Vegas odds would suggest that if you’ve been following NHRA Drag Racing at any time over the last fifteen years, you’re already familiar with Luke Bogacki – if not by his unprecedented stats, then by his reputation among grassroots enthusiasts. Bogacki’s contributions both on and off the track have earned him enough prize checks to wallpaper his modest shop, and the right to speak what’s on his mind about the ever-evolving sport of drag racing.

“What I’ve done my entire career is make a name for myself without being outspoken,” explains Bogacki, “My success has provided a degree of credibility, and I prefer to use that to find out what we, as a racing community, can do to make the sport better.”

Most notable of his efforts to translate his experiences on the track to hundreds of new and upcoming enthusiasts is his eight-year development of ThisIsBracketRacing.com – a premiere source for written and video tutorials and plenty of free resources for drag racers at all levels. Since its debut, Bogacki’s brain child has produced tutorials on nearly every aspect of sportsman drag racing from starting and finish line techniques, strategy, tech, mental preparation and even the business side of the sport.

By no means is Bogacki on the far side of his career’s bell curve. As the world champion continues to expand horizons into the 2017, his drive to win is strong as ever. While not actively pursuing an NHRA title this season, he does plan on dominating at 6-7 Nationals, filling in the year with Bracket events across the country, where he finds he is able to spend more time with people on and around the track. With such a homogenized passion for breathtaking speed and the people surrounding motorsports, it’s easy to see why Bogacki has maintained a strong working relationship with Mickey Thompson Tire & Wheel for nearly 15 years.

“I keep pinching myself to see if it’s all real,” jokes Bogacki, “I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last four to five years doing all I ever really wanted to do, and I still have a few things on my racing bucket list – like taking home a million dollars from Spring Fling!”

To expand his footprint in grassroots drag racing, Bogacki has spent the past few months launching a podcast designed to mirror the resources on his site. While most productions of this genre are slow off the line, his podcast has been met with rave reviews and an impressively high number of listeners, especially for the relatively niche audience market. By presenting an easy-to-consume flow of information in plain speak, like what has made his shop videos so popular, Bogacki is able to blend in special guest appearances and intuitive conversation that goes beyond the traditional radio-style program, and has become an essential part of the toolbox for up and coming enthusiasts.

“I didn’t know what we were getting into, to be honest,” explains Bogacki, “The response has been overwhelming, and it’s now become really fun!”

As can be seen in his video offerings, Bogacki’s small shop is a testament to his passion. Nearly every square foot of his space is filled with various classes of race vehicles, including his Corvette Roadster from Charlie Stewart Race Cars riding on Bubba 31/95s and his wife’s American Dragster outfitted with Little Bubba 31/91/Ws, which serve dual-duty on his acclaimed Supergas Dragster.

“For five years now, Charlie Stewart has told me ‘hey, go bracket race this thing’, and my argument has been - why would I want to bracket race my Corvette? I’ve got a great Supergas car, I’ve got a Vega that’s a lot of fun, why would I bother” describes Bogacki, “Truth be told, I was a little intimidated by it. It drove awesome on the throttle stop, but I had bracket raced a handful of roadsters of different variations over the years, and every time, they might make 4-5 good runs and then I thought I was going to crash. They just scared the heck out of me, and I thought, this Corvette’s got a tone of power, why would I want to try and run it wide open?”

Persistence by Charlie Stewart, however, won over – encouraging Bogacki to go out and make a couple of test runs at his home track, producing an instantaneous and welcome addiction.

“Every time I came back to the trailer I was grinning ear to ear. It drives like a dream. There is nothing to it, driving it wide open. It drives as easy as my dragster, believe it or not!” says Bogacki while expectedly grinning ear to ear, “That night I drove to Bowling Green for a TENTUCK event, and no kidding, I roll through it and win the race – literally the second event that I staged. I came back the next night and did it again. The next night, I made it all the way to the finals before losing it to Josh Baker. Twenty-two straight rounds on 480s – and the coolest thing about it was seeing my win light come on and being jacked up, not because I won, but because I got to come back and do it again!”

Bogacki believes the road forward for all levels of drag racing begins with racers, such as himself, who have achieved at least a portion of their ever-expanding dreams – to provide a platform for success for their rightly-named successors. It’s this passion that continues the legacy of Mickey Thompson, who’s mantra ‘Stand On The Gas’, is being immortalized in the lives of Mickey Thompson racers like Bogacki, both on and off the track.