NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The first time that Cal Method appeared in an NHRA national event final round, Richard Nixon had just been inaugurated as the 37th president of the United States, the Beatles had just released Yellow Submarine, and it would be six months before Neil Armstrong’s historic moon walk. The year was 1969 and Method went to the final round of the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona before being turned away by Mark Colletti. 

That was more than 56 years ago, and Method, along with his wife, Maryann, are still going strong in Stock eliminator. Last weekend at his home event in Seattle, Method, now 81, set the record as NHRA’s oldest national event winner when he topped reigning world champion Joe Sorenson in the final of the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals. 

Method set the record for NHRA’s oldest winner, and he barely missed the mark for longest gap between victories. Method went 41 years and nine months, while Ben Wenzel is still the record holder at 42 years, nine months with his historic ’67 Z-28 Camaro.

Method claims that he doesn’t feel like he’s 81, and that was certainly reflected in his driving as he coupled solid reaction times with a consistent race car to claim his second national event victory. 

Method grabbed a three-hundredths lead at the start in the final and held on for the win in a race decided by just a thousandth of a second at the finish line.

“I can’t believe it. The guys I had to race today; I can’t believe it,” said Method. “We got down there, and I could see he wasn’t going to catch me, so I hit the brakes and made the right choice at the other end.”

During his extremely popular winner’s circle interview with NHRA’s Joe Castello, Method also addressed his longevity and what keeps him motivated to continue racing long after most of his peers have retired.

“My parents blessed me with the best genes because I’m still able to do this,” Method said. “I’m fortunate. You’ve got to just keep going. That’s all there is to it. Every day you have to have a reason to get out of bed.”

Over the years, Method has had plenty of reasons to get out of bed and continue racing. Following his first national event final in 1969, Method returned to the Pomona final in 1980 and then in Denver in 1981. Two years later, Method finally hit paydirt when he won the 1983 NHRA World Finals, the last NHRA event contested at Orange County Int’l Raceway in Southern California. Method defeated Len Schneider in the final round, and ironically, Schneider is also active and remains competitive at the age of 78.

Method appeared in two more finals at the 1988 Phoenix event and again in 1989 at the Winternationals, finishing as a runner-up both times. A decade later, he appeared in two more finals, Phoenix and Sonoma in 1998 and again came up empty.

At NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional events, Method is among the sport’s all-time greats with 25 victories, the first of which came in 1967 at the Speedway Motorsports Center in Edmonton, Alta. At the 1977 Boise, Idaho, event and again at Woodburn Dragstrip in 1979, Method defeated Maryann in a husband-wife final round.

Another recuring theme in Method’s career has been his battles against Sorenson. In addition to their battle in the recent Seattle final, Method raced the reigning Stock champ at his most recent national event final in Sonoma in 1998. The two Division 6 aces also tangled in 2017 at the divisional event at Pacific Raceways, the most recent LODRS win for Method. Method has also posted a total of five Top 10 finishes, including a best of No. 5 in 1983.

Throughout his career, the one constant in Method’s life has been the presence of his wife, Maryann. Far more than just a supportive spouse, Maryann has eight national event wins in 20 final rounds, meaning she was often able to pick up the slack during Method’s few down years.

Fortunately, drag racing is a sport that can usually be enjoyed for many years as there are plenty of national event winners in their 70s, including Chuck Gallagher, Marlin Snyder, Ken Bowers, Mike Saye, John Force, and the late Irvin Johns, who was the previous record holder at the age of 80 when he won the 2024 JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals. 

Perhaps the most impressive part of Method’s career is that he’s never stopped racing for any length of time. He’s been a staple of NHRA events since the 1960s, and the beauty of NHRA Drag Racing is that he can still be competitive more than a half century later.