\u201cPro Mod has been the dream for me since the beginning,\u201d Mills confirms. \u201cAs a kid racing Jr. Dragsters, we had a lot of Pro Mod races out at Tulsa Raceway Park \u2013 Throwdown in T-Town being one of them. The stands were packed. I always thought running Pro Mod would be the end goal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a successful Jr. Dragster career, Mills moved up to X275 driving a single-turbo \u201968 Camaro known as \u201cGolden Panda\u201d that mirrored DeWayne\u2019s \u201cGolden Gorilla.\u201d She gradually proved she could handle a turbocharged small-tire car, and in 2020, she started making passes in the twin-turbocharged \u201cGolden Kong\u201d \u201968 Camaro, which was one of the hottest cars on the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings scene at the time. With all the different classes, shootouts, and formats at NPK events over the last few years, Mills notched victories in numerous final rounds. She then made her Pro 10.5 debut at the 2024 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod, and with the turbocharged \u201cGolden Gorilla\u201d already in PDRA Pro Street trim, she ran the last three races of the PDRA season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Between WSOPM and the PDRA events, Mills admits her interest in Pro Mod developed into \u201cPro Mod fever.\u201d She started to take a serious look at moving to Pro Mod, which was getting hotter and hotter just as the No Prep Kings scene was cooling off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Discussions with one of the team\u2019s biggest supporters, Paul Hayden of American Pride Golf Cart Services, quickly escalated the Pro Mod move. Building on his sponsorship of several race teams, Hayden decided to buy a Pro Mod that Mills family friend and chassis builder Larry Jeffers put together for DeWayne a few years prior. Health concerns prompted DeWayne to sell the car to Texan Paul Brandt before he ever raced it, but in a full-circle moment, the car is back in the Mills circle with Hayden owning it and Kallee driving it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI really didn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Mills says of the moment she found out she\u2019d be competing in Pro Mod this season. \u201cI knew eventually it would happen. When it started coming together, I\u2019m like, \u2018Man, I\u2019ve got everything now. It\u2019s just up to me to perform,\u2019 essentially. But at the end of the day, it was really a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills made her first passes in the Pro Mod during a pre-race test session leading up to the Mid-West Drag Racing Series season-opening Xtreme Texas Nationals at Xtreme Raceway Park. She quickly realized how her past experiences, especially racing in No Prep Kings, helped prepare her for the Pro Mod.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe passes that I\u2019ve made in the Pro Mod have been easier to handle than the No Prep Kings stuff on a no-prep surface,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s been some passes where I\u2019ve had to drive the car pretty good and get it down through there. People are like, \u2018Dang, Kallee, you\u2019re a driver.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018That used to be every single pass at No Prep Kings.\u2019 For me, anyways.\u201d<\/p>\n When DeWayne and tuner Lee White were setting up the Pro Mod for Kallee, they designed everything to largely replicate the components in the other cars she\u2019d driven to make the transition as seamless as possible. It also makes things easier when Kallee is driving two cars at one event.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverything inside the cars, we\u2019ve made pretty much the same,\u201d Mills says. \u201cWhere the parachute is, where the shifter is \u2013 everything is the same in each car. That way I don\u2019t have to change my driving a whole lot when I get in the different cars. When all the cars are the same, it\u2019s like your desk at home. You know where your stapler is. You have the same keyboard. You know where everything is.\u201d<\/p>\n The big difference with the Pro Mod, Mills says, is how quickly it reacts, and consequently, how quickly she needs to react as a driver.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the car goes into tire shake or something, everything happens so fast \u2013 so much faster than what I\u2019m used to before,\u201d Mills says. \u201cYou see things and you don\u2019t really have time to react. You just have to hope your gut knows what\u2019s going on. Especially when you\u2019re going .860, .880 to the 60-foot. It just happens so quick up front. That\u2019s something that\u2019s been different than any other car that I\u2019ve driven.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills went into the MWDRS Xtreme Texas Nationals with just a few test passes in the American Pride \u201cScarlett\u201d Camaro, then added a few more during the pre-race test day at XRP. She made it into the field in the No. 7 spot and scored her first round win in Pro Mod, winning with a 3.676. Mills isn\u2019t shy about the fact she was looking for more out of her debut weekend, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, we were hoping to win,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen we made it down, I went 3.67 or something, I was happy, but I wouldn\u2019t say I was overly excited about it. I wanted to win. I\u2019m super competitive, so I\u2019m out there searching for my first win. But it was good to qualify and to get a round win out of the way. Nobody wants to lose first round. I think that\u2019s the worst round for me anyways. I think I get more nervous for first round than I do a final.