Is Rob Wendland’s Move to Rick Ware Racing About to Change Everything?

Is Rob Wendland’s Move to Rick Ware Racing About to Change Everything? Rob Wendland helped Shawn Reed Racing win the first national event in its history, then was let go roughly a year later, and days after that he was calling the shots for Clay Millican at Rick Ware Racing on the opening weekend of the Countdown. In this video, we break down exactly what happened, why Shawn Reed Racing parted ways with its crew chief, how Rick Ware Racing moved so fast to hire him, and what the first three races of the new Wendland and Millican pairing actually tell us about the 2026 NHRA Top Fuel championship picture. Rob Wendland has quietly been one of the most respected tuners in the pits: a former Top Alcohol Dragster winner who won in Joliet and Madison, Illinois, in 1999, then led Johnny Gray’s Funny Car effort at Don Schumacher Racing, ran Terry McMillen’s Top Fuel program from 2015 to 2020, and helped Shawn Reed build a Top Fuel team that won the 2025 NHRA Reading Nationals. Clay Millican, meanwhile, arrived at the Great Lakes Nationals 10th in the points, 116 behind leader Doug Kalitta, after taking the tenth and final Countdown spot at the U.S. Nationals. But the story had other plans. NHRA’s own race coverage tied Wendland’s exit to a run of six straight first-round losses at Shawn Reed Racing. Then came a 9.899-second pass in round one at Great Lakes, a full-pass struggle in qualifying at Rockingham followed by an upset of Tony Stewart, a round-two meeting with the team that had let Wendland go, and a Midwest Nationals back in Madison, Illinois, the same city where he won as a driver in 1999. Shawn Reed’s team, now under interim crew chief Ryan Elliott, reached the semifinals twice in that stretch. We separate what is confirmed from what is not. So is this move about to change everything for Wendland, Millican, Rick Ware Racing and Shawn Reed with three races left in the Countdown to the Championship? Watch to find out. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — The crew chief who changed teams in days 0:31 — Where are you watching from? 0:42 — Who is Rob Wendland? 1:08 — From Top Alcohol to Top Fuel tuner 1:32 — Reading: the win that looked like the peak 1:53 — The statement that explained nothing 2:19 — Six straight first-round losses 2:54 — Rick Ware Racing makes its move 3:19 — Why Millican rarely changes crew chiefs 3:52 — Millican’s history at Great Lakes 4:19 — Great Lakes: a 9.899 debut 4:37 — Rockingham: the upset and the rematch 5:08 — Wendland vs. his old team 5:38 — Midwest Nationals: Madison, again 6:02 — A fair look at the numbers 6:38 — The human side of the move 7:04 — Is this about to change everything? 7:36 — What we know and what we don’t 8:03 — The real question behind the move 🔔 Subscribe for the latest NHRA updates, drama, and race breakdowns every week. 👇 Drop your city or country in the comments, and tell us: did Rick Ware Racing make the right call, or did Shawn Reed Racing? #NHRA #RobWendland #ClayMillican #RickWareRacing #ShawnReedRacing #TopFuel #NHRA2026 #DragRacing #NHRATopFuel #NHRAMidwestNationals