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When Did Drag Racing First Become A National Event?

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was founded in 1951. Although drag racing can trace its roots further back 1951 might be the year that drag racing became a national event. This was followed two years later by the first NHRA sanctioned drag race in Pomona, CA.

Top Fuel Drag Racer Jeff O’Neill began his racing career in 2008. In the same year he created the Jeff O’Neill Racing. Aside from racing he has a strong belief in giving back to his community. The racer attributes his hard work and dedication to his many successes in both his racing career and in the business world. Although he started out in the computer business, where he found a great deal of success, the racing “bug” bit him hard in 2008 when he found his first start at the Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, TX.

Leading the pack this season, in the NHRA, is Del Worsham. The 41-year-old made his NHRA debut at age 21. He has been in the top 20 points holders since 1991. During that same year he was named Rookie of the Year for the NHRA division. He has accumulated an impressive total of 28 wins during his career. He lives with his wife and two children in Chino Hills, CA. Spencer Massey is running in second place followed by Larry Dixon, Jr.

Top Fuel Dragsters: How Do They Work?

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When people envision a drag racer, they are most likely thinking of a top fuel dragster. Top Fuel is the fastest division offered by the National Hot Rod Association. These are the ultimate cars in the ultimate series and cover the quarter mile track in less than 4.5 seconds.

A top fuel dragster car is a raging beast. With 8,000 horsepower engines they can pull as much as 6G both positive and negative, requiring an incredible degree of fitness from their drivers. The top speed is over 330 miles per hour and in order to slow the cars down safely parachutes are deployed.

To generate that huge number of horses, a Top Fuel dragster’s beating heart is the 500 cubic inch engine that runs on a mix of methanol and nitromethane with a supercharger more powerful than the ones used by semi-trucks. These engines have hemispherical cylinders and are located, for safety and performance reasons, behind the driver. The nitromethane mix produces much more power than gasoline, but combusts more slowly, resulting in the plumes of flame that escape the exhausts of these roaring vehicles. Ignited by the hot exhaust, these plumes add to the car’s downforce.

That incredible engine pushes a chassis made of steel tubing with a 300 inch wheelbase (for stability and straightness). Integral to the chassis is the six point roll cage that protects the driver. The huge rear wing holds the dragster down, allowing the tires to keep traction. It has three different sections to it. Finally, the slick tires, over ten inches wider than street tires, produce smoke as well as grip and hold these incredible vehicles to the tracks on which they run.

Motorcycle Drag Racers: Who Is Anton Brown?

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Antron Brown, who grew up at the drag strip, is a successful championship caliber drag racer. In his twelve seasons as a professional racer, he has 24 wins in 48 final rounds, 21 poles and 308 round wins. During college in 1997 his dream of being a professional drag racer came true.

Category: Top Fuel
Residence: Pittsboro
Hometown: Chesterfield, New jersey
DOB: March 1, 1976
Crew Chief: Brian Corradi
Team Owner: Don Schumacher
2010 Wins: 1/7
Best Points Finish: 2nd (2001, 2006)
First Victory: Dallas 1st 1999

Carrer records/finals in 2010:
Gainesville runner up
Houston runner-up
Charlotte 1 runner-up
Englishtown runner-up
Norwalk runner-up
Seattle runner-up
Pomona 2 winner

Career recors/finals in 2009:
Pomona 1 runner-up
Phoenix winner
St. Louis winner
Joiliet runner-up
Englishtown runner-up
Denver winner
Seattle winner
Sonoma winner
Richmond runner-up
Pomona 2 winner

Carrer records/finals in 2008:
Houston winner
Las Vegas 1 runner-up
Atlanta winner
Denver runner-up
Charlotte runner-up

Career Records/finals in 2006:
Gainesville runner-up
Atlanta winner
Sonoma runner-up
Brainerd winner
Memphis runner-up

Anton Brown’s drag racing career has improved every year with the amount of wins and finals. This DSR racer is setting gold records in the motorcycle drag racing world and continues to compete every year.

NEDRA Events Coming Up

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You’re not going to get any of their races on your Direct TV but the National Electric Drag Association is one of the more exciting branches of drag racing right now. If you want to see this sport in action you’ll have to make a trip and here are some great upcoming events to put on your calendar:
Power of DC – Held in Hagerstown, Maryland, the Power of DC is a full-scale event with tons of side shows to attend and even the chance to meet some of your favorite drivers. It’s close in proximity to many on the East Coast.
NEDRA World Challenge Nationals – The grand daddy of NEDRA events, this year’s is going to be one for the ages. There will be racing on Friday and Saturday and driver/fan meet ups during the day on Saturday.
NEDRA at Bonneville – If you like a party with your races you’ve got to head to Bonneville. There’s nowhere else on the list better geared toward racing or fans and there’s no shortage of non-racing activities here, either!

