Despite only being 26 years old, Joseph Gallegos carries himself with an old-school mentality. Whether it’s the front-engine nitro dragster he drives, or his relentless work ethic, Gallegos is a perfect representation of the legends of yesteryear that inspire him.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #191, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November / December of 2024.]
“I love getting to hang out with badass, hardcore nitro racers,” says Gallegos. “Pro Mods and all that new stuff is cool, but this is the heart of drag racing. The old-school ways, hanging out with the older crowd and just having the opportunity to race with some of those people. I don’t think there’s anything else that tops it.”
Gallegos grew up watching his father, Dave Gallegos, race, and recalls going with him to the Bakersfield March Meet. There, Joseph saw his first pair of nostalgia Top Fuel dragsters, and decided right then that was what he was going to do as well. He first tested his very own front-engine nitro dragster in late 2022, and had it ready for competition in the Nitro Chaos series in 2023.
It’s not just the driving aspect that fascinates Gallegos, however. When he’s not wheeling his own car, he can be found working on the nitro Funny Car his dad drives or helping NHRA teams like Scott Palmer and Mitch King. He prides himself on having the ability to service every aspect of the cars, not just a specialist in one or two areas.
“I love knowing how things work,” Gallegos says. “I think it’s just my personality. We don’t have a lot of money to pay for crews or tuners, so we figure out ourselves how to do it. That’s the only way we’re able to survive doing this. And I won’t drive, or let my dad drive, any car unless I know it front to back. You don’t want to go into something not knowing; that’s how people get hurt.”
Over the years, Gallegos has become particularly close to Palmer, and in August 2023, potentially saved his life. Palmer suffered a horrific crash in his Studebaker nitro Pro Mod at Mid America Dragway in Arkansas City, Kansas. In a video that went viral afterwards, Gallegos – who was on the top end at the time – could be seen grabbing a fire extinguisher and rushing to help drag Palmer from the vehicle. Despite constant praise from others – and most notably Palmer himself – Gallegos doesn’t feel like he did anything heroic.
“I don’t even think of it like that,” admits Gallegos. “He calls me all the time and I’m like, ‘Nah, dude, everyone who gets in one of these cars knows what can happen.’ Time just stopped. It happened so quick, but to me it felt like hours. I don’t like it when people blow me up or call me a hero. I know if he was down there and that happened to me, he’d do the same.”
When he’s not at the track or in the shop, Gallegos funds his racing addiction by helping his father run a masonry company. As a fifth-generation bricklayer, he jokes that his siblings were all smarter than he was and went through college – but his profession allows him the freedom to pursue his dream of racing with his family.
While Gallegos enjoys working with other NHRA teams, it’s not something he wants to pursue full-time. His priority right now is continuing to race with his dad, whether it’s in the Nitro Chaos and Funny Car Chaos series or old-school match races across the country. But he admits he has one long-term goal that he’d like to achieve.
“Chris Graves puts on one of the greatest shows in America,” says Gallegos. “But if we ever end up hitting the lottery, I know what we’re doing. My end goal is to campaign the Funny Car we have in NHRA. That would be my dream. I want to step up our program and show the big boys that hey, some dumb bricklayers from Kansas can do it too.”
This story was originally published on February 7, 2025. 
The post DI 30 Under 30 2024: Joseph Gallegos first appeared on Drag Illustrated.