NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

BUY TICKETS

Rethinking the Top 50 Racers List

In 2000, a panel of experts picked the Top 50 racers of NHRA's first 50 years. Considering that many of today's stars had not yet even begun, or were just beginning, their careers at the time, who would be added to a Top 50 list today?
05 Dec 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Top 50
Perhaps one of the toughest yet most satisfying projects in my life here at Planet NHRA was the creation, in 2000, of the Top 50 Racers list as part of the following year’s NHRA 50th Anniversary celebration. I assembled…
View More

Drag racing history at your fingertips

Can't remember which car Don Prudhomme drove in 1978? Which years Bob Glidden actually (gasp!) drove a Chevy? Who was the crew chief on Tony Schumacher's dragster in 1999? One site makes it easy to answer all of your drag racing history questions.
01 Dec 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
draglist
Being an historian means having a near-encyclopedic recall and knowledge of your subject, and while I like to think of myself among the top 10 or so in that category when it comes to drag racing, everyone needs a good wingman. Sometimes it’s not…
View More

Eddie Hill's last ride

Eddie Hill was one of the most popular Top Fuel drivers of the 1980s and 1990s, but went out with a bang -- literally -- on an explosive final run in late 1999, a moment memorialized by a Kenny Youngblood painting and remembered in this week's Dragster Insider by Hill himself.
17 Nov 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Eddie Hill
  It started innocently enough, with an email from longtime Insider reader/contributor Andy Perreault (“the railroad guy up near Pacific Raceways,” as he always unnecessarily reminds me), asking me if I could tell the story behind the photo…
View More

Dramatic 2007 Auto Club NHRA Finals set the bar for tight points finishes

A decade ago, the 2007 Auto Club Finals was a true barnburner and crowned four champions on the final day of the season with the average winning points margin of less than a round's worth of racing.
10 Nov 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Finals
When it comes to the Auto Club NHRA Finals, it’s easy for people to remember the bigger moments in championship drama. A lot of people will invoke the 1990 Top Fuel final, a winner-take-all battle between Joe Amato and Gary Ormsby decided on G.O.’s…
View More

It's a Gas, Gas, Gas ... more memories of Gas Ronda

Ford drag racing icon Gas Ronda passed away recently, and is being warmly remembered by his family, friends, and fans.
01 Nov 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Gas Ronda
Writing about heroes of the sport that we have lost has always been a curse and a blessing of this column. Naturally, any time that I have to do a “Remembering …” column it’s because time or fate has caught up to one of our heroes and one more…
View More

Remembering Gas Ronda

Gas Ronda, one of Ford's early superstars in the Super Stock ranks in the 1960s and in the early days of Funny Cars, passed away Oct. 25 at 91, but left behind an enduring legacy in the sport.
26 Oct 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Gas Ronda
The sport lost another of its early heroes this week with the passing Wednesday of Ford legend Gas Ronda, who was one of the Blue Oval’s early superstars in Super Stock and, later, in Funny Car. He was 91 and had suffered a pair of strokes in 2014…
View More

Force vs. Pedregon 1992, Part 2

From forgotten interviews and smashed Happy Meal toys, more notes from one of the most intriguing points battles in NHRA history.
20 Oct 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Cruz Pedregon
I had a lot of fun last week reliving the story of the tumultuous 1992 season-long battle between John Force and Cruz Pedregon for Funny Car supremacy –- capped by their crazy Dallas final round -- and judging by the volume of email, so did a lot of…
View More

Force vs. Pedregon, Dallas '92: 25 years later

John Force and Cruz Pedregon have raced one another a remarkable 103 times, but 25 years ago this week the duo engaged in one of the weirdest and wildest Funny Car final rounds in the annals of the sport and certainly the craziest of all of their meetings.
13 Oct 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
John Force
John Force and Cruz Pedregon have raced a remarkable 103 times in their concurrent Funny Cars careers, but 25 years ago this week, the duo engaged in one of the weirdest and wildest Funny Car final rounds in the annals of the sport and certainly the…
View More

Like a Rollin' Stoned

East Coast Funny Car racer Joe Jacono was the subject of a memorable drag racing magazine cover in the 1970s, but there was far more to him than that. Also in this week's Dragster Insider ... found: the Durachrome Bug!
06 Oct 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Joe Jacono
It’s funny how an image can stick with you forever. More than four decades after I picked up the January 1974 copy of Hi Performance Cars magazine at my local SoCal Thrifti-Mart, I still remember vividly the insane image of a caveman and…
View More

Wally Parks, an appreciation

28 Sep 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Wally Parks
The NHRA family marks today the 10th anniversary of the passing of Wally Parks, the dynamic and purposeful man who not only founded the NHRA in 1951 but led hot rodding from the dark shadows of scorn into the bright sunlight of national acceptance…
View More