\u201d<\/p>\n In a sentimental homecoming to Tulsa Raceway Park for the spring Throwdown in T-Town, the same race where Mills grew up watching Pro Mods, she qualified No. 9 and earned a side-by-side first-round win over Todd Martin, running a 3.731 to beat his 3.744.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we went to Tulsa, I was really, really hoping we could get that win because that was my hometown,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the races that I\u2019ve raced at since I was a kid. I raced Jr. Dragsters at the Throwdown. We had a little issue going into third round of qualifying on Saturday morning where one of the hoses got left loose on the car. We didn\u2019t get to make the third qualifier. If we would have made the third qualifier, we would have qualified a little bit higher so we wouldn\u2019t have had to run the No. 1 qualifier second round. But we can \u2018what if\u2019 it all day. We had a good first round.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills ended up on the wrong end of a good race in the second round, where she left .003 seconds ahead of Ron Muenks and kept him honest, but Muenks finished first with a 3.662 to Mills\u2019 3.679. Mills went into the race knowing what to expect, as she grew up around Muenks, car owner Dave Pierce, and tuner Jeff Pierce since the Pierces also live in the Tulsa area.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that their car was fast and I knew that I had to do my job on the tree, and so did Ron,\u201d Mills says. \u201cWe both had killer lights. We both ran down there. I think it was probably the closest race of the weekend. With my reaction time and eighth-mile time, I think we would have won any other round. But to go out there in my second race and run that close with the No. 1 qualifier and have a good race like that and them know lining up next to me that they can\u2019t be slouching was definitely cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills moved on to the Shakedown at M\u2019Town at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, where she pulled double duty competing in MWDRS Pro Mod in the screw-blown \u201cScarlett\u201d Camaro and in Duck X Productions\u2019 N\/T Outlaw 275 Shootout in the supercharged \u201cGolden Kong\u201d Camaro.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d always dreamed of having two or three cars sitting out there for me to get in and run and be competitive in all different classes,\u201d Mills says. \u201cWe could have actually taken the 10.5 car \u2013 that class is one of my favorites \u2013 but with just three crew members, we just couldn\u2019t manage it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure enough, the two cars they brought kept the Kallee Mills Motorsports camp busy. They were trying to work out a few issues with Kong to prepare for a bunch of big no-time races. The pressure was on in Pro Mod, as 25 cars attempted to qualify for the 16-car field with stellar conditions. She went into the final qualifying session solidly in the field, but things changed by the time she hit the track.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was about to roll in to pre-stage and I looked up at the scoreboard and it said 3.65 with a four or something. It was me \u2013 I was the bump,\u201d Mills says. \u201cThere were still cars behind me that were sitting on the outside that could have bumped me out. I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, God, I hope I can get this down through there and we can qualify decently.\u2019 I ended up running a 3.601. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been that excited in the car. I was pumped. I couldn\u2019t believe we went that fast. I knew that my team could do it, but I didn\u2019t think that we would do it on our third weekend out.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills was still amped up when she went into eliminations, as she went .004 red in the first round, then .007 red in the first round of the Slammers class, essentially the buyback class for Pro Mod. She shook the tires in the main race, but threw down a 3.62 in the Slammers round.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was pushing it close in both cars on the lights,\u201d Mills says. \u201cThere were a couple of us that were struggling going red. But I\u2019d much rather have a close red light than be .200 on the tree and losing on holeshots every weekend, I guess. We can put some delay in the box at those racetracks where the lights are kind of quick. I noticed that people that were usually pretty good on the tree \u2013 me, Lyle [Barnett], Ken [Quartuccio], and those guys \u2013 they all went red, too. I always beat myself up pretty bad, though. I was really, really bummed.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Mills found redemption when she won in the N\/T Outlaw 275 Shootout, earning her first Duck X Productions jacket and hat. She also had another more personal highlight \u2013 she officially beat her dad\u2019s career-best E.T. of 3.62. Having grown up watching him do big things in the sport, it meant a lot to get one up on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was part of me that was even more excited about that than the fact that we went 3.60,\u201d Mills laughs. