GO ASK EILY WHEN SHE`S 10 FEET TALL

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.
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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!
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”
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
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.
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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
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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
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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.
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.
Towards the mid 2014 racing
season Steve Zimmerman then
offered her a full-time opportunity
to work the pedals behind the
In the summer of 2014 Eily was
an invited guest driver
at Maui Raceway
Park in which
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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