Everybody loves a homecoming story, and for pro stock racer Dallas Glenn, the last weekend of July brings him home for some drag racing.

Glenn will be racing at Pacific Raceways in Kent from July 29 to July 31 for the 34th Flav-R-Pac National Hot Rod Association Northwest Nationals. Glenn, who was raised in Covington, is in his sophomore year in the NHRA and the Northwest Nationals will be his first time back at Pacific Raceway since he turned pro.

“I’d been there many, many times. My parents had me there at 6 months old to watch the races,” said Glenn, 31, a Kentwood High School grad who now lives in Mooresville, North Carolina. “It would be really big to win this race since a lot of people I know will be there.”

As a pro stock racer, Glenn races a car that the NHRA website describes as a factory hot rod with “some of the most technologically advanced machines in drag racing.” When Glenn first started racing in his teens, he used the family’s 1955 “Chevy wagon,” which was turned into a race car.

“I won a few races, but it was a very large learning curve,” Glenn said of his early racing days, which included racing at Pacific Raceways. “I then started racing my grandmother’s 1968 El Camino in a different class and I won a decent amount of races.”

The Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways is the thirteenth race in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. There are only a few races left before the “Countdown to the Championship” in September, where only the top 10 drivers in their class get to go on to the final championship. Currently, Glenn is at number 5, having not won a race since the Gatornationals back in March.

“I wouldn’t say it’s bad luck, but we’re a little bit behind,” said Glenn, who was named the 2021 NHRA Rookie of the Year. “We need to get the momentum shifted. Last year I finished third, now I’m bumped back to fifth, but winning this next race could get me back up.”

A home field advantage would make for a great victory for Glenn and his racing team, but he says he’s also very excited to just be back in his hometown.

“Not only am I going to be able to see a lot of friends, but also I also get to race on my old track. I always love coming back and seeing the things that have changed and to tell people who have been traveling what to do and where to go in the area,” he said, adding that Covington Teriyaki is one of his favorite restaurants.

Photo courtesy of Dana Glenn.