Welcome back, and welcome to my great drag racing debates
Exclusive book excerpt: Don “the Snake” Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320
Swamp Rat 14 rides again; the history of one of Top Fuel's most important cars
Everything you always wanted to know about 'Snake' (but were afraid to ask)
Dave Miller: Diamond in the rough
Quiz: Drag racing's hometown heroes
Reliving the U.S. Nationals Top Fuel final that no one will ever forget
Tony Schumacher: Indy Top Fuel dominator
Remembering Fuel Altered pioneer Leon Fitzgerald, Pro Stock's Sonny Bryant
Remembering Zim
The history of the Summernationals
The Kuhl one
Fan Fotos: A Texas-sized collection from three decades of photo greatness
Down the video rabbit hole: Watching 1970s match racing on the small screen
Roll players: A look back at the era when cars were fired up with roller starters
The day that Mario Andretti went drag racing in a Tasca Ford-prepped Mustang
Farewell to a fearsome fuel foursome
Farewell to a brother editor, Jim Edmunds
Remembering Barbara Hamilton
Remembering Jack Ditmars
Fan Fotos: Top Fuelers, Funny Cars, and Pro Stockers of the early 1980s, Part 2
Fan Fotos: Top Fuelers, Funny Cars, and Pro Stockers of the early 1980s
History class is in session: More than 700 articles covering the legends of drag racing
Remembering '70s stars Don "the Beachcomber" Johnson and Henry Harrison
SoCal doorslammer legend Bob Lambeck remembers first years of Pro Stock
Fan Fotos: Early 1970s Gainesville Raceway
SoCal Nitro Scrapbook: 1976-78
Memorable Winternationals Moments, Part 3: the 2000s and 2010s
60 Memorable Winternationals Moments, Part 2: the 1980s and '90s
60 Memorable Winternationals Moments, Part 1: the 1960s and '70s
1971: Garlits goes 'Big,' Funnies go 220, Sox goes wild, and NHRA goes to Canada
As NHRA prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2021, here's a look back 50 seasons ago, when Don Garlits introduced the first successful rear-engine Top Fueler, Funny Car performance zoomed out of sight, Ronnie Sox won six of eight Pro Stock events but not the world championship, and NHRA went to Canada.
As I mentioned in this space last week, NHRA is preparing for its 70th-anniversary celebration next year, a chance to reflect and remember all of the great racers and great moments that helped get us where we are today. As you can imagine, this…
Welcome back, and welcome to my great drag racing debates
After a six-week hiatus, the Dragster Insider column returns with a couple of burning debates from NHRA history.
Annnnnnd … we’re back.
Back when I was doing this column two to three times a week, Jr. Fuel hero Jimmy Ige once kindly admonished me to not worry about apologizing if I missed a column here or there, but, criminy, it’s been…
Exclusive book excerpt: Don “the Snake” Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320
Our recent review of the new autobiography, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320, stoked so much interest that Prudhomme and his publisher, CarTech, have provided National Dragster with an exclusive excerpt from the book for his fans to enjoy.
My review of the new autobiography, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320, a few weeks ago here stoked a ton of interest…
Swamp Rat 14 rides again; the history of one of Top Fuel's most important cars
Steve Torrence won the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in a Don Garlits tribute car modeled after Garlits' famed Swamp Rat 14, one of the most important cars in Top Fuel history. Here's the story behind the success of Garlits' original SR14.
Even from 2,000 miles away, I could feel the electricity in the air when Steve Torrence made his first burnout in his Don Garlits Swamp Rat 14 tribute car at last weekend's Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. I was on the couch in Glendora,…
Everything you always wanted to know about 'Snake' (but were afraid to ask)
NHRA Drag Racing legend Don Prudhomme's new book is a great book for “Snake” fans, especially those wanting to know as much about the man as his machines. It's packed with great photos and eye-opening personal background and racing anecdotes from his amazing career in the sport.
