For years, racers have searched for horsepower.
Today, many are searching for something even harder to find.
Someone who knows how to tune it.
According to Stevie “Fast” Jackson, one of the biggest challenges facing modern drag racing isn’t a shortage of race cars. It’s a shortage of qualified crew chiefs and tuners capable of making today’s increasingly sophisticated combinations perform at their highest level.
“One of the biggest shortages we have in our sport is the amount of qualified crew chiefs does not represent the number of cars that need to be tuned,” Jackson said.
Rather than simply talking about the problem, Jackson and the team at Killin Time Racing are taking action.
KTR has officially launched KTR-U, a new educational program designed to help racers, tuners, and aspiring crew chiefs better understand the electronic fuel injection systems that have become a critical part of modern drag racing.
“We are going to start teaching education about drag racing through EFI software and applications,” Jackson explained. “We’re going to be teaching FuelTech and Holley classes once a month.”
The first class will take place June 18-19 and will focus on Basic Holley EFI Tuning.
Unlike many seminars that spend a few hours discussing theory before sending attendees home, KTR-U is designed to provide both classroom instruction and real-world experience.
The two-day course begins with a full day of classroom education where participants will learn the fundamentals behind EFI tuning, data interpretation, and the decision-making process that separates successful tuners from everyone else.
The second day moves into the dyno room, where students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned in a hands-on environment alongside the KTR team.
Participants will even have the option of bringing their own vehicle for the dyno portion of the course. In return, they’ll receive a heavily discounted dyno tuning session while gaining firsthand experience working through the tuning process.
For Jackson, the goal isn’t simply teaching someone how to navigate a laptop screen.
It’s helping racers understand why adjustments matter.
How timing changes affect an engine.
How wheel speed impacts performance.
How to interpret data and make informed decisions instead of guessing.
It’s the kind of knowledge that can take years to acquire through trial and error, and knowledge Jackson hopes to pass along to the next generation.
As the sport continues to evolve, EFI systems have become commonplace across nearly every category of drag racing. While the technology has advanced rapidly, the number of people truly capable of maximizing it has struggled to keep pace.
That gap is what KTR-U hopes to address.
The June class is only the beginning.
Future courses are already planned, including:
• Basic Holley EFI Tuning
• Advanced Holley EFI Tuning
• Basic FuelTech Tuning
• Advanced FuelTech Tuning
The long-term vision is simple: create more knowledgeable racers, more capable tuners, and ultimately more qualified crew chiefs throughout the sport.
Jackson also noted that FuelTech has played an important role in helping make the program possible.
FuelTech has been a strong supporter of the initiative and a valuable partner in the shared goal of expanding the tuning talent base within drag racing.
In an era where information is often guarded and competitive advantages are closely protected, KTR-U represents something different.
It’s one of the sport’s most accomplished racers and tuners opening the doors and sharing knowledge that many spend years trying to learn on their own.
The cars are already here.
Now KTR hopes to help build the people who know how to tune them.
