NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Steve Reyes needs little introduction to most longtime drag fans. His is probably one of the best-known names in the business, and there isn’t a single photographer past or present who doesn’t admire and respect his body of work. As part of NHRA's celebration of 50 years of Funny Car, Reyes shared the story behind some of his favorite Funny Car photos with NHRA FOX reporter Lewis Bloom.

 

Reyes attended his first drag race in 1963 and got hooked on the noise and power of the Top Fuel dragsters. In late 1964, he bought his first 35mm camera. He photographed racing at all the Northern California tracks, and if there was a big race in SoCal, he would try to find a NorCal racer who was heading south and hitch a ride.

 

In 1969, he became NHRA's Division 7 photographer, covering all those races for National Dragster. Magazine and product work took over most of his time, and he covered NHRA, AHRA, and IHRA races plus street rod events. One month in 1972, he had the cover photo on eight of 11 automotive magazines.

 

In 1973, he became the photographic director for Argus Publishing. It had 12-plus magazine titles, and he shot photos for all of them for the next 20 years and four months, going everywhere there were cars, trucks, motorcycles, drag racing, sprint cars, mud bogs, and monster trucks. He has been to every state in the USA, plus Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and all over Canada and to 109 dragstrips worldwide.