In 1999, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels joined Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School as its official tire supplier. While the relationship between the two entities has grown over the decades, the Mickey Thompson team knows the importance of honoring its hardworking employees and does so with an annual tradition of sending its staff to participate in the School’s Dragster Adventure Challenge.
Specifically designed as a fun course to give enthusiasts the chance to drive a dragster and compete side-by-side without the requirements of becoming a licensed racer, Frank Hawley’s Dragster Adventure Challenge is available both to the general public and to corporations at various tracks throughout the year.
In the past, Frank Hawley’s has hosted groups from John Force Racing, In-N-Out Burger, Aeromotive, Mac Tools, Icon International, and even the United States Navy Seals, but Mickey Thompson brings a group every year to get in on the action. In 2021, M/T’s guests of honor enjoyed a mid-July day at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
“We’ve hosted the Dragster Adventure Challenge for M/T employees and customers for years. It’s the first opportunity many of these folks have ever had to get behind the wheel of a dragster and blast down the quarter-mile. They absolutely love it!” noted Hawley, who enjoys making the event a special experience.
“We bring people who usually never get out of the office – from accounting to sales to warehouse crew and even human resources – everyone at Mickey Thompson gets to go and be introduced to high performance,” added Jason Moulton, Director of Motorsports at Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels. “It’s great to see people get so excited and see the looks on their faces when they make a run for the first time. Even people who have raced elsewhere have a blast!”
Driving full-sized, competition-style cars capable of going 0-60 MPH in 3 seconds and surpassing speeds of 130 MPH in the quarter-mile was thrilling for the participants, but perhaps the pinnacle of the day was the competition itself. “We did a chip draw to pair everyone fairly, and everyone had fun staging against a competitor, practicing their reaction times, and seeing who would be the first to the finish,” Moulton elaborated of the memorable capstone event. “Our winner was Jeremy Jacobs who has worked closely with me over the years on product development, tread design, and tire modeling, and the runner-up was my brother, Jeremy Moulton – a proud moment for me personally!”
While Moulton didn’t partake in the 2021 festivities as he opted to spend the day on the sidelines as a spectator, he did go through the program a little over a decade ago. “It was my first experience driving an automatic transmission-equipped vehicle, and a dragster, on the dragstrip,” laughed the man who had exclusively raced manual transmission cars for fifteen years prior. “It was a ton of fun, and Frank gives such great feedback. I still carry with me today tips that he gave me all those years ago; he truly loves to pass his knowledge along to others.”
Although the Dragster Adventure Challenge is focused on fun, the partnership between Mickey Thompson and Frank Hawley’s is one that both businesses take seriously. “M/T approached us years ago about trying their tires and we loved them,” said Hawley. “Mickey Thompson’s tires provide our customers with traction, reliability, and performance.” All of the racecars at the School roll on M/T rubber, and, as each set of tires sees plenty of passes, there’s tons of valuable information and data constantly being gathered.
“It’s an honor for us to be part of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. Frank’s championship pedigree and the great feedback he gives us creates a strong synergy,” stated Moulton, who predicts the 20+ year relationship will continue well into the future. “Plus, when students attend, they experience Mickey Thompson’s products and can trust our tires when they move forward with their racing or performance driving goals.”
For Frank Hawley’s, the advantage of working with Mickey Thompson means reliable performance and excellent value – all neatly packaged into a tire that is produced by an American-based company that values the true spirit of the sport of drag racing.
Repair shops were invited to participate in a unique two-month promotion where GRAND PRIZE winners were chosen to attend an all-expenses paid trip to the “Drag Racing Adventure at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School” in Las Vegas, NV. Shops simply purchased parts from 30+ sponsoring manufacturers where each dollar earned a point, which earned an “entry” in the drawing so the more points they earned, the bigger their chances to win. The winners were randomly drawn at the end of the promotion.
Driver Kevin Smalley took home the win and the trophy for the day! “Thank you to Frank and his team for an exciting and awesome time in Las Vegas! I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for a competition license class in August!”
“The group from Parts Plus had a fantastic experience”, said Steve Tucker! “The day we spent with Frank and team was the highlight of our Vegas trip with our customers. The day was fun, exhilarating and exciting! We had 16 grand prize winners attend and we had drivers participate in age from 30 to 75! The fact that the steering wheel and pedals can be adjusted to fit just about any size driver made it easy to accommodate everyone as well. We look forward to doing it again!”
