(Photos provided by SEMA)
The Petersen Automotive Museum awarded Don “the Snake” Prudhomme the prestigious Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2024 SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet on Nov. 7. This honor was presented by the museum’s executive director, Terry L. Karges, and NHRA's David Kennedy, acknowledging Prudhomme’s enduring legacy in the drag racing world and his influential friendship with museum founder Robert E. Petersen.
Prudhomme’s career began in 1962 as an NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car driver, achieving 49 career wins and retiring in 1994. He later launched Don Prudhomme Racing, where his team claimed NHRA Top Fuel championships in 2002 and 2003. Revered in both the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1991) and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2000), Prudhomme’s legacy was further immortalized in the 2013 film Snake and Mongoose, which celebrated his famed rivalry with Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen.
“Don Prudhomme is a true legend on and off the track, and he was a good friend of Mr. Petersen. ‘The Snake’ is beloved by drag racing diehards and non-racing fans alike, and his achievements have left a lasting legacy in motorsports,” Karges remarked. “We are proud to celebrate Don with this award and honored to have him as part of our museum family.”
The Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award, named after the creator of Hot Rod magazine, the one-time boss of Wally Parks, and the founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum, honors individuals who have shaped the automotive world. Past recipients include icons like Dan Gurney, Carroll Shelby, Richard Petty, and Wally Parks — heroes whose impact resonates beyond the racetrack, influencing generations of enthusiasts and professionals alike.
“We stand before you tonight on behalf of Robert E. Petersen and the Petersen Museum, and Wally Parks and the National Hot Rod Association—two men who took a philosophy that we now know as hot-rodding and brought it into the light. The spirit of innovation and constant improvement launched an entire industry from the pages of a magazine known as Hot Rod.
Petersen and Parks wanted to show us what we were capable of. They wanted us to see what associations like SEMA could do for a community of racers, car customizers, and enthusiasts. And they wanted us to make it sustainable—something that would stand the test of time. As they look down on us tonight, I can tell you that from their point of view, you’ve accomplished that mission.
Wally Parks often said, ‘The cars are the stars.’ And they are, because you’ve made them that way. From these cars have risen individuals—people who speak this language, who carry this vision forward still to this day. And tonight, we honor one of those stars: Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme.
There’s a story about Don I’d like to share with you. Years ago, behind this very stage, Don was getting introduced with a line that labeled him ‘the coolest guy since Steve McQueen.’ Now, Don didn’t quite know what to make of that. He turned to me and said, ‘What the hell does that mean—cool?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Well, most of us are out here trying to be like you, but you’re just trying to be yourself.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m comfortable being me.’
For the rest of us, Don, I think I speak for everyone here tonight when I say—I’m sure glad you are.” —David Kennedy