Backbone of Drag and Drive Part 14: 50,000+ Miles of Planting Seeds

When you grow up in a rural community words like “planted, grounded, rooted, are used regularly. They reflect an understanding of the process of growing things. For those of us who are not from a farm community those concepts can be applied to the growth of almost anything. Businesses, relationships, communities, you name it. From seed time to harvest the process looks very similar no matter the intended yield. If you intend on building a hot rod and don’t know how to get started I will give you a solid bit of advice. Find someone who has successfully achieved the thing that you wish to do, and learn everything they are willing to teach. It’s worked that way for generations and generations of farmers. Parents teaching sons and daughters how to choose a path or process that is as efficient and effective as possible. That’s how strong communities are built. That’s how good friendships grow. Sharing experiences and understandings. On a farm, that transfer of knowledge is often the difference between success and failure. If the next generation is skipped, the most valuable thing (knowledge and wisdom) won’t get passed down. And the growth stops. 

  A long time ago a farmer with his roots firmly in Texas dirt heard a call to become a teacher. To invest his life in planting more than just cotton seed. His answer to that call led him to the one place he had specifically asked not to go. Oklahoma. And life then took him down a path that one day passed by Tulsa raceway park when Hot Rod Drag Week was there. Having roots in racing he knew about this event and set about making plans to take an old Chevy truck the next year. 

When Jesse Madaffari Jr showed up the next year he drove up in a vehicle that was nearly a perfect summation of his experiences in life to that point. Nearly. A few years later he got it dead on. And though he says there were a few folks that didn’t know what to make of this preacher in a John Deere truck, it didn’t take long for folks to see that he is a good racer, a good mechanic and a great person. His exploits in this drag and drive community since debuting his “truckter” 1972 John Deer 7520 race car.. are a part of the lore that attracts people to these events. Over the 32 events he’s participated in Jesse has watched relationships grow from acquaintances to family. And the fruit of his efforts to cultivate those relationships is the love and appreciation you will see for him in the pits at one of these events. A man that is committed to his Faith. To his family. To his community as a teacher in public schools. To his friends and colleagues on the roads and on the tracks. To a project most people would not even consider. To honor the heritage of his father who worked for John Deere for 30 years. And he for 20 years. And to make a 50 year old tractor run 11’s in the ¼ mile.  To remember his roots. And to plant the seeds for the next generation. Mr Jesse you are the backbone of drag and drive. And we can’t wait to see a nitrous fed big block tractor pull those front wheels just one time. 

Where are you from/live?

Originally Santa Rosa TX, Tulsa OK now.

What made you start racing?

Oh my! I mean .. I was racing tractors! We would race anything. My brother in law and his friends got me into drag racing. Usually on the back roads.

Who inspired you to build a hot rod?

Those same guys did. I wanted to build a motorcycle. But they said they’d disown me. So we went out and found this old Chevy and started building that with whatever parts we could scrounge up. 

First Race and Where? 

First track race? Probably in 1977, at Edinburgh TX. NHRA bracket racing.

What was your first car?

First car ever? 1962 GMC truck. First race car was a 56 Chevy. Had a 283, 4 speed, 57 Pontiac rear end, I think 557 or 614 gears. We would shave the deck till the pistons would print numbers on the head. We ran Av gas. It had steele rods and we would shift it some where around 8k rpm. You didn’t really know cause the tac only went to 8k. But it’s started breaking stuff so we went to an automatic. Built up a turbo 400 and got a Vega converter and adapted it. It would run 12.30’s depending on the weather. It was a screamer. 

What was your first Drag and drive style event? 

2012 Hot Rod Drag Week

What vehicle?

1983 Chevy pickup (known as Junior). Step side. 496 BB. The paint I couldn’t decide what color to paint it. And my wife said John Deere green cause my dad worked for John Deere 30 years. And I did for 20. I said I don’t want a green truck. She won the argument. And when we showed up the paint was still curing. You could smell it. 

What's your PB and how/when did that happen?

That would have been at SickWeek 2022. At Bradenton I lifted at 1000 ft cause it blew the oil dip stick blew out. I thought I had lost the engine. But it went 11.28 at like 118. 

Unlimited budget..what are you building?

Oh .. I would build what I have.. but I would have somebody that knows what they are doing build it. Like the cage. I’d have that professionally built. I welded it when recovering from the first knee surgery. And the engine I would have somebody that knew race engines tune it. I can’t afford to break something so it’s been pig rich since day one cause I don’t wanna burn anything up. I’d have the budget to run it all out and if anything broke I could just fix it. 

Favorite car movie?

Well .. any Given Sunday is my favorite movie really. It’s about motorcycles but yea that’s really a good documentary. And I like ..you know.. Smokey and the Bandit and those like that also. 

Favorite music for cruising?

I wanna just take in the cruise really so I can you know listen to music anytime so I just listen to the engine. Not that you can hear anything anyway.

