written that column in quite a while, but to this day, I still have people come up to me, and they want to talk about an article I wrote in the late 1990s,” said Fletcher. “A lot of people have gone through the same things that I went through, so I guess misery does love company.”

Today, life is much different for Fletcher. He’s still very competitive, and he still races the same two ’69 Chevy Camaro entries that have become family heirlooms. However, his days of crisscrossing the country and racing in 18-20 national events are over. Several years ago, Fletcher also left his native Upstate New York and moved to North Carolina, a state that features almost year-round racing and a large number of dragstrips, reducing travel and offering plenty of options.

“Covid changed a lot of things, and at the end of 2020, we bought our place here,” Fletcher said. “I was hurting for sponsor dollars, and it was harder and harder to make ends meet. There’s a lot more options here for racing, and the cost of living is certainly cheaper. Fortunately, [I] have great sponsors that have stuck with me because you just can’t turn on enough win lights to make this work otherwise.”

Fletcher admits he didn’t win 108 races by himself. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed tremendous support from a number of companies, including current supporters Micro Strategies, Mickey Thompson, ATI, Peak, VP Fuels, and Denso. 

“I just signed a new three-year agreement with ATI, and Micro Strategies is on board for this season, and I believe my other agreements are solid,” said Fletcher. “I’ve been with Mickey Thompson for 30 years, and they have a new All-Star team program this year that I’m happy to be a part of.”

Fletcher's current schedule finds him sticking a bit closer to home, but he still managed to compete in eight national and seven divisional events last season with his Super Stock Camaro, a car that he inherited from his late father, Tom. The Camaro, originally known as Checkmate, is officially the most successful race car in NHRA history. He also finds time to promote a pair of successful E.T. racing events along with his son, Timothy, and son-in-law Vinny Dimino. 

“We do it for the racers,” Fletcher said. “We don’t make a lot of money, but it supports itself, and it’s a good deal. I guess you could say I’ve come full circle. I still race as much NHRA as I can but take wagon out and go to local foot brake races. I can go race for $5,000 on a Saturday, and that suits me just fine.

“So, am I in a good place today?  Yes, no one wants to get old, but it beats the alternative. I’ve had a great career. I don’t win as much as I used to, but I think I’m still pretty good. I wouldn’t do it otherwise. I’m not just here to participate. I go to win the race. I think I drive as well as I always have. There’s just so much luck, maybe more now than ever. I seldom make a bad run, but if you score 90 on a test and the other guy gets a 92, you’re done."