Our Team
Wes Buck, Editor-in-Chief
A lifelong drag racer, Wes Buck emerged on the drag racing landscape in 2005 as the General Manager of Eddyville Raceway Park – a budding 1/8th mile drag strip in Southeastern Iowa. Following a successful stint at the drag strip, Buck, along with partners Dave and Wyatt Haldin, launched the Drag Illustrated title in October of 2005. With a thoroughbred drag racing pedigree, extensive experience in business management, as well the required vision and work ethic, Wes Buck’s goal since day-one has been to build and grow the sport of drag racing, and he is doing just that as the Editor-in-Chief of Drag Illustrated.
Click to show Wes’ email address – 660-216-9779
Trent Salter, Publisher
A 25-year veteran of the publishing industry, Trent Salter has been involved with the building of numerous business and consumer titles in both a managing and ownership role. Launching his career in 1985 as an ad sales representative, Salter has served and managed all facets of multimedia publishing. Prior to joining the Drag Illustrated team, Trent Salter was the founding Publisher of Premier Guitar – the guitar industry’s leading high-end publication. Salter has also been involved with titles in computers, printing, industrial machinery, plastic processing, and health care. Salter specializes in business to consumer titles and developing custom media strategies for associated markets.
Click to show Trent’s email address – 515-576-0237
Dave Haldin, Chief Executive Officer
With an extensive background in broadcasting, publishing, multimedia productions and financial management, Dave Haldin’s mission at Drag Illustrated/ImagePro Multimedia, Inc. is to provide and maintain a smooth-running business infastructure. Having been involved with Drag Illustrated since it’s conception, Haldin has specialized in handling critical behind-the-scenes details. Haldin has also been a racing fan since witnessing the sport’s awesome display of horsepower for the first time in 1976 at a small drag strip in Humboldt, Iowa.
Click to show Dave’s email address
Wyatt Haldin, President
As a lifelong native of the state of Iowa, Wyatt Haldin was introduced to the tail end of the AHRA and NHRA class racing scene at the many eighth-mile drag strips that dotted the landscape. First introduced to fuel racing at a match race between the Chi-Town Hustler and Mr. Norm’s Supercharger at Humboldt County Dragway in 1976, Haldin has been an admitted drag-junkie ever since. As a member of the founders of Drag Illustrated, along with brother, Dave, and Wes Buck, Wyatt Haldin serves as the current President playing a role in both the sales and editorial departments, as well as contributing a popular monthly column to the magazine. A graduate of Northwest Webster Community School’s class of 1977 and a forced education in the school of hard-knocks, Haldin jokingly claims “no foundation what-so-ever” for his current role – something achievable only in America.
Click to show Wyatt’s email address – 515-576-2031
Scott Dorman, Director of Sales
Drag Illustrated’s Director of Advertising Sales, Scott Dorman, is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Marketing. After working as a direct sales rep for HJ Heinz, Dorman worked in radio for several years and then started his own audio/video production company. With clients of all sizes, ranging from Wyeth pharmaceuticals and Norwest Bank to car dealerships and insurance agencies, he gained insight into marketing and advertising practices that get results at all levels, and with a wide range of budgets. Scott is also a popular musical performer in Nashville and has released several albums of original music.
Click to show Scott’s email address – 800-581-6847
Mike Carpenter, Art Director
Though he has always had a passion and talent for visual media, Mike Carpenter hasn’t ever let that interfere with his motorsports bloodlines. The son and crew chief of drag racing legend Charles Carpenter, Mike has fused his talent for graphic design with his passion for drag racing to become one of the preeminent young forces in motorsports media. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Carpenter has been immersed in the racing culture since birth. After obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2006, he began his ascension to Art Director of Drag Illustrated. Responsible for the design and production of the magazine, Carpenter has an inherent sense of the racing industry but has used his education and design philosophies to bring a clean, modern look to the pages of DI.
Click to show Mike’s email address – 704-737-2299
Jason Sharp a.k.a. Bubba Smoothe, Director of Photography
Jason Sharp’s passion for racing started as a kid growing up in Plant City, Florida and attending the local drag races with his friends. Sharp broadened his racing knowledge under the watchful eye of the late Gordie Hmiel and continued with Tommy Mauney. During his years traveling with racers like Scotty Cannon, Brad Jeter, and Mauney, the youthful Sharp took up another passion – photography. When Sharp returned to racing after a brief absence from the sport, he served as the first staff photographer at the just-launched Drag Illustrated for longtime friend, Wes Buck. In 2006, Buck named him the Director of Photography, a job he has held since. Sharp’s intimate photographs of racers away from the drag strip helped define the Drag Illustrated image. Having always wanted to make a living doing something he loves, Sharp has certainly found his calling at DI.
Click to show Jason’s email address – 205-393-6000
Will Mandell, Account Executive
For as long as he can remember, Will Mandell spent every Memorial Day working in the yard with his father listening to the Indy 500 on the radio. A trip to Michigan International Speedway to see A.J. Foyt win both races of the Twin 200, coupled with a grandmother who lent him the money for a ’68 Chevelle SS/396, has made Mandell a likely candidate to eventually wind up in the motorsports industry. Following a move from Toledo, Ohio, to Nashville, Tennessee, Mandell spent a majority of his adult life working in the music industry before removing himself from the rigors of regular touring. A longtime friend of DI Director of Sales, Scott Dorman, as well as the bass player for his band, Mandell was eventually introduced to Drag Illustrated and re-connect with his passion for motorsports. Leaning heavily on a love for cars and passion for people, Mandell has quickly made inroads to the racing industry selling advertising for DI.
Click to show Will’s email address – 615-426-0465
Courtney Anctil, Customer Service/Database Manager
Growing up the youngest of twelve kids, eight of them boys, Courtney Anctil feels right at home as the only female representing Drag Illustrated. Having worn several different hats in her career with DI – from copy editing to ad sales and now customer service – Courtney brings professionalism, extensive experience working with people and a perennial smile with her to Drag Illustrated on a daily basis. As the front-line for DI, Anctil spends her days talking to racers and race fans from all walks of life and ensuring they have a pleasant and memorable experience with Drag Illustrated from start to finish.
Click to show Courtney’s email address – 515-576-0550