Found: NHRA Member No. 1

Every new club needs a first member, and Ken Howell was just a teenager in Southern California in 1951 when he became NHRA's first official member. More than 60 years later, we found him at the recent Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Or, more precisely, he found us.
21 Sep 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
NHRA
Every new club needs a first member, and when the Wally Parks-led Hot Rod magazine issued the clarion call in its March 1951 issue for new members to create a national association of hot rodders, it was a pair of Southern California twin…
View More

‘The Snake’s’ Take

Legendary drag racer Don "the Snake" Prudhomme looks back on his career and shares his thoughts on topics ranging from his best cars, best seasons, and best pals like Tom McEwen and Roland Leong.
15 Sep 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Don Prudhomme
Last week’s wide-ranging remembrances from Ed McCulloch inspired some extremely positive responses from the Insider Nation, so, as promised, here’s a similar type of article that I wrote a few years ago (2010) for National Dragster…
View More

Ed McCulloch: Roaring down Memory Lane

Ed "the Ace" McCulloch has just about done it all. He's been a winner in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, and has become a legend and inspiration to fans and fellow drivers old and new. In this column, McCulloch reflects on some key periods of his hall of fame career.
08 Sep 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Ed McCulloch
As usually happens when I get all Fanboy talking to my heroes, my chat last week with Ed McCulloch about his Indy successes took some far-from-topic turns. I’d ask a question, he’d give me some backstory and before you knew it we're off on some…
View More

'Ace' still the king of Indy Funny Cars

As hard as it may be to believe – and the fact might change this weekend at Indy – but Ed “the Ace” McCulloch is still the king when it comes to Funny Car victories at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, even 27 years after his fifth and final win there.
29 Aug 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Ed McCulloch
As hard as it may be to believe – and the fact might change this weekend at Indy – but Ed “the Ace” McCulloch is still the king when it comes to Funny Car victories at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Yes, that’s right. Even though he…
View More

Racer's Scrapbook: Jim Dunn

Jim Dunn has been racing for more than 60 years, accumulating a series of honor and wins, first as a driver then, for the last 20-plus years, as the owner of a string of perpetually strong Funny Cars. He sat down to talk about some of the cars that have made up his career.
25 Aug 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Jim Dunn
Jim Dunn has been racing for more than 60 years, accumulating a series of honor and wins – and drivers – first as a driver then, for the last 20-plus years, as the owner of a string of perpetually strong Funny Cars. Dunn, a former fire captain,…
View More

A deep dive into the archive

The Dragster Insider column celebrates 10 years of telling "the stories behind the stories" in NHRA history with a deep dive into the archives to look at some of the interesting columns of the past decade.
18 Aug 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Insider
I can’t believe I let it slip past me – heck, I can’t believe you guys let it slip past me – but a few weeks ago (July 23 to be exact), we reached the 10-year anniversary of this humble internet bench-racing bar & grill. I knew it was…
View More

Racer's Scrapbook: Jerry Ruth

The vaunted "King of the Northwest," Top Fuel great Jerry Ruth, shares memories of some of his favorite race cars and memories from his storied 20-year career in the sport.
11 Aug 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Jerry Ruth
The chance to sit and talk with legends of drag racing is one of the real perks of my job, and for a kid who grew up following the sport from the other side of the printed page, it’s a dream come true to enjoy some one-on-one time with them. Due to…
View More

On The Road Again, 1970s-style

Today's Western Swing can be a grind on teams, but long tows, little sleep, and lots of racing were the order of the day on the 1970s match race trail.
04 Aug 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Tom McEwen
These days, the Western Swing is a pretty big deal, three weeks on the road with no chance to return to home base to restock and regroup. Two weeks ago I was tasked with creating …
View More

A farewell to friends

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for drag racing fans of the Heroes of Yesteryear, with the passings of national event winners Chuck Beal, John Collins, designer/promoter Doug Kruse, and former world champ Frank Hall.
28 Jul 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
John Collins
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for drag racing fans of the Heroes of Yesteryear, with the passings of Chuck Beal, John Collins, Doug Kruse, and Frank Hall, all names that should be familiar to followers of this column.  Beal had a multi-…
View More

Salisbury’s Stake in Top Fuel history

Thirty-five years ago at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Dwight Salisbury scored his lone NHRA Top Fuel win in a career that was filled with many other accomplishments.
21 Jul 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Dwight Salisbury
Salisbury steak: A savory dish made from a blend of ground beef and other ingredients and  usually served with gravy or brown sauce. Salisbury’s $take: A speedy Top Fueler made from a blend of a great driver…
View More

