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Michael Manners

kegs

Nitro Member
I see this guy racing what seems like every weekend in either IHRA or NHRA and it doesn't appear that he has a sponsor. The only thing I see on the car is Shredder. Is he self sponsored and if so what business does he operate?
 
i'm not sure of the business he is involved with, but he is self sponsored, and has some the nicest equipment anywhere (along with a *****in sound system that he rocks his pit area with). He also has Tom Conway helping him out, and is from England.
 
Thanks Mike. I didn't realize Conway helped him. That explains why he runs so well.

Well Tom and Shane are pretty darn good tuners for sure...but that CleanBoost Z-Alt 10X Oil Booster they use helps out too..... ;)

Michael Manners is one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure to meet. The crew always have a great time at the track and they are my picks to win this weekend in Dallas...

It's awesome to have "The Shredder" out there racing.... really good people!
 
Mike use to race Top Dragster with us and your right...he is one of the nicest guys out in the pits. The conway's know how to tune a car and Mike is a damn good driver. Yes the sound system is nice as well!!!!
 
Mike is a great guy, always out talking with all the racers at the track, and typically does a very good job going from A to B.

Mike is in the homebuilding and land development business and years ago started a company called Royce Homes . . . He chose the name Royce from one of his favorite car brands at the time (Rolls Royce). In recent years Royce Homes stock was publicly traded and Mike evidently made the wise choice to sell his remaining stake near the peak of the real estate bubble several years ago. So I'm guessing funding is not a huge issue for him.

His taste in street cars has changed slightly, as we typically see a 200mph Bentley in his pits. But last weekend at No Problem he told me that the Rolls Royce bodied top sportsman car they've been working on has been ready for testing for a couple of months, but they've simply been too busy to get it to the track.

As Mike stepped up to AFD, Mike sold his top dragster (a blown alky set up that runs in the 6.0 to 6.3 range) to another nice guy named Rob McKinley who has been traveling with Mike much of the summer to get some crew support and learn the ropes of the TD. Rob is in the concert sound system business, so when Rob's around, Mike's historically sweet race rig sound system gets a pretty good run for its money. Both guys have great taste in music.

For anyone who enjoyed the sound system hanging from the crane at the Houston divisional this year . . . that was Rob's stuff and Rob footed the bill.

Drag racing affords us the chance to stand around and chat with a lot of really interesting people.
 
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Didn't he run his TD in Super Comp a few years ago also. Pretty sure I saw him go like 220 in it on the throttle stop forever.:eek:.
 
Didn't he run his TD in Super Comp a few years ago also. Pretty sure I saw him go like 220 in it on the throttle stop forever.:eek:.

He had 2 different dragsters, the T/D, and a Q/R car, the Q/R car was a T/D with a throttle stop, 8.90's with a best of 202 mph (I watched him run both cars at IHRA nationals, and divisionals). Mike and his crew are great people, spent alot of time talking to them.
 
As you can tell I dont generally offer my opinion much but when it comes to this gentleman, enough kind words cant be said and also being a competitor, I can attest that he has the where-with-all to be anyway he wants, but he chooses to be a Gentleman and his crew, Shane, Lance and the Boys are the first to offer help whenever they can. Now as far as the music, sometimes we have to wear our earplugs if we are parked next door but that's a small price to pay for such great company.
 
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Great article Jim. Drag racing certainly attracts a lot of interesting people, and I always love to learn about how people have become successful enough to feed this addiction.
 
He had 2 different dragsters, the T/D, and a Q/R car, the Q/R car was a T/D with a throttle stop, 8.90's with a best of 202 mph (I watched him run both cars at IHRA nationals, and divisionals). Mike and his crew are great people, spent alot of time talking to them.


He went 8.88 @ 218 mph at Norwalk a few years ago. I was going 175 and he blew by me like I was standing still. One of the fastest super comp cars ever.
 
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