Tim Glover Retires from Track Reporter Position at Atlanta Dragway

It is with mixed feelings I write this. In my 22nd year of being the track reporter for Atlanta Dragway, I made the difficult decision to retire from this career. I struggled with the thoughts that led to this decision during the 2014 season, but was in denial about it. However, I realized it was time to park my pen and hand over the reins to someone else after I found myself relieved when the first scheduled Summit ET Series event this year (April 18) was rained out.

Atlanta Dragway has been our weekend home since 1991, when a very inexperienced driver named Wanda Glover and a very inexperienced crew chief named Tim Glover showed up at the track to try our hands at the sport of Summit ET Series Bracket Racing. Wanda was rewarded over time with many race wins, the 1994 Pro Track Championship (was called Sportsman then) and the 1994 Division Two Race of Champions win (1/4 mile) in Gainesville. One other notable finish we had was when Wanda runnered up to Myron Piatek in the Drag Racing USA magazine Footbrake Allstar event. That finish still felt like a win to us.

This race reporting job has meant a lot to me over the years, as I first did it to help support my family’s "Drag Habit", and then enjoyed doing it to keep in touch with this sport. Bracket racing has made a huge positive difference in both mine and my family’s lives. We brought both of our children (Russ and Amy) up at the track, helping to keep them too busy to get into trouble. Russ has taken this to the next level, after earning his Jet Dragster license (with a LOT of help from his mentor Paul Miller and Scott Holdridge).

Another of the great parts of this job is I have gotten to meet so many memorable people, and witness so many memorable events.

I was especially proud to have my daughter Amy be the track reporter for three years, from 2008 to 2010. Racers responded well to her (she is definitely a lot prettier than I am). I especially treasure the time I got to spend with her doing this job, as I usually came to the events anyway just to hang out with her. I did win 11 NHRA Contributor of the year awards, but the one I treasure the most is the one that Amy won in 2008. I tried to think of any of the winners over the years that didn’t want to talk to me or Amy after they won, but nothing rings a bell.

After I gave my retirement notice to Mike Savage on May 2, he then worked with corporate to carefully select my successor, considering several candidates. Ultimately, NHRA chose track photographer Jerry Towns, who everyone already knows. Towns comes into this position with experience, as he was track reporter for Southeastern International Dragway and Speed Shop Dragway, and has also won the NHRA Contributor of the Year award four times.

I also owe a huge thank you to the late Dale Wilson, who recommended me for this job back in early 1994. He was my mentor, and also encouraged me to write stories for Bracket Racing USA magazine which later became Drag Racing USA magazine.

I want to end this message with a great big thank you to all of the racers I have met, as they are the ones who helped make this positive portion of my life possible. I hope that you extend the same warm welcome to Jerry as you have to me over the years.

Tim Glover, aka "Wanda Glover’s husband" at the track

Farewell, Tim! Good luck and thanks for all the great updates over the years. Bill