The Beach Boys Top Fueler

No, the car had nothing to do with the band that brought us "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Little Deuce Coupe," but in a short span in the late 1960s, car owner Jim Busby and drivers Hank "the Surfer" Westmoreland and Dwight Salisbury rode a wave of popularity and a good-running car to new heights.
14 Jul 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Beach Boys
Last week’s little song and dance about hot-rodding tunes by the Beach Boys met with more excitement than an outside break at Trestles, which is cool considering I was just musing aloud. Apparently, the Boys are very near and dear to the hearts of…
View More

Hot rodding with the Beach Boys

What goes good with barbecues and fireworks on the Fourth of July? Yep, that's right -- Beach Boys hot rod songs. Or maybe that's just us. Deconstructing the high-horsepower hits of America's band.
07 Jul 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Beach Boys
Independence Day is always a star-spangled affair, with backyard barbecues, fireworks, and flag waving galore. Oh yes, and the Beach Boys.  I’m a big ol’ Beach Boys fanboy from way back, and, because they truly are America’s band, they get a…
View More

Seattle in the '70s, Part 2

The NHRA Northwest Nationals take center stage on the NHRA Mello Yello tour in early August. Its venue, Pacific Raceways, has been a hotbed of nitro racing since the 1970s, Here's a look back at some great photos and memories from that era.
30 Jun 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Seattle
Well, we made it through the "Eastern Swing," four back-to-back-to-back-to-back weekends of grueling racing and traveling in equally grueling weather. After the upcoming Chicago event, its right back into another stretch, the fabled Western Swing…
View More

It's Clay's day ... finally

Clay Millican's Top Fuel win in Bristol wasn't just a breakthrough moment for him, but felt like a community event for the NHRA world, and lifted us all. NHRA National Dragster Editor Phil Burgess shares his thoughts on Millican's long run to victory.
23 Jun 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Clay Millican
I was one of the very few still there on a Monday in Montreal in 1987, when John Force finally broke through for his first NHRA Funny Car win after nine painful runner-ups, and I was there in Dallas in 2011 when Bob Vandergriff Jr. ended his NHRA-…
View More

Summernationals Time Machine, Part 2

09 Jun 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Summernationals
Welcome to Part 2 of our Summernationals Time Machine, looking at some late-1970s pit-area photos from Englishtown, as provided by column reader John Guzevich. Without further ado, let’s head back to E-Town, in 1978 With a trusty Kodak…
View More

Summernationals Time Machine

The upcoming Summernationals is one of the NHRA's most iconic events, with a deep and rich history. Step back into time 40 years ago for one fan's photographic memories of the event.
02 Jun 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Summernationals
Working at National Dragster affords me incredible access to decades and decades worth of photos in our vast image library dating back to NHRA’s earliest days. As you can imagine for a drag racing nut like me, it’s heaven. There are iconic…
View More

Remembering Johnny Abbott

Former U.S. Nationals-winning Top Fuel driver Johnny Abbott, who passed away May 20, was a fierce racer and a generous human being.
26 May 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
John Abbott
We lost former Indy-winning Top Fuel driver Johnny Abbott last Sunday, ending the life but not the legacy of one of the great gentlemen in our sport. You only have to visit his Facebook page and…
View More

That was then, this is now: 1991

The 1991 season was one of the wildest in NHRA history, with broken barriers, a nitro-shortage scare, wild crashes, overdue wins, rookie phenoms, and much more, and we've got the trivia quiz to prove it.
19 May 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Blowover
I had a lot of fun researching and reminiscing while creating last week’s column about Pat Austin’s double at the 1991 Topeka event, but, typical me, leafing through those old issues of National Dragster got my gears spinning. Going…
View More

Pat Austin and "The Double"

Pat Austin made drag racing history at Heartland Park Topeka in 1991 when he became the first driver to win in two classes at the same national event, scoring in Top Fuel and Alcohol Funny Car, but the road to fame wasn't an easy one.
12 May 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Pat Austin
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour heads next week to Heartland Park Topeka, which has been the site of a lot of drag racing history over the last four decades, including the first four-second and 300-mph Funny Car passes way back in 1993…
View More

Readers Choice, my favorite time of year

If you’re an NHRA member or buy NHRA National Dragster on the newsstand, you’ll definitely want to check out the new issue, which went online Thursday and will be in mailboxes next week. ND Editor Phil Burgess tells you why.
26 Apr 2017
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Don Garlits
If you’re an NHRA member or buy NHRA National Dragster on the newsstand, you’ll definitely want to check out the new issue, which went online Thursday and will be in mailboxes next week. The current issue is our annual Readers Choice…
View More