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.
Donald Glenn Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster." However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles. Most often they are individually designed and constructed using components from many makes of old or new cars, and are most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Many are intended for exhibition rather than for racing or everyday driving.
Shirley Muldowney, also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson was an American auto racing builder and promoter.
Wallace Gordon Parks was an American writer. He was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport.
Hot Rod is an American car magazine devoted to hot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance. It was published monthly until 2024, when it transitioned to quarterly publication.
Alex Xydias was an American hot rodder, racing driver and land speed racer, active in the early days of auto racing.
Nostalgia drag racing is a form of drag racing that uses cars from earlier eras of drag racing, as well as cars built to fit the guidelines of earlier eras using parts that would have been available in that era.
Goldenrod is an American streamliner land speed racing car which held the wheel-driven land speed record from 1965 to 1991. It was owned by Bob "Butch" and Bill Summers, of Ontario, California. Bob Summers drove the car to set the land speed record. The car is powered by four fuel injected Chrysler Hemi engines mounted inline and created a total output of 2,400 hp (1,800 kW). The car was originally built in Southern California by a team that included James Crosby.
CARtoons magazine is an American publication that focuses on automotive humor and hot rod artwork. Originated by Carl Kohler and drag-racing artist Pete Millar, it was published by Robert E. Petersen Publication Company as a quarterly starting in 1959. Editors over the years included Dick Day, Jack Bonestell, and Dennis Ellefson. The original CARtoons went defunct in 1991. In 2016, CARtoons resumed publication under new ownership of the trademark, and is currently published bimonthly.
Dean Moon was an American automobile designer. He grew up in Norwalk, California. Moon was around cars and racing from his youth. His father owned "Moon Café" and had a go-kart track he called "Moonza", a pun on Monza. Dean was involved in dry lakes hot-rodding in the late 1940s. He founded MOON Speed Equipment (c.1950) and worked to improve the quality and safety of speed and racing products his entire life.
Roland Sands is an American motorcycle racer and designer of custom high-performance motorcycles. In his career as a professional motorcycle racer, he won the 1998 AMA 250GP National Champion road racer championship. Sands is also the owner and founder of Roland Sands Design.
Eddie Hill is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Father of Drag Racing." His other nicknames include "The Thrill", "Holeshot Hill", and "Fast Eddie". In 1960, he set the NHRA record for the largest improvement in the elapsed time (e.t.) when he drove the quarter mile in 8.84 seconds to break the previous 9.40-second record.
Hot Rod Girl is an independent, black-and-white 1956 teen-oriented action film produced by Norman T. Herman, directed by Leslie H. Martinson and released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Girls in Prison. Hot Rod Girl stars Lori Nelson, Chuck Connors and John Smith. The film centers on efforts to keep hot-rodding teenagers from dangerous drag racing on city streets and having them move to the safety of a specialized drag strip, and the consequences when an aggressive newcomer to town goads them into street racing again.
1950s American automobile culture has had an enduring influence on the culture of the United States, as reflected in popular music, major trends from the 1950s and mainstream acceptance of the "hot rod" culture. The American manufacturing economy switched from producing war-related items to consumer goods at the end of World War II, and by the end of the 1950s, one in six working Americans were employed either directly or indirectly in the automotive industry. The United States became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Henry Ford's goal of 30 years earlier—that any man with a good job should be able to afford an automobile—was achieved. A new generation of service businesses focusing on customers with their automobiles came into being during the decade, including drive-through or drive-in restaurants and greatly increasing numbers of drive-in theaters (cinemas).
A dragster is a specialized competition automobile used in drag racing.
Richard Megugorac, commonly known as Dick or by his nickname Magoo, was an American land speed racer and customizer.
George Poteet was an American Memphis-based land speed racer and winner of the 1996 Ridler Award.
