Words by Ian Tocher
1/2/2007
ach year about this time, most drag racing sanctioning bodies have completed or are about to hold their end-of-season award ceremonies. Along with the naming of their own World Champions and the accompanying checks and trophies, most organizations also name their Man of the Year or similar title to a deserving racer or series official.
Those awards are rightfully coveted by the recipients and respected by their peers, as they typically recognize someone who’s gone above and beyond what’s expected or even required of them. By their nature, however, sanctioning bodies almost always give those awards to one of their own, often as a reward for many years of service. Not since 2003 when the Car Craft All-Star awards fell by the wayside was there a truly non-partisan award given to the person who had the greatest impact on drag racing over the course of a single year.
That status quo was changed in 2005 when Drag Racing Online stepped up to fill the void with our inaugural DRO Man of the Year award going to uber-sponsor Evan Knoll in recognition of not only his vast financial support to racers at all levels, but of his undying
passion and dedication to promoting the sport’s growth.
This year’s DRO Man of the Year, Kenny Nowling, has consistently demonstrated the same passion and dedication to the sport of drag racing that his predecessor Evan Knoll has. Whether agreeing or disagreeing with his tactics, few could argue against the huge impact Mr. Nowling and his American Drag Racing League sanctioning body has had on the sport of drag racing during the past 12 months.
With the conclusion of ADRL’s most defining season so far, Nowling has established himself among drag racing’s new stewards, a visionary who realizes that “Outlaw” style Pro Mods running over the eighth mile can entertain fans and attract sponsors and racers from well beyond the boundaries of the Southeast U.S. He was the first sanctioning body president to have separate classes for both the supercharged and nitrous-assisted Pro Mods at the same event, giving the ADRL’s Pro Extreme and Pro Nitrous classes equal billing and proving that fans would support a series with two classes of Pro Mods.
