Drag Illustrated, the independent voice of drag racing, today announced the launch of the DI Power 100, an annual editorial franchise recognizing the 100 most influential people in the sport. Nominations are open immediately at DragIllustrated.com and will be accepted through July 3, 2026.
The DI Power 100 is the most comprehensive recognition program in drag racing history – spanning every corner of the sport. Racers, builders, engine builders, promoters, track operators, sanctioning body leaders, parts company executives, media figures, sponsors, and anyone else who genuinely moves the needle will be considered. There is no age limit. There is no single category. The only criteria is influence – and whether drag racing would look noticeably different without this person in it.
“This has been building in my head for a long time,” said Wes Buck, Founder and Editorial Director of Drag Illustrated. “We’ve been doing the 30 Under 30 for twelve years, and it’s been one of the most powerful things we’ve ever built – because recognition matters in this sport. People don’t do what they do out here for the money, God knows. They do it because they love drag racing. And when the sport acknowledges that, it means something. The Power 100 is that concept at full scale. Every corner of this sport – NHRA, no-prep, bracket, Pro Mod, outlaw, grassroots – every single one of them has people in it who are making a difference that most folks never see. This program exists to shine a light on all of them.”
The inaugural DI Power 100 class will be selected by an editorial committee representing the full breadth of drag racing. Nominations will be accepted across eight categories: Racers & Competitors, Builders & Fabricators, Engine & Performance, Promoters & Track Operators, Business & Industry, Sanctioning & Governance, Media & Storytelling, and Rising Power (Under 35). Selection is based on four criteria: impact on the sport, scope of influence, consistency and longevity, and what Drag Illustrated calls the Subtraction Test – what drag racing looks like without this person in it.
“The Power 100 is exactly the kind of editorial project that separates Drag Illustrated from anyone else covering this sport,” said Nate Van Wagnen, Editor-in-Chief of Drag Illustrated. “We have two decades of relationships and credibility across every corner of drag racing. Nobody else can look at this sport the way we do – from the nitro cars to the no-prep strips to the bracket programs – and make a list that the sport actually respects. That’s what we’re going to do. The editorial standards on this are high, and they have to be. The credibility of the program is the whole thing.”
The DI Power 100 will be published in DI Issue 202 – the State of Drag Special Issue – which launches September 1, 2026.
“When Wes first laid this out, it was immediately obvious that this is what DI has been building toward,” said Mike Carpenter, Chief Operating Officer of Drag Illustrated. “Twenty years of being in every corner of this sport – the relationships, the credibility, the reach – all of it makes DI uniquely positioned to do this right. The Power 100 is going to be a franchise that this sport talks about for years. We don’t take that lightly.”
Nominations for the DI Power 100 are open to anyone and free to submit. Nominators are encouraged to submit entries for multiple nominees across different categories. The nomination form – available now at DragIllustrated.com/Power100 – asks nominators to describe what makes their nominee influential and to answer what drag racing looks like without them. Nominations close Friday, July 3, 2026.
“I want to hear from everyone,” Buck added. “The engine builder who’s been putting championships together for thirty years and never got a headline. The track owner who spent his life savings to keep a drag strip open in a town that would have lost it otherwise. The promoter who built an event from nothing and made it something this sport depends on. Those are the people this list was made for. If you know someone like that, nominate them. We’re listening.”
Submit nominations here: DragIllustrated.com/Power100
This story was originally published on May 26, 2026.
The post Drag Illustrated Launches the DI Power 100, Recognizing the 100 Most Influential People in Drag Racing first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
