Drag racing
Drag racing is a high-speed motorsport that involves two cars racing from a standing start down a straight track, with the primary focus on acceleration and speed. Originating in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s, the sport began as informal races among teenagers who modified their cars to achieve greater speeds. It became more organized with the establishment of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) in 1951, which introduced official rules and safety measures to the sport. The NHRA has since grown to be the largest drag racing organization in the world, hosting numerous events across various American cities.
Competitions typically take place on specialized drag strips and feature a unique starting system known as the "Christmas tree," which uses colored lights to signal the start of a race. Racers are judged based on elapsed time and speed, with strict regulations governing vehicle specifications and race conduct. Though drag racing may not enjoy the same mainstream popularity as some other motorsports, it has a dedicated following and substantial corporate support, making it a significant aspect of American motorsport culture. The sport's appeal includes not only the thrill of the race but also the intricacies of vehicle performance and racing strategy.
Drag racing
Drag racing is a form of auto racing in which two cars accelerate from a starting line and race each other down a straight track to the finish line. Unlike other stock-car-racing sports that require driving endurance over several hours, the main components of drag racing are acceleration and speed. For this reason, drag racing is generally associated with sleek, modified racing cars known as hot rods.
Drag racing began in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, as teenagers responded to the rapid advancement of automobile technology by modifying their cars to drive at high speeds. They then began racing one another through the streets, popularizing the new sport of drag racing. The activity became more organized in 1951 with the formation of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), which came to govern all official drag racing competitions in the United States. Drag racing became more famous and commercialized over the rest of the twentieth century, with corporate sponsors allowing the NHRA to stage more extravagant competitions and offer larger cash prizes. Later, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) formed to oversee drag racing competitions among racers from different countries.
In the twenty-first century, the NHRA, the largest drag-racing organization in the world, boasted tens of thousands of members and licensed drag racers. The association tours its multiple track locations in a variety of American cities every year. This made drag racing one of the most popular motorsports in the United States.
Origins and History
Drag racing began in the 1930s in California’s Mojave Desert, where teenage racers competed with their hot rods in dry lake beds. It is believed that American drivers first dared to reach speeds of more than one hundred miles per hour while racing in the desert.
Drag racing then mostly disappeared from the United States until after World War II. The late 1940s saw the activity become popular again with American youth, though it was still an obscure hobby. Drivers usually raced on former military runways in deserts to escape the confines of crowded city streets.
The first actual organized drag race in the United States took place in 1949 at a Marine Corps air base in Goleta, California. This early stage in the development of drag racing was marked by a general lack of the technology or official rules for which the sport would later become known. Racers simply drove their cars to the desert, selected the random track distance of a quarter mile, and raced their opponents down the runways. The crude racetracks featured no side barriers or other safety features for the drivers, and the gathered crowds could see little of the actual race once the drivers left the starting point.
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).These primitive aspects of early drag racing began to change in 1951. That year, racing enthusiast and Hot Rod magazine editor Wally Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Parks hoped this organization would encourage racers to abandon the dangers of street and desert racing for the safety precautions and official rules of a legally sanctioned sport.
The NHRA’s first race was held in 1953 in part of the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in Pomona, California. At this time, drag-racing strips consisted of little more than two lanes of half-mile-long asphalt tracks surrounded by bleachers. Every weekend during seasonable weather, these strips attracted crowds of young drivers and mechanics eager to display their vehicle expertise to the audiences.
Drag racing slowly grew in popularity and prestige as the 1950s progressed. Drag-racing cars such as the Albertson Old and Dragmaster Dart became among the fastest and most popular vehicles in the NHRA. The 1960s marked a period of swift technological improvement for the NHRA and drag racing in general. In this era, the individuals who stood between the two cars and waved a flag for the race to begin were replaced by lighting systems. The cars themselves were also transformed, as it was now judged that long, narrow vehicles would race more efficiently than short, wide cars.
Over the next few decades, drag-racing venues as governed by the NHRA began to assume the luxurious qualities of most other major sports stadiums, due mostly to funding from corporate sponsors such as Ford and Chrysler. New NHRA leadership in the 1980s brought features such as grandstands, VIP towers, and various other facilities to drag-racing strips.
In the twenty-first century, despite not enjoying the mainstream popularity of stock-car-racing in leagues such as NASCAR, drag racing still claimed large audiences in the United States and abroad. The NHRA, with its tens of thousands of racers and other members, was the largest drag-racing organization in the world.
Rules and Regulations
The purpose of drag racing, in any setting, is for drivers to cross the finish line before their opponents. The NHRA, as the official governing body of drag racing in the United States, devised certain rules and regulations by which racers in official association events would be judged.
At the starting line of each NHRA racetrack is an electronic light post known as a Christmas tree because of its rows of colored lights on either side. The lights at the top are red and descend to yellow and then green. The Christmas trees are used to dictate the starting stages of a race.
Before a race begins, the two drivers approach the starting line and place their cars inside a light beam that crosses the track. The pre-stage light on the tree then illuminates, which indicates to audiences that the cars are seven inches from the starting line. The same system is used for the starting line itself; the positioning of the cars’ tires directly on the starting line illuminates the tree’s stage light. This conveys to everyone in attendance that the drivers are ready to race.
