He tries to hone in on his RPMs and focus on a nice, clean burnout. Then revs up his engine, and floors it. The rest just goes blank, a moment of bliss amidst driving over 100 miles per hour. The only thing anchoring him down to earth is the G force pushing him back in his seat, his shift points, and the car beside him. 

As a result of winning the World Wide Technology (WWT) Bracket Racing High School Division season championship, Senior David Breuer has qualified to compete in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Midwest Nationals Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at WWT Raceway.

“Just to be able to go it’s quite amazing,” David said. “I think I’ve improved over the last year and have what it takes to go further and win it.”

Breuer competed for a spot in the Midwest Nationals last year, but only made the cut because the 2nd and 3rd place finishers dropped out. This year he finished 1st in his region.

“This year David was able to drive his own car in each race throughout the season,” James Breuer, David’s father and mentor, said. “Driving the same car enabled him to be consistent, and eventually win the last two races and come first overall.”

The winner of the Midwest Nationals travels to Pomona, California in November to compete in the NHRA Finals.

“The more you race the more you get to know your car,” David said. “The more you can feel it and know what it will do when you step on the pedal.”

Breuer’s father exposed him to Drag Racing at a young age and since then he has grown up with the sport.

“With David always being around the drag strip growing up, I was very happy that he shared my passion and wanted to get into drag racing as well,” Mr. Breuer said. “We spend a lot of time together in the garage working on cars. This time is very special to me.”

While even he admits the number of drag racers in the world is declining, Breuer hopes this is the first step of many in his drag racing career.

“It would be really cool to drag race as a pro,” David said. “If not, I will always keep it as a hobby.”