NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 57th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals is quickly approaching, and with more than 50 years of events in the books, the annual season opener is one of NHRA’s longest-running events. Which others make the cut? Here’s a look at the five oldest events on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

The Big Go is the most prestigious event on the NHRA schedule, and a large part of that is the fact it is the original national event. Dating back to 1955, the event now known as the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals enters its 63rd year in 2017. The event was simply known as the Nationals when it first started, and it has been contested at a handful of venues, beginning with Great Bend, Kan., in 1955. The following year, the Nationals moved to Kansas City, Mo., where it was contested for one year before moving to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 1957-59 events. After two years in Detroit, the Nationals moved to Indy in 1961, where it has remained.

After contesting one national event for the first six years, NHRA added a second, dubbed the Big Go of the West, in 1961. That event was contested in Pomona and has remained at the venerable Southern California facility now known as Auto Club Raceway at Pomona ever since. This year’s Circle K NHRA Winternationals will be the 57th one held.

Four years after expanding to two events, NHRA grew the schedule once again in 1965, adding two more events to its calendar: the Springnationals in Bristol and the World Finals. Though the Bristol Springnationals event fell to the wayside and replaced by other events with the Springnationals moniker, the World Finals has marched on, though it has moved quite a bit through its 50-plus years. The Finals began in Tulsa, Okla., where it remained through 1968. In 1969 and 1970, the event found a new home in Dallas, then it moved to Amarillo, Texas, for three years. The Finals made its way to Southern California in 1974, moving to Ontario. After a seven-year run in Ontario, the event was the contested in Orange County until it moved to its current home, Pomona, in 1984. The Auto Club NHRA Finals will be contested for the 53rd time this November.

The annual East Coast opener enters its 48th year in existence, and it has been known by several names through the years. Currently backed by Amalie Motor Oil, the Gatornationals has always found a home in Gainesville. The event has been site to many milestone moments through the years, including Kenny Bernstein making the first 300-mph run in history and Andrew Hines breaking the six-second barrier in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Though Englishtown was host to the Springnationals for one year, in 1968, the current event, the NHRA Summernationals, didn’t start until 1970, and that first race wasn’t in Englishtown. The Summernationals originated in York, Pa., but it was there for just one year before moving to its current home, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The event has undergone several name changes through the years, including being known as the Supernationals for several years, but it regained the Summernationals moniker in 2013.