“We had a great time working with Steve and all the folks from Parts Plus. Everyone performed well in the dragsters and with a little luck Kevin was the top driver. We’re looking forward to working with them again!” said Frank Hawley.
Come and join us for what many of our clients call a “life changing experience”. Not only will you get the best drag racing instruction available anywhere but Frank’s lectures cover a broad range of topics on how we think, act and behave and how to retrain your mind, allowing you to perform at a highter level in both your professional and private life.
Since so many of our competition license classes have been sold out this year, we wanted to get the word out about our fall and winter class dates! First, we added a NEW class on October 1-2 at Gainesville Raceway! The October 11-12 class at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway only has a few spots available. And there are a few seats left in the class at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA on October 17-18 so we added a second class on October 24-25.
We’ll be running classes all winter at our home track in Gainesville, FL and currently have classes on December 4-5 and December 27-28 to finish out 2018. We’ve added a few dates for the competition license class in 2019 too in Gainesville – January 22-23, February 5-6, February 19-20, March 19-20 and March 26-27.
Drive well in this program and you can earn your license to 7.50. The competition license course includes classroom, in car and on track instruction. Drivers will make progressively longer runs down the strip, enjoy video review of all runs and learn from Frank Hawley’s lectures on improving personal performance. Those new to drag racing will learn basic techniques and procedures and those currently racing can improve their skills.
Please contact Paul Shields x102 or Jeff Arend x103 at 866-480-7223 for information on any of the classes and to register. Pre-registration is required in all the programs and the seats are limited so don’t wait. Group event dates and the 200 mph classes are scheduled on demand.
Here at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School we’ve been helping build successful careers and making dreams come true for a number of years! Whether you have attended our Dragster Adventure program or one of our competition license classes, our grads are our best endorsement and we are thankful for you all! For those that are racing, please keep us updated with your news and we will share it on our social media.
There are only a few seats left in the ever popular Super Comp or Super Gas class between Christmas and New Years. Don’t delay if you may be thinking about attending this class!
Our very knowledgeable guys, Paul Shields and Jeff Arend, are responsive to your calls, texts and emails so feel free to contact them with any and all questions you have about the school. Whether you want to bring your own car to a class, arrange a group event, buy a gift for someone, or even treat a potential sponsor to a taste of drag racing, give them a call. Their direct contacts are listed at the end of this email.
Below is a list of confirmed class dates. Please check back as we will be confirming other dates! **Additional dates for Group Events, TD/NFC are on demand
Gainesville Raceway: December 27-28, 2017 SC/SG/BYOC, January 13 Adventure (private group), January 16-17 SC/SG/BYOC, January 18 NFC, January 22 TD or NFC, February 6-7 SC/SG/BYOC, February 20-21 SC/SG/BYOC, March 20-21 SC/SG/BYOC, March 23 Dragster Adventure, March 27-28 TD or NFC. Summer, fall & winter dates for Gainesville will be coming soon!
Tucson Dragway: April 12-13 SC/SG/BYOC, April 15 Dragster Adventure
Auto Club Dragway: April 18-19 SC/SG/BYOC, April 20 Dragster Adventure, April 26 Dragster Adventure (private group), April 27 Dragster Adventure, October 17-18 SC/SG/BYOC, October 19 Dragster Adventure
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: April 30-May 1 SC/SG/BYOC or May 2-3 SC/SG/BYOC, October 9-10 SC/SG/BYOC or October 11-12 SC/SG/BYOC
Route 66 Raceway: May 17-18 SC/SG/BYOC, May 19 Dragster Adventure
Royal Purple Raceway: May 23-24 SC/SG/BYOC, May 25 Dragster Adventure
Heartland Park: June 20-21 SC/SG/BYOC, June 22 Dragster Adventure
Woodburn Dragstrip: June 28-29 SC/SG/BYOC, June 30 Dragster Adventure, July 1 Dragster Adventure
Summit Motorsports Park: July 16-17 SC/SG/BYOC, July 18 Dragster Adventure (private group), July 19 Dragster Adventure
Maple Grove Raceway: August 14-15 SC/SG/BYOC, August 16 Dragster Adventure, August 17 Dragster Adventure
Paul Shields, 866-480-7223 x102, 904-472-6312 c, paul.fhdrs@gmail.com
Jeff Arend, 866-480-7223 x103, 909-973-8279 c, jarend@frankhawley.com
Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and Mickey Thompson Tires have been creating memories together for many years and their event on July 19th at the famed Summit Motorsports Park was no different.