I’m not going to lie. I consider myself one of the foremost experts on the life and times of Don “the Snake” Prudhomme. It’s a depth of knowledge honed from years of fandom and work products — memorizing stats, cars, places, and things…
Dave Miller: Diamond in the rough
"Diamond Dave" Miller made a ton of NHRA fans in the early 1980s when he unveiled a 200-inch wheelbase Top Fueler when everyone else was in the 260-inch range. The popular driver passed away recently and is remembered here for his perseverance and passion.
Innovation and experimentation were early hallmarks of drag racing competition, with cars like Lloyd’s Scott Bustle Bomb, the Allison-powered Green Monsters, Jack Chrisman’s sidewinder, and Mickey Thompson’s Panorama Special streamliner showing that…
Quiz: Drag racing's hometown heroes
Drag racers come from all across this wonderful land, but how well do you know some of the famous hometowns and their hot-rodding residents? Take the quiz and find out!
The weekend before the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals, I was heading home from a responsibly-distanced family get-together at the beach (try to muzzle your jealously), driving across Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, which was…
Reliving the U.S. Nationals Top Fuel final that no one will ever forget
Even 50 years later, it remains among the most dramatic and poignant footage ever recorded at an NHRA national event. The 1970 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel final, Don Prudhomme vs. Jim Nicoll. Nicoll’s clutch explodes at the finish line, cutting his front-engine dragster in two at his feet.
Even 50 years later, it remains among the most dramatic and poignant footage ever recorded at an NHRA national event. The 1970 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel final, Don Prudhomme vs. Jim Nicoll. Nicoll’s clutch explodes at the finish line, cutting his…
Tony Schumacher: Indy Top Fuel dominator
Tony Schumacher has won Top Fuel at the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals a class-record 10 times and has his sights set on tying the event's all-time record at this year's event. Here's a look back at his "Big Go" history, with insight from the man himself.
For most of us who grew up as drag racing fans in the 1960s and early ‘70s, Don Garlits was Top Fuel, and when it came specifically to Top Fuel at Indy, there was no doubt that “Big Daddy” was The Man. He won the event in 1964, 1967, 1968, 1975, and…
Remembering Fuel Altered pioneer Leon Fitzgerald, Pro Stock's Sonny Bryant
Drag racing lost two more of its early pioneers this week with the passing of Fuel Altered racer Leon Fitzgerald and Pro Stock racer and crankshaft manufacturer Sonny Bryant.
Drag racing lost two more of its early pioneers this week with the passing of Fuel Altered racer Leon Fitzgerald and Pro Stock racer and crankshaft manufacturer Sonny Bryant. Fitzgerald died early last week from an unreported cause while Bryant…
Remembering Zim
Legendary NHRA Division 5 Director Darrell Zimmerman plied his trade in the Rocky Mountain region for more than 30 years. A successful racer, 'Zim' joined the NHRA team in the late 1950s and carved a legendary career and made legions of friends throughout the sport.
NHRA founder Wally Parks deservedly gets a lot of credit for organizing the sport of hot rodding in general and drag racing in specific, he was always the first one to tell you he certainly didn’t do it by himself. And because much of…
The history of the Summernationals
When NHRA staged the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals last weekend in Indy, it resurrected one of the most storied event names in NHRA history. Here's a look back at the 50-year history of the NHRA Summernationals name.
Two events into NHRA’s monumental Return To Racing during the COVID-19 pandemic, a rebirth that continued with last weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Summerationals in Indy, I’m reminded of the longstanding Summernationals-related pun that was already…
The Kuhl one
Drag racing lost another of its great figures last week with the passing of former Top Fuel owner, crew chief, and engine builder Mike Kuhl, who is remembered in this column by the two people closest to him, his former driver/partner Carl Olson and his soulmate Lynn Rose.