The red lights at the top of the tree then flash and are followed by the yellow and green lights. The green lights signal to each driver to begin racing. In official NHRA races, drivers are judged in the categories of elapsed time and speed. The clock for each driver begins when the car leaves the stage beam and ends just as it crosses the finish line. The speed of each car is measured during the final sixty-six feet of the race, when the cars are moving at their highest speeds.
Races themselves consist of each racer attempting to beat the other to the finish line. Drivers may be disqualified from the race if they leave the starting line before the green lights flash, cross the lanes’ centerline, touch the guardrail, fail to stage before the race, or fail a car inspection after the race. Inspectors examine the car’s weight and fuel to ensure they meet NHRA regulations. The first racer to cross the finish line wins the race.
Strategy and Tactics
On its surface, drag racing is simply a race between two cars down a straight track from the starting line to the finish line. But the sport truly is a competition of acceleration, a test of which driver can achieve the best start to gain the most lead toward the end of the track. Drag racers, therefore, whether competing in an official league or elsewhere, should be knowledgeable about their vehicles and the physics involved in drag racing before participating.
First, the cars that will be racing should be fairly evenly matched in regard to their performances. This ensures that each racer at least has a chance of winning. Then, the drivers should be mindful of how they accelerate, for initial acceleration will determine how much of a lead a driver gets. Vehicle engines create more horsepower at higher revolutions per minute (RPM). RPMs, which are displayed on a vehicle’s dashboard, indicate how fast the car’s engine components are spinning. The parts spin faster to create more horsepower and therefore allow the car to reach higher speeds.
To achieve ideal acceleration from the start, racers can rev their engines a few seconds before the race begins. This will increase their RPMs and allow them to leave the starting line more quickly. In cars with automatic transmission, drivers must hold down the brake and then slowly depress the gas pedal to rev the engine. Doing this properly takes practice. Too much gas will cause the car’s wheels to spin in what is known as a burnout. This will essentially ruin the driver’s chances of accelerating quickly from the start.
As soon as the race begins, drivers should lift their foot off the brake while leaving the accelerator where it is. If they did not burn out, this will allow them a rapid start off the line. Finally, after a short distance, racers should depress the accelerator completely for maximum speed toward the finish line. Drivers who master the appropriate acceleration techniques have better chances of gaining the lead over their opponents.
Professional Leagues and Series
The largest and most successful professional drag-racing league in the world is the United States’ National Hot Rod Association, founded by Wally Parks in 1951. Most of the official drag-racing series that continued in the twenty-first century began in the association’s early years.
For instance, the NHRA Winternationals are the association’s season-opening event. The Winternationals began in 1961 and are held annually at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.
The NHRA’s first national event ever was the NHRA U.S. Nationals, which began in 1955 in Great Bend, Kansas. Over the next six years, the event moved throughout the United States in an attempt to generate more awareness of drag racing. Finally, in 1961, the U.S. Nationals premiered at the Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana. Races held there are the final race of the NHRA’s regular season of eighteen races. The U.S. Nationals held at this raceway are regarded as professional drag racing’s most famous and prestigious event.
The NHRA’s season-closer is the NHRA Finals, also held at Pomona’s Auto Club Raceway. Drivers advance to this point by continually winning races and avoiding elimination. All of these races, from the Winternationals to the U.S. Nationals and the NHRA Finals, are part of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) was founded by Larry Carrier in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1970. The organization promotes and organizes drag-racing events featuring drivers from multiple countries. Member nations include the United States, Canada, Aruba, the Bahamas, New Zealand, and Australia. Like the NHRA, the IHRA features several racing divisions and series, such as the annual Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series Sunoco World Nationals. These events lead up to a world championship series.
Popularity
In the 2010s, the NHRA, the world’s most popular drag-racing promoter, claimed more than seventy thousand members and forty thousand competitors. The association featured more than one hundred racetracks throughout North America, where it hosted races for its many different racing series, from its junior division to the professional Mello Yello Series. With major corporate sponsors such as the Coca-Cola Company, Chevrolet, and Toyota, the NHRA continued to popularize the sport of drag racing throughout the United States.
Bibliography
"Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis. Aug 31 – Sept 5." National Hot Rod Association. National Hot Rod Association, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.
"Cory McClenathan to Race at Norwalk Raceway Park." Dragracecentral.com. Autosales, Inc., 21 Aug. 2004. Web. 21 July 2016.
"Drag Racing." National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.
"Drag Racing." PBS. Oregon Public Broadcasting, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.
"Drag Racing Made Easy." National Hot Rod Association. National Hot Rod Association, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.
"400 Thunder Moves to Globally Recognized IHRA Sanctioning." International Hot Rod Association. International Hot Rod Association, 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 21 July 2016.
Iger, Brad. "How to Win a Drag Race." Spike. Spike Cable Networks, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 July 2016.
"NHRA History: Drag Racing’s Fast Start." National Hot Rod Association. National Hot Rod Association, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.
"What Is RPM and Why Is It Important?" Volkswagen Santa Monica. Volkswagen Santa Monica, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.