Under beautiful skies, Mickey Thompson pitted some of their best employees and customers against each other in a 10 second, 130 mph battle to the finish line.
Kirk Fenn, MT National Accounts and Business Development, had this to say about the event, “Our employees and customers were jumping out of the cars with grins of excitement, especially our VP of Sales, Perry Lease”.
At the end of the day there was only one person left standing and that was Mark Klacik from Cyclone Auto. “Participating in the Dragster Challenge is as exhilarating as when I scuba dive with sharks!” “If you listen to Frank closely and follow what he says, you too could win.”
“We have been relying on the high quality and consistent performance of Mickey Thompson Drag slicks for all our race cars for many years now”. “As the biggest drag racing school in the country we travel to a lot of different locations and we see all types of track surfaces and temperatures.” “We know we can rely on Mickey Thompson slicks to give us the traction, durability and safety for all our students”, says Frank Hawley.
Contact us about a fun day for your group! The Dragster Adventure Challenge is AWESOME for groups – team building, employee reward, customer promotion, sponsor day, etc. Call Jeff Arend x103 or Paul Shields x102 at 866-480-7223 to discuss providing a most memorable day for your group! Read about all the programs on our website and see what class dates are coming up! Private group events are scheduled on demand, as are the 200 mph class dates in the Funny Car or Dragster.
Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School is back at ‘The Strip’ in Las Vegas starting May of 2017!
The world’s most successful and popular Drag School will offer a full slate of classes including NHRA Super Comp and Super Gas licensing courses and its popular Adventure Dragster program featuring “side-by-side” racing.
“We’ll be starting our West Coast tour at Tucson Dragway in April, then we’re at our second home of Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA. After that, it’s on to Vegas,” said Hawley.
“We’re excited to begin classes again at The Strip in Las Vegas,” said Hawley. “It’s been a few years since we offered classes at the popular facility and we can’t wait to get started. Our first classes will be in May of 2017.” “Adding Vegas back on our west coast schedule gives our customers even more opportunity to add their names to the tremendous list of graduates of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School.”
The two-day Super Class allows drivers of all backgrounds the opportunity to earn their NHRA competition driver’s license in the school’s Chevy Performance 572/720R equipped Super Comp Dragsters or Super Gas Firebirds. For drivers that already have their own car, the school offers a “bring your own car” program that gives drivers the opportunity to enjoy the same driving course behind the wheel of their own race car. No experience is necessary to take the course.
In addition to on-track time, students will learn from Frank’s classroom sessions which cover the physiology of how the mind and body work together. Participants will learn how to mentally prepare, perform at the highest level, improve focus and block out distractions. Frank teaches how to practice more effectively, feel more confident about pulling up to the starting line and he shares techniques on how to remove the emotional baggage (everybody has some) that can often disrupt good performance.
For those that are simply looking for the thrill of blasting down the quarter mile, the Dragster Adventure in Las Vegas starts at just $499 for the half day program, or $699 for the whole day program with SIDE-BY-SIDE racing.
Seats are limited and advance registration is required, so call now to reserve your seat for the May 17-18 or October 10-11 Las Vegas competition course, or book on-line for the Las Vegas Dragster Adventure on October 12 or October 13.
For additional information, please call Paul Shields or Jeff Arend at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, 866-480-7223, or visit our website for additional class dates and locations at www.frankhawley.com.
Paul Shields, pshields@frankhawley.com, 866-480-7223 x102
Jeff Arend, jarend@frankhawley.com, 866-480-7223 x103
When this news goes out, we’ll be running classes at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA before heading back to our home track at Gainesville Raceway for the winter and spring. We’d like to feature some of our grads in an upcoming newsletter, so please send us your pictures and news! In the meantime, if you’ve already been to the school, tell people about the programs, and please “like” and review us on our Facebook page. We are grateful to continue to help people get started in racing, or help them fulfill a lifelong dream! Our grads are our best endorsement and we are thankful for you all!
The December classes between Christmas and New Years are extremely popular and this year the calendar worked out where we are able to offer TWO classes during this time. These are very popular for the up and coming racers out there as they are on school break, and also many people have this time off work. Don’t delay if you may be thinking about attending during one of these classes, as both class dates are half full already!
