“I’ve been racing about six years and I love everything about it,” Buchanan said. “I like the racing, the people, the adrenaline rush you get.”

Buchanan certainly got an adrenaline rush at the World Finals. He qualified for the prestigious event by being the IHRA Summit SuperSeries track points champion at Skelton Raceway. Taking advantage of being at Holly Springs Motorsports, he had a .017 reaction time and paired it with a  7.760-second pass at 84.65 mph against a 7.73 dial-in to get past Kyle Penn, the track champion from Dragway 42 in the semifinal round.

He came close to winning the whole thing. He had a better start than Music City Raceway’s Jordan Johnson in the final round, but broke out with an 8.313-second run at 79.13 mph against an 8.32 dial-in. Still to go through the rounds of eliminations and be recognized after the race was overwhelming.

“It blows my mind. This was very unexpected,” Buchanan said. “I was glad to be here. I’m thrilled to finish runner-up.”

Buchanan drives a 1972 Chevrolet Nova, owned by his buddy Bear Nickels. They’ve been friends since their school days. He calls Nickels, along with Funny Car legend John Force, his racing heroes. As for the car, Buchanan loves the feel of it.

“It just fits. It has the small-block Chevy (motor),” Buchanan said. “It’s not quite as fast as some cars, but it does its thing and works well.”

He works well and works hard too, the epitome of those who make the IHRA a great organization.