NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Pilot Clay Millican Makes His First Passes in a Special Drag-and-Drive Dodge Pick-Up Truck
Nearly 26 years after making his first laps in a Top Fuel dragster, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel driver Clay Millican still smiles just as big every time he suits up for a 3-second, 300-plus mile per hour pass.
But recently, Clay suited up for a different kind of drag strip run, and this one brought a lot of emotion with it as well.
Get all the latest merch from Sick the Magazine. We even have a brand new shirt from Clay Millican for 2024! Check out all the Sick the Mag merchandise RIGHT HERE!!
It was at Jackson Dragway, not far from Clay’s home in Tennessee, that he would make his first passes in the revamped 2004 Dodge pick-up since his son Dalton passed away. “I bought that truck in 2004 used, and drove it for several years before I gave it to my son Dalton,” said Clay. “Like any typical teenager, the truck ended up with a bunch of dents, and his friends named it ‘Dentley.’ It came naturally, and the name fit perfectly.”
“After we lost Dalton in August 2015, I didn’t want to get rid of the truck but I wanted to make it more fun to drive,” Clay continued. Coming across a Gen 3 HEMI from Arrington Performance that they turned into a 426 cubic inch monster seemed like a sign, and the Dentley project was on its way.
“Naturally a 426 cubic inch HEMI speaks well to a guy that drives a Top Fuel dragster,” Clay admitted. He started to ‘pick at it again’ about a year later, and the truck made its way to Lutz’s shop in 2018 for “some changes.”
“Initially, all I was going to do was add a ProCharger to that engine,” said Clay. “Something I could do at home, add some power, make it more fun. Then I ran into a guy named Jeff Lutz, and we completely lost our minds. I now say the truck has been ‘Lutzified;’ still a stock-ish looking truck, but with a lot of changes.”
The truck was relieved of its factory rear suspension for a back-half upgrade, with a Moser 9-inch housing sitting center stage to accept a pair of 16-inch diameter x 16-inch width wheels and a 34-inch diameter tire for maximum traction.
The interior got an upgrade to a full roll cage for safety, but four Racequip seats and 5-point harnesses are in place for passengers to join Clay when he takes Dentley for a spin.
That 426 cubic inch Gen 3 HEMI that stirred Clay to action resides under the hood, and Clay gave it the full treatment from Comp Cams for upgrades. Instead of the supercharged route, Clay gave it the turbocharged treatment, with a pair of 62-millimeter turbos in place to boost the power. A TCI Turbo 400 transmission and a Gear Vendors Overdrive backs it up.
Although it has a lot of good hardware in place, Clay kept some of the creature comforts too. “It has some stuff other drag-and-drive cars don’t: air conditioning,” he said. “Plus, power steering and power windows too.”
The truck debuted at SEMA in 2022, but because of Clay’s schedule, he wasn’t able to make a track pass in it until February 25th this year. “People ask if it’s a show truck. It’s not; it’s a drag-and-drive vehicle,” Clay admitted. “Even though I’ve not done a drag-and-drive event yet, last year we got close, but I had to test the Top Fuel car instead. We will do it though.”
With a little bit of time before his 21-event NHRA schedule gets underway at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida next week, Clay managed to get some passes under his belt in Dentley, at the Jackson Dragway track that held special significance to Clay and the truck.
“The first drag strip that I ever drove down was Jackson Dragway,” Clay said. “In 2011, the first drag strip that Dalton made a pass was Jackson Dragway, and it was in Dentley. The first pass after the truck’s complete build was at Jackson, and we didn’t plan it that way, but it happened that way and just made sense.”
Watch Clay’s first runs in Dentley below:
Participating in a drag-and-drive almost happened in 2023, but testing schedules kept Clay from making it to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive. He missed out this year because of PRO Superstar Shootout event at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
“Jeff beat me up about Sick Week this year when we were at the PRO event in February,” Clay said. “It sounds like so much fun. My focus to try and make a drag-and-drive has just been on Sick Week. It seems like the rest of the year I’d have conflictions. I would also consider the original drag-and-drive, Hot Rod Drag Week. We need to make it happen.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Clay Millican.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com