Our very knowledgeable guys, Paul Shields and Jeff Arend, are responsive to your calls, texts and emails so feel free to contact them with any and all questions you have about the school, what you’re trying to accomplish, whether you want to bring your own car, arrange a group event, just have some fun, buy a gift for someone, or even treat a potential sponsor or significant other to a taste of drag racing, etc. Their direct contacts are listed at the end of this email.
Below is a list of confirmed class dates. Please check back as we will be confirming other dates soon! **Additional dates for Group Events, TD/NFC are on demand
March 24, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Gainesville Raceway (click here to book)
March 28, 2017 — TD/NFC – Gainesville Raceway
April 12-13, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA
April 14, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
April 15, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
April 19-20, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA
April 21, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
June 21-22, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL
June 23, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL (click here to book)
June 24, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL (click here to book)
July 17-18, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, OH
July 19, 2017 — Corporate Dragster Adventure Group (Private)
July 20, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, OH (click here to book)
August 15-16, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, PA
August 17, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, PA (click here to book)
August 18, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, PA (click here to book)
October 18-19, 2017 — SC/SG/BYOC – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA
October 20, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
October 26, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
October 27, 2017 — Dragster Adventure – Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA (click here to book)
** Dates subject to change, so please check back
For information on all our programs contact…
Paul Shields, 866-480-7223 x102, 904-472-6312 cell, pshields@frankhawley.com
Jeff Arend, 866-480-7223 x103, 909-973-8279 cell, jarend@frankhawley.com
www.frankhawley.com
866-480-7223
Don’t miss out on classes for the rest of the summer! We’re visiting some of our favorite tracks, as well as a new one. Our Super Comp & Super Gas classes, as well as our Dragster Adventure programs have been filling quickly, so don’t wait. Give Jeff Arend (x103) or Paul Shields (x102) a call at 866-480-7223 to reserve your seat now. Advance reservations are required and seats are limited, so whether you want to earn your competition license, bring your own car to improve or upgrade your skills, or just have some fun, we’d love to help you. You’ll learn so much more in the 2-day competition course than how to drive a race car. Here’s a list of the upcoming school classes that still have some openings.
There are still a few seats left in our popular 2-day Super Comp and Super Gas license course on April 13 & 14. This 2-day course includes classroom, in-car and on-track instruction. Drivers will make progressively faster runs down the strip, enjoy video review of all runs and learn from Frank Hawley’s lectures on improving personal performance. Those new to drag racing will learn basic techniques and procedures. Experienced racers will master the mental challenges that separate winners from losers. Contact us for more information or to register for this course.
The Dragster Adventure and Dragster Adventure Challenge will be offered April 21st and April 22nd. This course is for drivers that want to “drive a dragster” and compete in “side-by-Side” racing without committing the time and resources required to become a licensed race car driver in one of our licensing courses. This is a great program for you and your friends, your customers or your employees and Adventure grads tell us this is the most memorable day of their year! Click here to book this course on-line!
So whether you want to earn your license, improve your skills, check something off your “Bucket List”, or try the Dragster Adventure with Side-by-Side Racing, we hope you’ll join us for an experience you’ll remember forever!
Oh, and in case you can’t make it in April, we’ll be back in October for the SC/SG license class and the Dragster Adventure! Please visit www.frankhawley.com for other class dates and locations!
Remember, pre-registration is required for all programs, so call Paul or Jeff at 866-480-7223 for info or to sign up!
Scroll down to watch our new video on the Dragster Adventure Challenge! If you’ve already seen it, please share it with friends! Experience the excitement and thrill of side-by-side racing in the Dragster Adventure program! Prices start at $399 and no racing experience is necessary. This is a great program for individuals, groups or company outings! Great gift idea, too!
Attend one of our scheduled dates or we can design a special program for your group at your track!
If you’re seeking higher speeds, advanced training and a competition racing license, try one of the School’s Competition Licensing Courses. Give us a call at 866-480-7223 and Paul Shields x102 or Jeff Arend x103 will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Please “like” Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School on Facebook and keep up with us on Google +, Twitter and Instagram (Frankhawleydrs) too!
decades, the Mickey Thompson team knows the importance of honoring its hardworking employees and does so with an annual tradition of sending its staff to participate in the School’s Dragster Adventure Challenge.
