Team Fastrax Drops Into IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series Events in Honor of Fallen Soldiers

Team Fastrax is a group of professional skydivers based in Middletown, OH, with members from all over the United States on their team, including jumpers, grounds crew, and pilots. They perform jumps with the American flag, and every jump is in honor of a different fallen soldier. Team Fastrax members Yuliya Pangburn, Matthew Hill, Nicole Condrey, and Mike Derge shared their experiences being on Team Fastrax and attending races at the IHRA.

Nicole Condrey has been on the team for about eight years and has completed around 3,000 jumps.

“Team Fastrax's highest honor is being able to honor our fallen warriors,” Condrey explained. “Before the jump, we print their photograph and put it in our jumpsuit, so they come on the jump with us, and then after we give it to a member of the crowd so they can keep their memory alive”.

A passion for skydiving and the privilege to honor their country is what drives Team Fastrax to do what they do. When asked how she became a professional skydiver, Yulia Pangburn said, “Well, I always wanted to try it, and when I tried, I couldn't stay away anymore. So, I had to change my whole life to become a professional skydiver instead of being an artist like I was in my previous lifestyle”.

Pangburn has now completed around 9000 jumps in her career.

Team Fastrax has performed with the American Flag at multiple IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series Races, now including at Darana Raceway - Hebron, where they jumped in honor of Spc. Marque I. Knight, who died in Afghanistan in 2008, and Darana Dragway - West Salam, where they jumped in honor of 1st Lt. John M. Runkle, who died in Afghanistan in 2011.

“I didn't know much about IHRA until I landed after the first jump, and then I got to go around and see what an incredible venue it is,” Condrey shared. “[It’s] an environment for families to come… and you can actually go interact with the team, see the cars, and learn something. It's more of a hands-on kind of [experience]. It's not just watching from afar like every other spectator sport; you can actually get involved. I think it's inspiring, fun, and something for families to do that you don't see anywhere else - especially in sporting. Sporting tends to just be spectators watching the professionals do the things, and here you get to talk to [the professionals] about it.”

Mike Derge agrees, saying that “you do feel a little more a part of the event just by the noise and the ambiance.”

It is a privilege to have Team Fastrax jump in honor of fallen soldiers at IHRA events, and we look forward to having them again at the upcoming Outlaw Nitro Series Events.

Photos by: Robert Richard and Zoe Allen