For my next blog post I plan to talk about the history of drag racing and how it started. When it comes to drag racing most people think of the NHRA but there was a time when that didn’t exist. Back in the 1930’s before there were paved dragstrips people used to race their cars on the dry lake beds of the Mojave Desert in California. Even though there was drag racing in the 1930’s things didn’t really start to ramp up until after the soldiers came back from WW2. After the soldiers came back from the war the sport began to grow rapidly and many people began racing their cars on the street. This is the reason that the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) was founded by Wally Parks in 1951. Wally Parks founded the NHRA to keep racers off the streets and put them on the track a place where safety standards could be implemented.

Retrieved From: https://www.nhra.com/news/2016/first-nationals-winners

In 1955, the NHRA held its first National event that took place in Great Bend, Kansas. The NHRA has grown greatly since holding its first event the NHRA currently has over 70,000 members and 40,000 licensed competitors. There are over 120 tracks that are members of the NHRA that hold weekly events where competitors can come out and show off their skills. There are a variety of different classes that competitors can enter into with having more then 20 different classes to choose from. With all the different class options this gives all competitors a class to enter in know matter how fast or expensive your car is. Before the NHRA when people used to race on the street most racing was all heads-up racing. With the NHRA having advanced timing systems it allows for racers with low income cars to compete with other high-income cars. In the beginning when drag racing started cars were only reaching speeds of 100 mph but now with all the new innovations there are some cars exceeding speeds of 320 mph.

Retrieved From: https://speedsport.com/drag-racing/nhra-drag-racing/hight-heads-gateway-funny-car-field-early/

The sport of drag racing has added a new way for companies to advertise their business especially ones that are directly related to the car industry. The sport has changed a lot in terms of how some of the major teams operate. When racing first started you could go racing with your own money now in order to race in the big leagues you have to have major sponsorship that backs you for the races. For all the big teams that are racing in the NHRA’s top series they only make money from sponsorship the money won from winning a race doesn’t cover the expenses. Some of the cars that run in the top classes can cost over $1,000 to make a single run.  Drag racing is the second biggest auto racing series in America just behind NASCAR. Hopefully with this article I was able to provide some insight on just how far along the sport of drag racing has come. Sources Cited: NHRA History. Retrieved from https://www.nhra.com/nhra-history