Imagine driving an 11,000 horsepower, 300-mile-per-hour Top Fuel dragster and being able to say it’s not even remotely the fastest or most powerful thing you’ve piloted.

Scott Farley is one of those few who can. Farley, who made his NHRA Top Fuel debut in 2022, is a commercial pilot for UPS by day, captaining McDonnell-Douglas MD-11’s that weigh 630,000 pounds loaded, produce nearly 100,000 horsepower, and can achieve upwards of 587 mph ground speed.

Farley has juggled the demanding worlds of commercial aviation and Top Fuel racing, running a program the old-school way out of a shop at home, with a skilled albeit volunteer crew, a mix of new and used parts and pieces, and a thick coating of grease under his driving gloves. Although his mechanical and fabrication experience is extensive, he had to learn the in’s and out’s of nitro cars from scratch — absorbing as much knowledge as he could while receiving support and guidance from some of the biggest names in the game, including Tony Shortall and Scott Palmer.

Farley began adulthood as a mechanic at a Chrysler dealership and used his earnings to fund flying lessons. “I always wanted to fly,” he says of his ambitions. By 1989, he was working as a flight instructor and eventually built a career as a pilot, flying 727’s for Connie Kalitta’s Kitty Hawk Airways before joining UPS in 2000. Today, he’s an integral part of the global logistics giant’s fleet, flying routes all around the globe. Despite his busy aviation career, Farley never lost sight of his love for cars and racing.

His first pass down the dragstrip came in 1987 behind the wheel of a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass, while living in Fort Worth, Texas. With the high costs of flight training, he took a brief break from racing, but built a ’65 Nova with a blown small-block in the mid-1990s and later a blown alcohol 1970 Camaro that he raced at his then-home in Louisville, Kentucky. He eventually scratch-built a chrome-moly chassis for the Camaro and installed a screw-blown Hemi. But his ambitions grew. In the late 2010s, he attended an NHRA national event and became determined to make nitro racing his next step. “I decided, hey, I want to do that,” he says of transitioning to Top Fuel racing, inspired by conversations with seasoned racers and friends including Clay Millican and Terry Haddock.

In 2019, Farley earned his Top Fuel license in one of Haddock’s dragsters. Three years later, he made his debut at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California. “We didn’t qualify, but just being there was huge for us,” Scott Farley recalls. His operation is a family-driven effort that he and his wife, Michelle — also an MD-11 captain for UPS —largely handle the day-to-day operations and maintenance on. Michelle manages logistics and operations at the racetrack. “Michelle runs the whole pit organization,” he said. “She’s the keeper of the checklist to make sure everything gets done.”

Farley’s dragster is run out of a 40-by-80 garage on his property, a historic 1750 farmhouse in Ellington, Connecticut. “I do all the maintenance, wiring, and engine building myself,” Farley explains, noting that until race day when his crew flies in from around the country, the workload rests squarely on his shoulders. Despite the enormity of the challenge, he both thrives on and is grateful for the camaraderie of the Top Fuel pits. “The help from other teams has been off the charts,” he says, noting the way crew chiefs from rival teams have lent parts, advice, and expertise. 

Scott Farley balances his racing career with his work, which allows him to spend blocks of time working on the car and driving the 42-foot gooseneck rig to the racetrack. “I’m home one week and flying the next,” he says. That week at home often means five or more days in the shop, dedicating hours to keeping his dragster competitive. The winter off-season of 2024 was particularly demanding, involving extensive chassis front-half modifications to meet new NHRA regulations.

Looking ahead to 2025, Farley plans to run five NHRA events, including Gainesville, Charlotte, Epping, Virginia, and Maple Grove. With he and Michelle’s career, Farley says “Right now, five races a year is about what we can do. We want to get our hands around the car and go faster, but each attempt is exponentially more expensive.” He looks to competitive part-time operations like that of T.J. Zizzo as an example of where wants his program to be, actively surrounding himself with the type of people who can help to elevate his performance.

Funding is a constant challenge, and Scott Farley is actively pursuing sponsorship opportunities. “Sponsorship is tough, even for full-time programs,” he admits. Yet, he remains optimistic that consistency and steady performance can attract the support needed to elevate his operation.

Farley acknowledges the vast gap between his independent effort and the top-tier teams, but he’s undeterred and realistic with his goals. “We feel like we’ve won the race if we show up and make it down the track a couple of times,” he says. Farley is quick to show his appreciation for the advice and support he’s gotten from within the nitro fraternity, including many of the top team owners and crew chiefs in the sport.

Scott Farley’s racing story is certainly one of determination — the same kind of determination it took to advance from auto mechanic to airline pilot — embodying the spirit of drag racers from decades ago when racers did it all because they had little other options or luxuries at their disposal. As he puts it, “We’re in it to have a great time, and we’re getting better every year.”