This year’s edition of the annual NHRA Breakfast at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas paid tribute to six of the all-time great NHRA crew chiefs as part of the extensive preparations being made to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the National Hot Rod Association in 2011.
 
Dale Armstrong, Austin Coil, Jim Dunn, Bernie Fedderly, Bob Glidden, and Alan Johnson are very talented tuners who have played major roles in numerous national event victories, season championships, and national records.
 
Longtime NHRA announcer Bob Frey was again the emcee, and he kept the huge crowd thoroughly entertained by prompting many witty comments and interesting tales from the panel, many of which dealt with how the crew chiefs interacted with their drivers in moments of triumph and periods of subpar performances. It all resulted in an informative session; the crew chiefs told tales of behind-the-scenes incidents that helped establish the reputations of many of NHRA’s most famous track heroes.
 
Glidden, who like Armstrong and Dunn was also successful in the cockpit, said that driving was the most enjoyable part of his career because “the only person I had to answer to was [my wife] Etta.” Kenny Bernstein crew chief Armstrong and John Force crew chiefs Fedderly and Coil recollected the challenges that they encountered with their drivers in the early stages of their careers. Johnson explained how there was no pressure for him and driver Tony Schumacher when they came from behind to win the Top Fuel title at the 2006 Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals because “we had nothing to lose.” Dunn lamented the fact that after he had won races at Ontario Motor Speedway and Orange County Int’l Raceway, both tracks were torn down. That prompted Frey to say, “Well, I bet [NHRA President] Tom Compton is hoping that your car doesn’t win at the Pomona NHRA Finals.”
 
Also, two well-attended autograph sessions were held at the NHRA booth at the SEMA Show. Jeff Arend, Jack Beckman, Brandon Bernstein, Ron Capps, Dave Grubnic, and Bob Tasca III met with fans Tuesday, and defending Funny Car world champion Robert Hight was present on Wednesday.

The NHRA booth was well-visited during the SEMA Show week, especially when NHRA drivers such as Robert Hight were signing autographs.