Del Worsham and Al Anabi: How Did They Come To Work Together?

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

National Hot Rod Association driver Del Worsham was born February 11, 1970 in Whittier, California. He has accumulated 28 victories throughout his career, 25 of them were in the Funny Car Series and three of them were in the Top Fuel Series.

At age 21 Del became the youngest driver to win a Funny Car competition and was named Rookie of the Year for the NHRA division. He finished second in 2004 to John Force in the Funny Car Series, which was his best finish for the Point Standings Series.

Worsham teamed up with Al-Anabi Racing in 2009 after almost seeing an end to his 17 year racing career. Al-Anabi is owned by the second heir to the throne of Qatar, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani, a 22-year-old drag racing fan. Del was asked to join the team by Al-Thani and eight-time NHRA championship crew chief Alan Johnson.

After just seven races, Worsham was able to bring home a victory while driving an Al-Anabi Racing Toyota winning the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals.

Prior to his partnership with Al-Anabi, Del had only raced for his father Chuck Worsham. When their sponsor CSK Auto Inc. told them they were out, Del needed a new racing team and fortunately found it with Al-Anabi.

Drag Racing Standings For Top Fuel Drivers for 2011

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There has been some tough competition so far in the Full Throttle Series in 2011. Today’s race 10 in Chicago will wrap up the first half of the season. There are 6 more races to go until all competitors except the top 10 are eliminated. At that time the remaining competitor’s points will be adjusted to a 10 point spread and the 1 driver will be assigned a 30 point lead over the 2 spot and these 10 will compete in the last 6 championship races.
After race 9 in Norwalk, Ohio on 6/26/11 the standings are: 1 Del Worsham – 884, 2 Spencer Massey – 823, 3 Larry Dixon, Jr. – 809, 4 Antron Brown – 731, 5 Tony Schumacher – 729, 6 Doug Kalitta – 536, 7 Brandon Bernstein – 517, 8 Morgan Lucas – 500, 9 Shawn Langdon – 451 and 10 Terry McMillen – 386. The 1 driver, Del Worsham, has a substantial lead on his competition at this point in the season.
Del Worsham was born 2/11/70 and he debuted in the NHRA in February 1990 at the age of 21. He was a driver for his family’s racing team in the funny car division until he joined the AlAnaba team in 2009. In 2010 he switched to Top Fuel Dragsters for the 2011 season. Del has been in the top 20 points holders every year since 1991. He lives in Chino Hills, CA with his wife and 2 children.

Funny Cars: How Did They Get Their Name?

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Funny Cars. Screaming, thundering, high-horsepower, altered wheelbase drag cars everyone loved to see on the starting line. But how did they get the name “Funny Car?” This question has been the subject of debate for years.

Many argue that it all started in the winter of the 1963-64 drag racing season when the Martin Bros. pioneered what is believed to be the first funny cars, placing supercharged, fuel-injected pump gas engines in production line cars. Those first cars were Dodge 330 sedans, three in number. However, there was no exhibition class for these cars, so Dodge labeled the cars as “Supercharged Factory Experimental.Check out this link here.”

However, the moniker “Funny Car” didn’t come about until the following drag racing season when the cars appeared with altered wheelbases. Moving the front and rear suspension forward of its original position gave the cars better traction and faster launch times off the starting line. With these altered wheelbase’s, people said the cars looked funny. Thus, the moniker of “Funny Car” became a common label.

Funny cars have evolved from altered wheelbase Super Stocks to nitro burning, supercharged dragsters with lightweight fiberglass bodies. Know as “floppers” these newer versions have little in common with the original funny cars.

What Makes John Force A True Champion?

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

NHRA drag racer John Harold Force is the owner and driver of John Force Racing. He has been in the business since 1978 beginning his driving career with a Corvette, Monza. Force’s successful career includes 132 victories. He became the Funny Car champion driver 15 times and 17 times he became a champion car owner.

John Force is a true champion who knew when to step down. In 2009 he didn’t win a single race, so he parked his car and promoted a new crew chief. He then won his 15th NHRA Championship.

Force has shown resilience in a brutal and dangerous sport. Sadly in 2007 he lost his team driver, Eric Medlen and crashed his own car in Ennis, Texas during the NHRA Fall Nationals.

John also struggled in 2008 when he didn’t finish in the top five. Another of his driver’s died, Scott Kalitta and Force finished the year in 7th position. He finished 9th in 2009, but won the season opener for 2010.

John is having a good racing start to 2011. He is currently standing at 6th position with his teammate Mike Neff in the lead. However, a veteran like Force certainly knows how to pull out from behind.