When I was a teenager, like a lot of boys that age, I was assembling plastic kit models -- getting airplane glue everywhere and learning just how sharp an Xacto knife was (four stitches!). I…
Fan Fotos: A Texas-sized collection from three decades of photo greatness
David Graves has been shooting photos in Texas and the surrounding states for decades and shared with us a collection of some of his great Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Sportsman-racing images.
Drag racing is a multi-generational sport across many platforms, with kids and grandkids following their elders not only behind the wheel on the dragstrip or twirling the wrenches in the pits but into the grandstands but behind the camera lens…
Down the video rabbit hole: Watching 1970s match racing on the small screen
It all started innocently enough, with one YouTube video showing roller starters in action, and the next thing you know, it was hours and hours of 1970s match racing. Well, there goes your Friday.
It all started innocently enough, with Insider reader Eric Arnett sending me a link to a YouTube video showing the roller starters in action in 1973 at fabled U.S. 30 Drag Strip in Gary, Ind., a nice little add-on to my recently in-depth piece about…
Roll players: A look back at the era when cars were fired up with roller starters
In the period between the advent of the push start and remote engine starters, some tracks used car-engine-powered or electric-powered roller starters that helped racer start their cars in a safer manner. Here's a look back at the practice and the technology involved.
Before NHRA mandated the use of remote starters for Top Fuelers for the 1975 season, the time-honored tradition of starting a Top Fueler was the good-old push start.
In much the same way that you can jump-start your dead-battery, manual…
The day that Mario Andretti went drag racing in a Tasca Ford-prepped Mustang
Auto-racing superstar Mario Andretti only dabbled once in drag racing, in a Ford vs. Chevy exhibition in Connecticut where Andretti's Tasca Ford-prepped machine won four straight races against a more experienced opponent.
A couple of weeks ago on NHRA.com, I put together a goofy little story about Mario Andretti and his connection with drag…
Farewell to a fearsome fuel foursome
It’s been a somber month in the United States and around the world and it certainly has touched our little NHRA world with the passing of a quartet of diehard NHRA nitro racers you may or may not know or remember: driver/owners Johnny White and Bobby Tapia and car owners Bill Blomgren and Glenn Solano.
It’s been a somber month in the United States and around the world and it certainly has touched our little NHRA world with the passing of a quartet of diehard old NHRA nitro racers you may or may not know or remember: driver/owners Johnny…
Farewell to a brother editor, Jim Edmunds
Jim Edmunds, who served as the editor of NHRA National Dragster for nearly seven years, passed away April 25 and is remembered by the guy who holds his job now, current ND editor Phil Burgess, and some of his other fellow colleagues.
In its first 10 years, National Dragster changed editors the way that Roland Leong used to change drivers: Frequently and often with little notice. From 1960 through 1969, the name atop spot the magazine’s masthead changed 11…
Remembering Barbara Hamilton
NHRA Drag Racing is known for many things, but the success of female race drivers and barrier-breakers in our sport is second to none in motorsports. On Thursday we lost one of the keystones of that legacy, Barbara Hamilton.
NHRA Drag Racing is known for many things, but the success of female race drivers and barrier-breakers in our sport is second to none in motorsports, and yesterday we lost one of the keystones of that legacy, Barbara Hamilton.
While other…
Remembering Jack Ditmars
Jack Ditmars, best remembered by fans as the skilled pilot of two wild, short-wheelbased machines, the Lil’ Screamer ’34 Ford and the Mini Brute ’68 Opel Kadett, passed away March 31 and is remembered here by friends.
It was a pretty tough week for drag racing with the losses of three successful and popular drivers from days gone by: female Alcohol Funny Car pioneer…
Fan Fotos: Top Fuelers, Funny Cars, and Pro Stockers of the early 1980s, Part 2
Continue your trip down memory lane with these fan-submitted photos from NHRA national events of the early 1980s, including photos of Don Garlits, Tom McEwen, and many more,
We’re back for Part 2 of Insider reader Jim Riddiford’s Fan Fotos, a collection of images shot in the early 1980s at places like Orange County Int’l Raceway, Bakersfield Raceway, and Ontario Motor Speedway. If you missed Part 1, you can…
Fan Fotos: Top Fuelers, Funny Cars, and Pro Stockers of the early 1980s
Take a trip down memory lane with these fan-submitted photos from NHRA national events of the early 1980s. John Force, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhomme, the Chi-Town Hustler, and many more!
