When Jeff Kline first started taking photos of race cars at his local Cecil County Dragway, he had no idea that his obsessive interest in drag racing could someday lead to a career in the sport. But by following his passion and refining his craft over the last 10 years, he’s had the opportunity to shoot some of the biggest races in doorslammer racing, all while working with industry-leading brands and drivers he grew up idolizing.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #197, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November/December 2025.
As Kline says, he was in a baby carrier at Cecil County Dragway months after he was born. His father raced there and the family had a place on the nearby Chesapeake Bay, so he spent most summer weekends at the track. He collected racing T-shirts and even sported a wild mohawk to match the driver of the Nitro Fish Nitro Coupe, his favorite car at the time.
Kline, 29, started taking cellphone photos of all the race cars he saw at Cecil County, a budding new interest that his parents noticed, then nurtured when they bought him a camera for Christmas. “That was the start of the end for me,” Kline laughs. “It sucked me into this world that I never thought I’d be a part of. I grew up watching these people that I now get to work with in some capacity.”
By this point, Kline had launched an Instagram account, RacingOutlawz, where he could share his photos with other racing fans. “I think I had 70,000 followers before I even had a real camera in my hands,” Kline says. “That’s when I realized that with the followers we have, we can attract some people to sponsor us or support us in some way. That led to traveling everywhere outside of the Northeast, which has now become a routine.”
Kline now travels to 15-plus events per season, including the full PDRA tour. He started working for the series in 2021 providing photos and helping to manage the PDRA social media pages. In addition to PDRA races and events at Cecil County, Kline shoots major drag radial and no-time races as well as other Pro Mod events like the Drag Illustrated Winter Series.
Those who know Kline recognize that his favorite class to cover is Outlaw 10.5, which competed at Cecil County on a monthly basis at one time and toured to other tracks through the Atomizer Outlaw 10.5 Series. The program saw its ups and down before it went away completely. Outlaw 10.5-style racing has seen a resurgence in recent years through the PDRA’s Pro Street division and the DI Winter Series’ Pro 10.5 Challenge, and Cecil County is even bringing it back on a regular basis in 2026.
“I wish I was born about 15 years earlier to really see Outlaw 10.5 in its heyday, but it’s been cool to cover it coming back,” Kline says. “It wasn’t that fun to see it go. I was a part of the [Atomizer] series, enjoyed it so much, knew everybody in it. It sucked at the time. But just like everything in drag racing, it’s cyclical, so it’s coming back around.”
Kline has built his skillset over the year to include more than photography. He’s picked up graphic design, creating anything from logos to name-and-number decal sets. While working for the PDRA, he’s also taken on the challenge of creative writing. “It’s not easy, but if you do it right, it really makes your pictures tell the story that much better,” he says.
Kline has also started expanding into videography. Inspired by others like 2015 DI 30 Under 30 honoree Corey Michalek of React104, Kline wants to bring his same passion and attention to detail that have made his photography popular to the video coverage of outlaw doorslammer racing.
“I want to give our side of the sport stuff that looks like that,” Kline says, referencing Michalek’s cinematic productions. “Video seems to be where things are naturally heading, so I’m feeling alright about trying to change things up a bit.”
No matter what the medium is, Kline will continue to tell drag racing’s stories through the lens of someone who is as passionate about the sport as the people who are on the other end of the lens.
“My contribution is really for the people of the sport,” says Kline, who thanked his dad, Jessie Kline Jr., RacingOutlawz partners like FuelTech, and Outlaw 10.5 drivers like Jerry Morgano, who provided “aggressive guidance” early in his career. “I like what I get to do and people like what I do. As long as that’s true, I’m going to keep doing it.”
The post DI 30 Under 30 2025: Jeff Kline first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
