GO ASK EILY WHEN SHE S 10 FEET TALL Story By Darrell Conrad Photos By Darrell and Pam Conrad San Diego native Eily Stafford (pronounced eye-lee) is not your average all American girl next door she is that and so much more! Eily grew up in a family with a strong paternal influence of encouragement and moral support. Her parents Rick and Dee s fundamental principles characteristically define the put your shoulder to the wheel work ethic. She was taught from an early age she had to earn her way to the top because no one was going to give her a free ride. Spring 2015 Nitro Madness Magazine 31
At the impressionable age of twelve Eily s father took her out to the LA County Fair Grounds in Pomona to witness the nitro gulping, ground-pounding, fire belching spectacle of the 2001 NHRA Winternationals. It was a day that changed her life forever! The sights, sounds, smells and speeds of these mechanical masterpieces unleashed their mystical power on her senses that completely captivated her soul. From that moment she knew that she was destined to strap herself into one of these monsters in a cage and ride the lightning! A few years later it was time to put into practice what she had only dreamed about. On her 16th birthday she received a gift to attend Frank Hawley s Drag Racing School to earn her first NHRA license. While there she met Jack Beckman who introduced her to several of the NHRA big show fuel teams and in doing so she picked up a summer job that would eventually lead to her first ride in Jim Sloan s Soul Train Eily puts the throttle through the floor-pan on the Killer Crower digger as the tree goes green. Don t be fooled by her tranquil nature, this young lady can break it down and get it done with the best of them. 32 Nitro Madness Magazine Spring 2015
NE2 alcohol Altered. She drove this car in the Goodguy s vintage drag racing series for half of the 2005 season. About the same time Eily s parents helped her acquire her first car, a very rare 1969 injected fuel dragster with a Tri-Pod chassis which she campaigned for about a season and a half. In the fall of 2007 Eily received an invitation from Chuck Bayuk and Jim Jordan to pilot their Desperado NE1 blown hemi alcohol dragster in the NHRA Heritage Racing Series. She drove this car for three years and experienced moderately good success, taking it to the finals on several occasions. In her off weekends she started assisting her late friend Ralph Freeman on Duane Shield s A/FD in the NHRA professional racing series. To this date she still lends Duane a hand on occasion. As the 2010 racing season came to an end the House of Mouse Continued on next page The Strange Brew took on a new life with Eily behind the butterflies. This girl is a natural fit that knows how to dance on the black-top and inflict pain on her competition by lethal perfection! Spring 2015 Nitro Madness Magazine 33
Racing (Joel & Dee Gruzen, Dave Gruzen, Robert Stormy Byrd) extended her an invitation to drive the Strange Brew (Modified Fuel Coupe) NE1 in the 2011 ANRA and NHRA Heritage Racing Series. Her first event of the season was the 56th Annual March Meet in which she took the Brew to the final round. With some encouragement from her fellow team mate Stormy Byrd, she has perfected her now signature long smoky burnout and dry hop routine that puts her fans on their feet! At the close of the 2012 season Eily finished number four in the NHRA Heritage Racing Series point s chase. During that same timeframe she earned two more NHRA licenses for long and short wheel base cars. Towards the mid 2014 racing season Steve Zimmerman then offered her a full-time opportunity to work the pedals behind the butterflies on his Killer Crower 7.0 Pro blown alcohol Big Block Chevy slingshot (the former Neil & White nostalgia top fuel dragster). Driving this car is not a new experience to her as she has filledin for Mike Smith in the past at a couple of Barona Raceway events. This opportunity also required her to earn an NHRA Advanced ET license. During qualifying at the 2014 CHRR Eily took the Killer Crower digger down the 1320 faster than it had ever gone before. Her 6.98/198 MPH proved to the competition that this team was a force to be reckoned with. Eily s quickest ET in the car is a 6.90 run she made on a license pass a couple years before this, which was also a record for the team as well. In the summer of 2014 Eily was an invited guest driver at Maui Raceway Park in which her Hawaiian fans strapped her into a short wheelbase door car. On her second pass her resume was modestly obscured when the car lost contact with the racing surface and came together in one accord with the top-end barrier. Though her ride suffered some damage, her skilled fortitude was reinforced with the overwhelming Aloha Spirit of her new found Maui Ohana. Eily s popularity has extended her many opportunities to drive Cacklecars, appear in music videos, be an ambassador for the sport on local San Diego television news specials and give positive reinforcement lectures to students/youth groups. With Eily being a virtuous young lady, she is a levelheaded individual that has both feet planted on the ground, a loving heart and a great head on her shoulders. Though she is a fearless driver that 34 Nitro Madness Magazine Spring 2015
will keep her boot to the floor until she sees God, she also fully understands that the go fast pedal is not a throttle, it s a detonator. If she does it wrong she could get hurt and never earn her reward! Eily is also a very educated individual; she is well equipped with beauty, brains and professionalism. Though her eyes appear to be as lethal as two weapons of mass seduction; she can drop it down like it s hotter than fire and make her competition shake in their boots like loose change in a pocket! With countless eyes attentively observing her every move at the tree; she s is confident, tranquil and poised. Today with her relentless obsession fueling her passion, Eily is well on her way to becoming the next generation Queen of the 1320 and will no doubt glorify the American Girl persona in the eyes of her countless fans. With her transitional passage to the Golden Era of Drag Racing firmly in place, Eily s become living history and is humbly thankful for the opportunity to carry the torch well into the future. With her candle light burning so bright, perhaps we hope to see her in the pro-ranks at some point in the future. Spring 2015 Nitro Madness Magazine 35