NHRA drag-racing fans have lamented that the Top Fuel class hasn’t been able to fill the field at several recent races, including this past weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas.
But a number of young drivers are in the on-deck circle, biding their time until they can get to the winners' circle. Matt Sackman, cylinder head specialist for three-time champion Antron Brown’s dragster and a Don Schumacher Racing developmental driver, is the latest.
Sackman, who also has raced in the Top Dragster and Top Alcohol Dragster classes on the sportsman level, completed his Top Fuel licensing process Monday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He’s part of the new wave of young Top Fuel aspirants who expect to follow in the footsteps of 2019 rookies Austin Prock and Jordan Vandergriff, along with Brandon Welch, Ashley Sanford, and sisters Jasmine and Janna Salinas.
But Monday was Sackman’s day. He made three passes on the 1,000-foot course in Brown’s 11,000-hp Matco Tools Dragster. After a planned shutoff at 500 feet, he clocked a 3.832-second elapsed time at 273 mph on his third recorded a run of 3.851, 312.78 to meet the requirements.
Top Fuel fan-favorite Dom Lagana joined Brown in signing Sackman’s NHRA licensing paperwork.
“I’ve been a crew member on Antron’s Matco Tools Dragster since 2013, so to be able to get my Top Fuel license in that same car and have Antron sign off on my license was pretty surreal,” Sackman, 25, said.
Sackman, who was graduated from Joliet Junior College in Illinois, specializing in precision machining, has been with Don Schumacher Racing since 2013, first working as an intern on Brown entry, then moving into a full-time position in 2014.
Don Schumacher said he’s happy to oblige Sackman’s Top Fuel aspirations: “These young up-and-coming drivers are the future of our sport. It’s exciting to see one of our own making big strides towards his goal of one day competing at the highest level of NHRA Drag Racing.”
Sackman started racing in NHRA’s Jr. Dragster program in 2005 and continued racing his family’s car at that tier until 2011. During that stretch, he became a friend of Brown, who was helping launch son Anson’s Jr. Dragster career. Since 2015, Sackman has served as Brown’s crew hand on the 24-race Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour while racing in the Top Dragster and Top Alcohol Dragster categories.
“I started driving my family’s Top Dragster in 2015 and competed in a handful of events that year,” Sackman said. “Hangsterfer’s came on board initially as a one-race deal in 2015, and from there, it grew into a full-time partnership of our family’s dragster in 2017, which eventually led to them sponsoring the Top Alcohol Dragster I’ve been driving. I’m so grateful to Mike Ditzel and the Jones family (of Hangsterfer’s) for being such strong supporters of my driving career.
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