NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Drag racing fans are invited to join the NHRA, Shell Oil Co., and Don Schumacher Racing on Thursday, April 28, at a special event in downtown Houston.

NHRA, Shell, and DSR will be in Hermann Square Park at City Hall at 900 Smith Street at 11 a.m. (CT) celebrating the long-lasting and successful relationships between the three companies. The event will give fans a chance to meet some of the world’s best drag racers and see their 10,000-horsepower, nitro-breathing machines up close and personal.

All seven DSR drivers — reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown, eight-time Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher, two-time Funny Car champ Matt Hagan, 2012 Funny Car world champion and 2015 runner-up Jack Beckman, Ron Capps, 2013 Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon, and Tommy Johnson Jr. — and Leah Pritchett will be on-site mingling with fans and participating in an exclusive autograph session. Fans can also get pictures with Schumacher’s U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster, Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, and Hagan’s Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car that will be on display. Representatives from NHRA, Shell, and DSR will talk with the crowd about the excitement of the sport of drag racing and the three companies’ storied history.

NHRA, Shell, and Don Schumacher Racing are among the leaders in the world of auto racing. Don Schumacher is one of drag racing’s pioneers in Funny Car, having raced to five national event wins as a driver. Since 1970, his DSR teams have tallied 269 NHRA national event victories.

DSR and Pennzoil, a Shell brand, announced a marketing partnership in March 2015. Pennzoil, too, has an extensive history with auto racing. Like DSR, Pennzoil has been involved in NHRA Drag Racing since the early days of the sport when it sponsored the first famous drag racer, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, in 1958. Pennzoil saw great success in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s but may be best known in NHRA Drag Racing for its sponsorship of 1993 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Eddie Hill.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be in Houston, April 29-May 1, for the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. The sixth of 24 events on the 2016 season will feature two qualifying sessions on Friday, April 29, at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. The final two qualifying sessions will be on Saturday, April 30, at 1 and 3:30 p.m. and will set the field for Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.