For fans of Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings (now Speed Promotions Racing), Daniel Parker – better known as “Phantom” – is almost as recognizable as the man he works with: Shawn “Murder Nova” Ellington. For 15 years, the two have been nearly inseparable at the track or on the street.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #196, the State of Drag Issue, in Sept./Oct. of 2025.
Parker started out helping Ellington in 2010 with simple responsibilities like checking the tires in the same 1955 Chevy that Ellington’s son, Aiden, now races in Lil’ Gangstas. Drag racing was already in Parker’s blood prior to that, however; his dad raced before he was even born, and as he got older, Parker started messing around with a 2007 Chevy truck sprayed with nitrous.
“I’ve always been into drag racing,” says Parker. “When I met all these guys with Street Outlaws, they thought the truck was cool, and they invited me out to some street races. It was the only vehicle I had for about five years, so if I broke it Saturday while we were out street racing, I had to fix it Sunday so I could get to work on Monday.”
Parker admits he was just a hobbyist with no mechanical background prior to joining Murder Nova’s team, typically working with LS-based platforms in his driveway. After helping Ellington on his own for five years, he was officially hired in 2015 to handle the team’s social media. From that point on, his status in the drag racing world has continued to climb.
“Once I got to be around all of this on a daily basis, my mechanical knowledge grew exponentially,” Parker says. “I’m a sponge. Over the last 10 years I’ve just soaked up everything I could possibly learn about how engines and suspensions work. I’ve taught myself how to tig weld. I’ve learned different strategies for getting down the track or street. I haven’t gotten into how transmissions work yet because that stuff is voodoo, but it’s on my list.”
Over the past 3-4 years, Parker’s role expanded to that of crew chief, working together with tuner Brandon Stroud. With Ellington needing to focus on driving and interacting with fans, Parker took it upon himself to continue gaining knowledge through observation. With a new focus and mindset, the team of self-proclaimed “morons” quickly became legitimate contenders in NPK.
“It’s I don’t like losing at all. I never have,” says Parker. “It’s probably not one of my best qualities, but I’m a terrible loser. When you go out and lose first round every single weekend, you eventually decide you don’t want to do that and figure out how not to do it.
“Since then, everything’s changed,” Parker continues. “I’ve got lists on lists of everything we check on these cars. It’s a lot of work, but I’d rather do the work and see the good stuff at the end of it than slack off and get nothing for it. It costs the same money no matter what we do, so if we’re gonna spend this money, we might as well get something from it. We came up with a plan, and it all came together.”
It came together in a big way in 2024, when Murder Nova won both the NPK regular season championship and the No Prep Elite “playoff” championship, capping it all off with a win in the season finale at the Texas Motorplex.
Since then, the team has added Pro Mod to their résumé, competing in both the Drag Illustrated Winter Series and the Mid-West Drag Racing Series in “Blue,” a twin-turbocharged ’69 Camaro owned by Keith Haney. In their MWDRS debut, they won the 2025 season opener at Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, Texas.
And while the weight of an NPK championship and a new venture into a professional class brings a lot of pressure to the position, Parker says he wouldn’t have it any other way. He relishes the opportunity to consistently be at the top of his game – whether it’s checking tires, pulling data after each pass, or helping Ellington winning championships.
“Whatever I do – whatever anyone does – I feel like you should want to be the best at it,” Parker says. “That’s where my mindset is. And I know I’m not the best, but that’s my goal. I want to be considered one of the best.”
The post Daniel ‘Phantom’ Parker’s Drag Racing Hobby Leads to Championship Greatness first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
