Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanctioning body in the world.
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver.
John Harold Force is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 157 career victories. He graduated from Bell Gardens High School and briefly attended Cerritos Junior College to play football. He is the father of drag racers Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force, and Courtney Force. His oldest daughter Adria Hight is the CFO of JFR.
Pro stock is a class of drag racing featuring "factory hot rods". The class is often described as "all motor", due to the cars not using any form of forced induction such as turbocharging or supercharging, or other enhancements, like nitrous oxide, along with regulations governing the modifications allowed to the engines and the types of bodies used.
Kenneth Dale Bernstein is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed the "King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start quarter mile. Bernstein owned King Racing, which he drove for in the NHRA and fielded various cars in other racing series such as IndyCar and NASCAR. Bernstein retired from full-time competition in 2002 and moved his son Brandon into the Bud King Top Fuel dragster, but returned to finish the season in place of his son after Brandon suffered a severe injury. With the exception of a brief return to Funny Car in 2007, Bernstein did not return to the car and instead continued to run his team until the end of the 2011 season when he left drag racing altogether.
Erica Lee Enders is an American drag racing driver. Enders has won six world championships in the Pro Stock class of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and she continues to drive full-time in that class. For the 2024 season, Enders will defend her 6 NHRA Pro Stock World Championships.
The Texas Motorplex is a quarter mile drag racing facility located in Ennis, Texas, United States, 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Dallas. Built in 1986 by former funny car driver Billy Meyer, the Motorplex was the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) "super track." It annually hosts the Texas NHRA FallNationals each October, when hundreds of professional and amateur drag racers compete for over $2 million in prize money. Past winners have included John Force, Kenny Bernstein, and Tony Schumacher.
I-70 Motorsports Park, also known as I-70 Speedway, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility near Interstate 70 east of Odessa, Missouri, USA. The track, first opened in 1969, and has since been completely rebuilt and renovated in 2021 under new ownership.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. is an American motorsports driver, competing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Division. He is a six-time world champion, winning the Pro Stock title five times and the Super Gas championship. He currently drives the SCAG Power Equipment / Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer Pro Stock Camaro for Elite Motorsports as a teammate to six-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders. He is the son of Jeg Coughlin Sr., the founder of Jegs High Performance.
Bob Glidden was an American drag racer. He was retired from Pro Stock racing in 1997 and returned in 2010. Glidden retired as the driver with the most wins in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) history at that time — a feat recently topped by 16-time Funny Car champion John Force — and he was the third-most successful drag racer of the professional class drivers — sixth when counting sportsman national event winners — at the time of his death. Glidden won 85 NHRA National Events. In the Professional classes, he was behind Force (147) and Warren Johnson (97). Currently, Glidden ranks fourth behind Greg Anderson (104). Glidden's ten Pro Stock championships included five in a row beginning in 1985. Among his numerous accomplishments, Glidden won nine straight NHRA national races in 1979 and was the No. 1 qualifier 23 times in a row, including the entire 1987 season. At one point, he won 50 eliminations rounds in a row.
Warren Johnson is a retired American NHRA drag racing driver. He is the driver with the 2nd most wins in pro stock with 97 career wins, six world championships and earned himself the nickname "the Professor of Pro Stock."
Jason Line drives the Elite Motorsports JHG Racing Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stock car in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Line resides in Terrell, North Carolina with his wife, Cindy, son, Jack and daughter, Emma.
Kurt Johnson is a professional American drag racing driver. He was born in Virginia, Minnesota, and currently resides in Buford, Georgia. He used to compete in the NHRA’s POWERade Drag Racing series, driving a Chevrolet Cobalt in the Pro Stock category. His primary sponsor was ACDelco, whom he drove for since 1996.
Andrew Hines is a six-time National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. He was the flagship Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-rod. Andrew follows in the footsteps of his brother and crew chief, Matt Hines. The team is headed by the legendary duo of Terry Vance and Byron Hines.
Larry Dixon Jr. is a retired American professional drag racer in the NHRA. Larry is the son of Larry Dixon Sr., who won Top Fuel Eliminator at the 1970 NHRA Winternationals.
Bruce Larson (1937) is an American retired drag racer from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He became nationally known for his match races. He quit funny Car racing in 1972 after a bad fire and raced in the Pro Stock class for 2 years. He then returned to the Funny Car class and match racing until 1987 where he fought his way to the NHRA Funny Car Championship in 1989. He led the points chase from start to finish collecting 6 National Event wins, 5 runner ups and the Car Craft Funny Car Driver of the Year award. That championship car is now one of only 2 drag race cars in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, the other being Don Garlits' rear engine dragster. He was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2006. Larson is remembered for his red, white, and blue USA-1 Chevrolet Camaros.
Pat Austin is a retired American drag racer. He competed in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). He won four NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car championships between 1987 and 1991. He was the first driver to win eliminator titles at the same event when he won the Top Fuel and Alcohol Funny Car classes at Topeka. His 62 wins between his start in 1985 and 1996, which were the most for any driver between the late 1970s and 1996.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is a drag racing series organized by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). It is the top competition series of the NHRA, comprising competition in four classes, including Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Tanner Sean Gray is an American professional racing driver who has competed in drag racing and stock car racing. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 15 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gray is the youngest professional driver to win a national event in NHRA history, and the youngest driver to win a solo NHRA season championship.
