It’s no secret to anyone who follows the NHRA with any regularity that Top Fuel Dragster driver Clay Millican and his wife Donna are animal lovers. Their miniature Bull Terriers, Iggy and Millie, could have their own YouTube channel – and they might even get more followers than Clay’s wildly popular channel. It’s also no secret that Clay has a heart of gold. So, when the Mayor of his little hometown of Drummonds, Tennessee, asked if he and Donna could help out the Friends of Tipton County Animal Shelter, they jumped at the chance to help out their furry friends. Of course, whatever they did to help had to do with cars!
When you’re the only NHRA T/F driver around, you tend to make a lot of friends in the car community. The Memphis area has an extremely healthy car culture, and they love supporting charities. On any given Saturday, there can be as many as ten charity car shows within 100 miles from February through November. However, as NHRA announcer Brian Lohnes says in the intro on some of Clay’s YouTube videos, “He’s just a good ol’ boy who loves burnin’ rubber and drivin’ fast!” Needless to say, Clay is not one to sit still for very long, so a normal car show wouldn’t really do for him.
With two new recent project vehicles in Dentley and Baby D completed and sitting in his shop, he wanted to go for a cruise and invited everyone along for the ride. That is how “Cruise-In With Clay” was born. Initially scheduled for May 13 at Drummonds Elementary School, the cruise was postponed due to weather until June 17. The delay was a blessing in disguise as it allowed more planning time and a venue change to nearby Munford High School, which has a much larger parking lot. With the extra time, Donna organized food trucks for lunch, sponsors to donate items for auction and goodie bags, and Millican merchandise to sell.
Overwhelming Support
With a forecast that seemed to change hourly the week leading up to the new date and several other regional and local shows scheduled that day, Clay was just hoping for a few folks to show up, figuring anything he could donate was better than nothing. As dawn arose to a perfectly cloudless day, we knew he was in for a good turnout. Cars were already in the parking lot well before the 9:30 am start time, and they just kept coming! It was a $20 donation to the Friends of Tipton County Animal Shelter to go along for the cruise that kicked off at 11:00 am. All forms of motor transport were welcome, and several motorcycles showed up as well.
When we spoke to the driver of the Parts Plus/Biohaven Rick Ware Racing Top Fuel dragster before the cruise started, he was blown away by the support from the Mid-South car community. “I can’t believe how many people showed up,” Clay said. “I’m absolutely amazed that this many people came out to support this. The animal shelter is such a worthy cause, and the folks who work there are special people. Donna and I are so happy to help.”
Things Get Under Way
As the parking lot continued to fill, participants snatched up many of the items for sale, including signed piston heads, die-cast collectibles, t-shirts, and stickers. Around 10:00 am, festivities officially got underway with a blessing by Racers For Christ Chaplain John Williams. Then Clay asked if anyone could sing the national anthem as he wasn’t able to find someone ahead of time. The beauty of living so close to a Naval base in nearby Millington is that you have plenty of retired Navy veterans like Clay’s neighbors Tom Crain and Scott Rossiter, who stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park!
Clay had several big-ticket items to auction off and decided to do that while everyone was gathered. Dane Hamric of COMP Cams made two lamps out of some used camshafts (one Chevy and one Ford). Next, Clay auctioned off a ride in the backseat of Project Dentley on the cruise. The final auction item was for his race suit.
Clay’s fire suits and helmets are very personal items that he tends to hold on to, so this was a very special item. Nervous that he might not get enough money for it, he decided to put a reserve on it and put the number on a piece of paper in the front pocket. The opening bid of $200 quickly escalated as the bids went well north of the reserve. Mark Campbell of the Edelbrock Group (a Drag Week competitor himself) ended up with a one-of-a-kind wall hanger for his man cave or office.
The Cruise
As the start time approached, Clay gave the most famous words in motorsports, “Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!” The cruise was supported by the Tipton County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, who blocked off side streets to keep the train rolling. And what a train it was! In total, there were 128 cars that went on the cruise! With his two auction winners in the rear seats of Dentley, Clay spun up the turbos on the Hemi and left the parking lot in a cloud of smoke. Everyone else left like normal humans as they jockeyed into line. The cruise went down Highway 51 and then turned into the Shelby Forest area for a meandering 45-minute loop back toward Munford High School.
Clay Gives Back
This is exactly the type of event you could expect Clay Millican to support, not just for his love of animals but also for his genuine love for people. He is a car guy through and through. One thing he could never be accused of is not loving his fans. When everyone returned, Clay did what he does second best to drag racing – talking. He chatted with everyone, took photos with them in front of their cars, and even signed a few glove boxes. He treats everyone as though they’d been friends for years and talked to everyone who took the time out of their Father’s Day weekend to support the cause. He stuck around and answered questions until the last person left.
When it was all said and done, Cruise-In With Clay raised $8,000 for the Friends of Tipton County Animal Shelter. Everyone seemed to have an excellent time, even though the line got a little spread out with so many cars. It was all for a great cause to help out our furry friends looking for a forever home in Tipton County. Thank you to Clay and Donna for giving back to the community; we’re sure Iggy and Millie are proud of their parents!
