Bobby and Dom Lagana accepted 2017 the Mike Aiello "Spirit of Drag Racing" Award during pre-race ceremonies Monday at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
 
CompetitionPlus.com owner and publisher Bobby Bennett made the presentation to the Lagana brothers for their longtime dedication to and passion for drag racing and their outreach to the sport’s community. The Mike Aiello Award recipient is someone who has persevered and remained positive in spite of hardship.
 
Bennett said, “Big Mike was the greatest drag-racing fan ever. He had all the odds stacked against him, and he never quit smiling.” That’s exactly how the Laganas have operated for more than 25 years.
 

Bobby Lagana many times has described himself and his brother as “drag-racing gypsies” because the family has a home in Scarsdale, N.Y., but has lived on the road in pursuit of their dreams. And after their nomadic lifestyle and funding struggles, the Laganas have come into their own as not only celebrated Top Fuel drivers in the U.S. and Australia but also as tuners and consultants. They have served as advisors for Finland’s Anita Mäkelä, the 2016 FIA European Top Fuel champion.
 
They work for Top Fuel championship contender Steve Torrence, have played a huge role in the improvement of perennial underdog and current Countdown qualifier Scott Palmer, and field and tune their own Nitro Ninja dragster for rookie Ashley Sanford.
 
Bobby Lagana, after years of shoestring-budget perseverance that included a serious accident, earned the IHRA Top Fuel series crown in 2010, in his 13th year of competing in the family’s Twilight Zone Dragster. That year he won eight races in 12 final rounds to edge Bruce Litton for the title. He capped that season as Nitro Jam’s Professional Driver of the Year. Bobby Lagana is the car chief for Steve Torrence/Capco Racing.
 

Dom Lagana has been a standout driver, as well. Just days before he pulled double duty this winter at  Nitro Spring Training at Chandler, Ariz.’s Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, he recorded his first Top Fuel victory. In only his fourth race overseas for Rapisarda Autosport International, Lagana defeating Darren Morgan in the final of the 51st ANDRA Nationals at Calder Park Raceway at Melbourne, Victoria.That gave tuner Lee Beard a “sweep,” of sorts, with victories at eastern Australia’s major racetracks (Willowbank, Darwin, Sydney, and Calder Park). Lagana became the 14th driver Beard has guided to victories. Then in May, Dom Lagana beat RAI teammate Damien Harris in the “B Final” at Nitro Thunder at Sydney Dragway.
 
The Laganas never tire of being at the dragstrip. For example, two separate match races at Martin, Mich., book-ended six straight weeks of events. That included the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.; testing for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis; competing in the World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova, Ill.; and qualifying for and racing in the U.S. Nationals.  
 
Both Bobby and Dom Lagana are known for their generosity and their love of the sport that they shared for years with their father, the late Bobby Lagana Sr., and uncle Billy Lagana. In their travels throughout the U.S., they collect toiletries from hotels. They pass them along to John Force Racing track consultant Lanny Miglizzi, who distributes them to hospitals and shelters. Miglizzi this past week distributed the collection to the Richard Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center in Indianapolis.
 
The Mike Aiello Award honors the Houston native and standout college athlete at Texas Tech University who was a longtime drag-racing fan and former National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock crew member. The honor commonly is referred to as "The Spirit of Drag Racing Award.”
 
Aiello spent his final years confined to a wheelchair after a workplace injury. Despite physical hardship and severe mobility limitations, he not only attended drag races but made dozens of friends among racers, crew members, and media with his positive outlook and unselfish behavior. Aiello passed away December 29, 2006, at age 39, at Santa Monica, California.
 
John Force Racing crew chief John Medlen received the inaugural Mike Aiello Award in 2007, followed by Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson (2008), Pro Stock's Mike Edwards (2009), International Hot Rod Association racer and journalist Michael Beard (2010), NHRA Funny Car racer Jack Beckman (2011), and former IHRA President Aaron Polburn (2012). Top Fuel racer Antron Brown and Top Alcohol Dragster’s Shawn Cowie shared the 2013 honor. Steve Johnson was honored in 2014, Don Schumacher in 2015, and Leah Pritchett in 2016.