In another installment of reader-shared photos, I proudly publish these from the lens of Jim Riddiford. We at National Dragster first became acquainted with Jim a few years ago after he submitted a great photo of Cruz Pedregon’s wild, body-…
History class is in session: More than 700 articles covering the legends of drag racing
Enjoy the history of our sport, today by those who helped build it. NHRA National Dragster Editor Phil Burgess has authored more than 700 articles covering legends of the sport, trends, cars, events, and remembrances that can be found in the Dragster Insider column archive.
Since 2007, NHRA National Dragster Editor Phil Burgess has been telling and sharing "the stories behind the stories" of the history of our sport in his Dragster Insider column
From exclusive interviews with the legends of our sport like Don…
Remembering '70s stars Don "the Beachcomber" Johnson and Henry Harrison
For fans of nitro racing in the 1960s and ‘70s, the last week was a double whammy, especially for West Coast fans with the passing of Top Fuel/Funny Car owner/driver Don “the Beachcomber” Johnson and Top Fuel/Funny Car/Fuel Altered pilot and owner Henry Harrison.
For fans of nitro racing in the 1960s and ‘70s, the last week was a double whammy, especially for West Coast fans with the passing of Top Fuel/Funny Car owner/driver Don “the Beachcomber” Johnson and Top Fuel/Funny Car/Fuel Altered pilot and owner…
SoCal doorslammer legend Bob Lambeck remembers first years of Pro Stock
Southern California doorslammer legend Bob Lambeck, whose son Doug has been in a three-race tear in Comp, was in on the ground floor of Pro Stock in 1970 and remembers those early first days of the class.
For next week’s issue of NHRA National Dragster, I wrote a feature on Comp racer Doug Lambeck, who’s been on a tear the last three events, with wins at the 2019 Finals and 2020 Winternationals and a runner-up at the NHRA Arizona…
Fan Fotos: Early 1970s Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville Raceway, site of next weekend's Amallie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, opened in late 1969 and hosted the first Gatornationals in 1970. Here's a quick look back at the track in its earliest days, through the lens of a longtime NHRA fan.
The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals kicks off late next week at famed Gainesville Raceway, so it’s perfect timing that Bruce Peters sent me some photos from his personal collection of the track and the facility.
Inspired by…
SoCal Nitro Scrapbook: 1976-78
Southern California was a hotbed of Funny Car racing in the mid-1970s, with guys like Don "the Snake" Prudhomme, "Big Jim" Dunn, and good ol' John Force patrolling the dragstrips.
It was pure happenstance that I opened the drawer in the credenza in my office yesterday and out tumbled a four-decade-plus old scrapbook of drag racing photos I had taken in the mid- to late-1970s. They aren’t great by any means –- I…
Memorable Winternationals Moments, Part 3: the 2000s and 2010s
We wrap up our three-part look at memorable moments from the 60 years of the NHRA Winternationals with the two most recent decades, the 2000s and the recently completed 2010s. Great legends of the past give way to new legends in the making as the Winternationals history roared on.
We wrap up our three-part look at memorable moments from the 60years of the nHRA Winternationals with the two most recent decades, the 2000s and the recently completed 2010s. Great legends of the past give way to new legends in the making as the…
60 Memorable Winternationals Moments, Part 2: the 1980s and '90s
As we close in on the launch of the 2020 season and the 60th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals, we continue our look back at the rich history of the event. In Part 2, we're focusing on the 1980s and '90s.
As we close in on the launch of the 2020 season and the 60th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals, we continue our look back at the rich history of the event. Last week we revisted…