FUNNY CAR FANTASY

NOBODY TOLD ALEX MILADINOVICH A REGULAR JOE CAN'T BUILD AND RUN AN 11,000-HORSEPOWER MONSTER IN THE NHRA'S PREMIER CLASS, SO HE DID

- JOHNNY HUNKINS, ANDREW LINK

Statistically, it borders on the improbable that an average drag-racing fan could race and qualify for the NHRA's Top Fuel Funny Car ranks at a national event level with a car he built in his garage, yet here we are talking with Alex Miladinovich, a 48-year-old longshoreman mechanic who works at the Port of Los Angeles and lives in Orange County. During the week, Alex is responsible for helping move thousands of tons of freight through the port safely and efficiently, but his dream has always been to drive a race car. While Alex has yet to become a household name in NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car fandom, he has amassed a following among Top Fuel insiders, including hardcore fans, drivers, and crew chiefs. You might not know who Alex is, but his famous opponents sure do. He's a scrappy, artful competitor who stretches every nickel into a dollar, and he hasn't forgotten his humble roots.

"This car we started running in 2019," Alex says of the unsponsored "Hot 4 Teacher" Top Fuel Funny Car. "I raced Nostalgia Funny Car for about 10 years before that." And in case you're wondering, Alex has had no special training, no Daddy Warbucks sponsor, and no secret source of funding. He's a true privateer of the sort that, once upon a time, was commonplace in the nascent world of drag racing but has since been replaced by corporate sponsorship. The typical professional motorsports career arc usually means climbing the ladder through the sportsman ranks over many decades with relatively few ascending into the pro classes.