Meet the PEAK Squad: Dan Fletcher

In 1996, Dan Fletcher left his corporate job at an R&D lab to chase his dream of a full-time drag racing career. Nearly 30 years and 107 NHRA wins later, he's never looked back.

He holds the second most NHRA national event titles, races four powerful cars, and gets to share it all with his family. And even with all of that success, Dan isn’t slowing down. After decades in the industry, he sees his competition getting tighter — which only pushes his desire to win into overdrive. 

Find out how Dan bucked tradition and found success as a full-time professional drag racer, and how he’s seen the sport change over the years. 

Growing Up in Drag Racing

Dan is part of a family dynasty of drag racers, picking up his interest in the sport from his dad and now passing his passion down to his kids. 

Dan works in his garage right next to the orange Camaro that his dad raced when he was in high school. As an only child, he spent his youth working on the Camaro and going to the track with his dad, biding his time until he could hit the road himself. 

As soon as Dan turned 16, he knew he wanted to race. Dan’s first car — which he still owns — was a white Camaro that he drove to school and to the track. Back then, Dan wasn’t sure that this could be his career. He attended college, got a degree in engineering, and accepted a job as an R&D lab tech at Xerox. 

But his love for racing only grew stronger. In 1996, he took a leap of faith and quit Xerox with just one race car, no sponsors, and a lot of hope. His big gamble has clearly paid off, and now, his own children are carrying on the family tradition. 

When Dan started racing full-time, his kids joined him on the road. Dan and his family traveled the world together following NHRA events. Naturally, his kids fell in love with the sport themselves, and as adults, his sons Thomas and Timothy joined their dad in the world of drag racing. 

Dan describes himself as unflappable and extremely confident when he’s racing himself … but watching his kids race, his nerves are always shot. “It’s great that we race together, but like any parent, I want them to win so badly. At the races when I can’t go, I’ll coach them over the phone and watch from my computer, and if they lose, it’s just devastating that I can’t be there for them,” says Dan.

Talking Strategy

Most of Dan’s fellow racers are seeking an adrenaline rush, but his love of racing isn’t just the thrill of high speeds. He’s drawn to the strategy, planning, science, and intense competition that comes with it. 

In Dan’s NHRA class, it’s not all about who crosses the finish line first. You want to have the best reaction time and meet your index, which is the estimated elapsed time for a vehicle as established by the NHRA. And you don’t want to go too fast either — going under your index time (also known as “breaking out”) can cost you a win. 

“It’s completely cerebral. You have to plan better, build a stronger strategy, and execute better than your opponent ... I’m trying to beat you by just as little as I can to make sure I don't go under my time.” 

It’s all a matter of knowing your car extremely well and knowing your opponents even better. Dan keeps detailed records of his own runs, reaction times, and track conditions to help better predict how his car will perform at each event. But his log book also includes the same stats on his opponents that he uses to adjust his strategy going into each race. 

Dan puts major pressure on himself to win — racing is his livelihood, after all. His pre-race ritual includes meticulously checking the weather and studying his logbook to prepare. Even as he straps into his seat with just moments until the tree starts to flash, Dan is still reviewing competitor results on his phone. 

All this preparation builds up to a few seconds racing over a quarter mile, and the difference between winning and losing could come down to just one one-thousandth of a second.

The Changing Landscape 

Like any sport, drag racing is getting more and more competitive. When Dan got his start 40 years ago, most people weren’t experts on the timing system nor did they have high-caliber equipment like racers do today. 

Dan chalks some of the boom in competition up to the explosion of the internet and social media. Anyone interested in racing can check out a video on YouTube and eventually teach themselves how to be a successful drag racer. “It’s so much harder to win. The margin between myself and my competitors is getting smaller and smaller,” says Dan. 

Even with tighter competition, Dan is dedicated to the sport — and he makes no bones about how serious winning is for him. Drag racing isn’t a social activity or an attempt at getting fame and attention. For Dan, it’s always been about making a living for his family, so he intends to keep on winning those coveted cash prizes (and hey, the trophies are pretty nice, too). 

Partnership with PEAK 

Drivers earn exciting cash prizes when they win — but building partnerships with brands is what really pays the bills. “Without companies like PEAK behind me, I wouldn't be able to do what I do. Because I promise you, when I left Xerox, I had an orange Camaro and no sponsored dollars,” says Dan of his early days in drag racing. 

PEAK is proud to partner with Dan as one of his sponsors since 2012. As a member of the PEAK squad, Dan has had the opportunity to connect with fellow drag racers and auto enthusiasts who’ve turned into close friends. 

One of Dan’s favorite PEAK Squad events took him to Las Vegas where he got to ride through the desert on side-by-sides with the “Legendary 7” crew. Check out the video for some fun footage — including an epic flip! 

Looking back on his decades in the drag racing game, Dan feels most grateful to be able to make memories with his fellow PEAK Squad members, racing peers, and his close family. Not many people get to make a successful career from following their passion — and he’s nowhere near done yet. Catch Dan at NHRA events across the country, where he still drives his dad’s orange Camaro.