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful for his support and all the knowledge and advice that he gives me. Because without him, I wouldn\u2019t be the driver that I am. He knows exactly what to say and how to say it to me to make me want to be a better driver, want to win races, be competitive. I say that if it wasn\u2019t for him, I wouldn\u2019t be here because it\u2019s true. He says the same thing: \u2018If it wasn\u2019t for you, I would have already sold all the stuff. We would have went boating all summer and going on vacations.\u2019 The memories that we\u2019re making as a family, you can\u2019t replace them.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond her parents, Mills also credits car owners Paul and Jeanne Hayden, tuner Lee White, and crew members Brendan Russell, Taylor Strange, and Mikey Simms for their contributions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very thankful for all of them,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re more of a family. They\u2019re not my team, they\u2019re my guys. They take care of me. I\u2019m very, very, very thankful for all their help because without them, we couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n With a couple round wins and a quick career-best E.T. now on her scorecard, Mills is looking ahead to her next goals, which include breaking into the 3.50s and earning her first win in the Pro Mod.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want to continue to push forward and do good in the Pro Mod ranks,\u201d Mills says. \u201cI know Wes [Buck, DI founder and editorial director] has the Pound-for-Pound Pro Mod rankings. I think it would be cool to be up there with the list of legends that are on there.\u201d<\/p>\n Mills entered the Pro Mod ranks wanting to win right out of the gate, and three races worth of tough competition haven\u2019t tempered her goals. But at the same time, she realizes competition in the Pro Mod world is perhaps at an all-time high across numerous different series and organizations. She\u2019s going to give it her all and hope that it\u2019s enough to turn on win lights against both fellow rookies and drivers who\u2019ve been doing this for much longer.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, we can say we want to win all we want, but there\u2019s a lot more losers than there are winners,\u201d she admits. \u201cIf we just continue to go out and do good and run personal bests and have a consistent car and a good driver that gets the car down through there and does her job on the tree, you can\u2019t ask for much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty hard on myself,\u201d Mills continues. \u201cEven if I win and I have a bad light or not a good light, I\u2019m still hard on myself. I could win, but I want to be better on [the tree]. Even if you lose a round, if you have a personal best and a great reaction time, and the other person is right there with you, that\u2019s just a race.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with MWDRS Pro Mod events, Mills plans to enter a few PDRA Pro Boost events this season. Once the MWDRS and PDRA seasons wrap up in October, the Mills team will shift their full focus to preparing for the second annual Drag Illustrated Winter Series at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Kallee won in the no-time class driving \u201cKong\u201d at the second race of the 2024\/2025 Winter Series, the U.S. Street Nationals, and she\u2019s competed in the Pro 10.5 Challenge with the twin-turbo \u201cGolden Gorilla\u201d at the World Series of Pro Mod for the last two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t missed a Winter Series race ever,\u201d points out Mills, who reached the semifinals in this year\u2019s Pro 10.5 Challenge. \u201cWhen the World Series of Pro Mod was just a single race, we went down and supported Scott Palmer and helped him out. Even when you\u2019re not racing Pro Mod, when we\u2019re just sitting in the stands, you can just feel the excitement and the competition and how cutthroat it is. The guys and girls there run 3.63 and they\u2019re potentially getting bumped.\u201d<\/p>\n This winter, though, Mills won\u2019t be sitting in the stands. She\u2019ll be right there in the mix facing off against world champions, big-money Pro Mod race winners, record holders, and icons from all over drag racing. She could line up against six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders or four-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown, or fellow NPK standouts like Shawn \u201cMurder Nova\u201d Ellington and Mike Bowman. It\u2019s a big opportunity, but it\u2019s one she\u2019s been training for since she was that young Jr. Dragster driver sitting in the stands watching Pro Mods blast down the track at Tulsa.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have all the baddest Pro Mod drivers in the world down there for those three races, there\u2019s no telling what could happen,\u201d Mills says. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely on my bucket list: run Pro Mod down there at the World Series and going rounds there.\u201d<\/p>\n The post WOMEN OF POWER 2025: Kallee Mills\u2019 Pro Mod Dream Is In Motion<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kallee Mills grew up going to some of the most significant small-tire races in the history of drag racing. Her father, \u201cBig Daddy\u201d DeWayne Mills, was a pioneer in Radial vs. the World, making headlines and taking flight in his turbocharged \u201cGolden Gorilla\u201d \u201968 Camaro. But the headlining drag radial category wasn\u2019t the pinnacle \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Mills_AE3I2896.jpg\")
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