NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Several NHRA Mello Yello drivers and NHRA’s Broadcasting Department were guests for a guided tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston the day before the NHRA SpringNationals kicked off at nearby Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown.

Top Fuel points leader Brittany Force, Texas-based nitro racers Steve Torrence, Alexis DeJoria, and Terry Haddock, and Kalitta Motorsports crew chief Jim Oberhofer were on hand for a walk-through led by NASA engineer Jeff Fox and veteran astronaut Mike Fossum.

Among the highlights were a visit to the Neutral Buoyancy Lab -- with a 40-foot-deep water tank, 202 feet by 101 feet, filled with 6.2 million gallons of chlorinated water and segments of spacecraft so that astronauts can practice "extra vehicular activities," or space walks, as they are more commonly known – at the Sonny Carter Training Facility, a trip to Mission Control, close-ups of current space vehicle mock-ups, vintage equipment, and a re-creation of an Orion mission.