Favorite road trip snacks

Bacon.. I usually cook 10-12 pounds and just lay a bag on the dash and we munch on that when we want something.

For the story, tell us about your best/favorite  event

I have stories from every year. I have been on 32 of these. But one of my favorite times was when Tom set the record. Tom is such a good guy. And I was just over the top when that happened. I got to be at the line when he made that pass and I saw it light up 5.99 at 247 or whatever it was on the board. And that was so good for both me and Cameron to see that. And that was the year a hurricane was coming in and it flooded near Atlanta and we were like the last folks to leave the track. And Cameron was riding on the running board and I was pushing through water like a boat and we got a pic of him on the truck fist pumping like that. And that’s my and my wife’s fav pic from all these years. Just to see him having so much fun and all. 

Event Average: 

Best event average would probably be 2013 HRDW I think it was md 12’s at 108-109

Vehicle at that event?

83 chevy stepside

Powertrain Combo at time of Event: 

496 BB, turbo 400, 9” 383 gear, 31/12.5/15 slicks

How long you’ve had it?

We built the truckter in 2020 & 21 and went to Drag Week in 21 unfinished but all the guys just said get it here and we will finish it. So we were working on it in the tech line and after.

How many races have you attended in this vehicle? Why did you build this car? 

15 on the old Chevy and 17 on the new build. The truckter. 

Why? Oh man… cause I’m crazy! I just thought it would be fun. We’ve been through all kinds of weather in this thing. Some pretty bad stuff a few times but it’s just impossible to have a bad day driving this thing. 

Any maintenance required from all the passes? 

Just the normal stuff, I run the valves, check all the bolts, etc. it don’t matter what it is it can work its way loose, so you check it all. And you know oil changes in between. I run Driven oil so that helps. I have a composite distributor gear and it’s slotted for oiling cause oiling is the weak point on BBC especially valve train. Keeping it oiled and cooling is the key to survival. 

What are 1-2 struggles from the week? 

When we left for DW 2019 we were headed to Virginia and got to Fort Smith AR and the trans had been overheating so we stopped in at a Wal mart parking lot. I called some of the guys and said looks like I’m not gonna make it this time. But that was when they had made arrangements to ..you know give me the parts and money to build the tractor. So I had guys saying “hey we’re leaving Chicago we will swing by and get you”.. I was like “dude your in Chicago I’m in AR and we are headed to Virginia! But they were determined not to let me pull the plug on it. So we got the truck lifted up and got it fixed and got going bout 5:00 am and drove all day sat to get the there. (DW 2019 would be the year Tom would run the 5.99, proving that having the drag and drive community push you that one little step is generally worth it in the end….- Mike)

Plans for events this year? 

We are on the wait list for DW. So we will see on that. We are registered for Rocky Mountain 2.0, and for Sick 66. And is luck to do this one that Mike is doing the Short Circuit. (He’s registered for this event also) 

Which vehicle? 

The truckter. The 1972 John Deer 7520. That’s how it’s registered in OK

Goals?  

The goal is always just to finish the event

Any changes or upgrades planned? 

I don’t know maybe get that nitrous kit I’ve had for ten years out and put it on, and a gear vendors one day and I could put some real gears in this thing and get it to launch hard. 

Bucketlist Race or Event?

 I would love to do the one up in Montana (Big Sky Race Week) that looks like an awesome drive. 

Jesse is one of the best dudes in drag and drive. He’s helpful, knowledgeable, and is always there with a smile and kind words. He’s the perfect example of the community we want to portray to newcomers. It’s these reasons we presented Jesse with a Drag and Drive Ambassador award at the 2025 PRI show. 

Let’s put some perspective on the 32 events he discusses earlier. With a solid mix of Regional (1-3 day events) and National (4+ days) event participation, Jesse has covered more than 50,000 street miles in the Truckter or Junior. He typically drives the trucks to and from the events as well as racing in the event. 

50,000+ street miles. From Texas, to Virginia, to Louisiana, to Nebraska, to Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, and so many small towns and big cities in between. The great thing about driving something weird and quirky is the conversations that come from it. Anytime Jesse is stopped, there is someone coming up to the truck to say hi, ask how it drives, and where he’s from and what he’s doing. You will find him smiling and telling stories, welcoming anyone to sign the roof or sit in the truck and snap a pic. 

Aside from the event participation, he also works diligently to provide his junior high school students with hands-on learning opportunities. Like earlier this year when he talked Nick Cryer to come down on a Monday to show off the Divco Milk Truck during his classes. The kids were all over the truck and I am certain that Jesse will have converted a few of them into future car guys and girls. 

The Backbone of Drag and Drive is a statement we’ve made 13 times now and Jesse is one of the best examples we could ever feature. I am proud to call him a friend and I hope to one day be as influential as he is in bringing joy to so many faces. - Mike

Article by Rodney Reeves, Jesse Madaffari Jr and Mike Narx. Photos by Eric White and Jesse Fox (3G Video).