Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association

Auto Racing Digest, Sept, 2001 by J.J. O'Malley

After 50 years, the NHRA remains the rough, rugged, and raw side of motor sports

THE CHRISTMAS TREE'S AMBER lights flicker. Suddenly, the green light comes on. The air is pierced by the scream of a pair of 7,000-horsepower engines. Two sleek, needle-like cars accelerate side-by-side down a 1,320-foot strip at speeds that exceed those of a fighter jet. Less than five seconds later, the race is over. The engines shut down, and parachutes strain to bring the two contestants to a stop after topping off at more than 320 mph.

That's drag racing. The NHRA has been sanctioning races such as this for 50 years, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

It all started thanks to post-World War II America's boom in automotive pride. A new breed of enthusiast customized his car to make it faster, then attempted to prove his bravery and workmanship by racing against fellow hot-rodders on back roads or dry lake beds. It was very popular--but often very illegal, especially considering most early hot rod clubs lacked rules, governing officials, or consistency.

In March 1951, Los Angeles-based Hot Rod magazine proposed the nation's thousands of hot rod enthusiasts band together and form an organization. The response was positive. The magazine's plea led to a major meeting--and the formation of the NHRA, with Wally Parks elected president of the new organization.

The NHRA was chartered to promote safety, sportsmanship, and fellowship among hot rod enthusiasts. The group formed regional clubs and organizations, sponsored educational programs, and sought acceptance from both the press and the public. With an initial fee of only $2, applications for membership began flowing in at the rate of more than 1,000 a month. "Wally Parks started the concept, and we all went with him," says John Force, the most popular of the current NHRA drivers. "Indy cars and NASCAR were over the moon when I was coming up, but drag racing was something a kid could do with his mom's car and a helmet."

Once a clandestine activity, the NHRA worked with local law enforcement agencies and made drag racing a legitimate sport Instead of racing at night on lonely roads, meets were publicized and attendance began to grow. Pomona Drag Strip at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, under the supervision of the Pomona Police, was the first sanctioned track.

The first national meet, at Great Bend, Kan., in 1955, drew more than 200 participants in the Top Eliminator class. (The race was won by Calvin Rice with a run of 10.30 seconds at 143.95 mph.) Today, the NHRA is the world's largest motor sports sanctioning body. It has more than 80,000 members, runs races at 140 drag strips, has been recognized by the FIA World Motorsports Council since 1993, and is one of the few major sanctioning bodies that comprises ACCUS (the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States).

National press coverage has also greatly increased. In 2001, for the first time, an 24 of the Winston Drag Racing Series events are scheduled to be televised on ESPN, with the network covering all of the national events on a live or same-day format. Five national champions-- in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, and Pro Stock Truck--will be crowned live on ESPN.

The NHRA now competes at some recently constructed, state-of-the-art facilities, and even some of its older venues have undergone major renovations. "The NHRA has come a long way from leather jackets with a cigarette pack rolled up your sleeve," says Darrell Gwynn, a former racer and current Top Fuel team owner. "It's become a professional sanctioning body, stressing safety and a controlled atmosphere. It's a safe place to race--and a fun place to bring your family."

Force agrees. "It's not like the old days: guys working on their cars with greasy rags," he says. "Now, you've got corporate drivers."

Don Prudhomme was one of those guys, who worked on his car with a greasy rag. He started drag racing in the early 1960s, running nitro engines in outlaw races. In 1963 the NHRA added the Top Fuel category, and Prudhomme raced in that class at Pomona. It was a big step for the future superstar. "It was a fantastic experience," says Prudhomme. "They had nice, big trophies, and winning really meant something. The NHRA was a large sanctioning body; it was big time for us. When you won [with the NHRA], it meant something."

The NHRA's popularity really took off with the addition of the Funny Car category in 1967. In 1973, Prudhomme became the first driver to win both in Top Fuel and Funny Car at the U.S. Nationals.

By the 1970s, the NHRA had great racing and popular drivers, but one ingredient was missing: money. So when the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company signed on to sponsor the NHRA in 1975, all the pieces fell into place. "When Winston came on board, it really took off," says Prudhomme. "Up until that time, there was no true world champion. We had decent money, but it was Cracker Jacks compared to the money Winston provided. They put up $25,000 to the winner of their first race. That was big money then--and guess who won it!"