NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

I like to tell the story about how NHRA National Dragster and I were born in the same year, and even though ND’s first issue in February 1960 preceded my birth by three months, it's always felt like I was born to be here. Sixty-four years later, we’re both still very much here and energized.

Even though my tenure at NHRA and my print-publication education officially began two days after my 22nd birthday in May 1982, it wasn’t until a year and a half later, in October 1983, that I was reborn. That’s because that’s when Wally Parks hired Neil Britt to lead the NHRA Publications department. We lost Neil very unexpectedly on July 14, but his legacy lives on in everything we do, especially in National Dragster.

Everything that National Dragster is today grew from the seeds that Neil planted 40 years ago. Although National Dragster certainly was a successful publication almost from its inception, thanks to the guidance and hard work of a rogue’s gallery of editors who sat in the chair before I did, it really started to come into its own starting in 1984.

Long respected for its race coverage, ND’s weekly publication brought results to the world long before the monthly magazines could and well before what passed as television coverage. But Neil didn’t want ND to be a one-trick pony.

Neil had cut his writing and photography teeth with the East Coast-based Lopez Publishing group, which produced two fine drag racing books: Drag Racing USA and Super Stock & Drag Illustrated. He was at the helm of DRUSA when the rug was pulled from beneath his feet in 1975 just as he had started to inject new life and vitality into the hallowed publication. He also famously worked at Car Craft magazine — which, along with Hot Rod, provided Petersen Publishing a double-barreled effort in chronicling our sport — where his writing and photography were top-notch. He left Car Craft in mid-1983, but by then he knew what worked and didn’t work, especially on the feature-story side of things.

Tasked with growing a stagnant National Dragster subscriber/member base, Neil asked for the space and finances he knew would be required to grow National Dragster. That meant two things: staffing to meet his dreams and the page count to produce a magazine that included long-form feature stories to accompany the race results. He got both, and within a few years, he delivered on his promises, nearly tripling circulation and increasing revenue 16 times over. It was a stunning turnaround.

Neil also took ND from being a bi-fold, primarily black-and-white newspaper averaging 48 to 60 pages per issue to a perfect-bound, full-color magazine whose page count was well into triple digits. After years of relying on an independent print shop to typeset, compose, and print the pages, Neil’s early computer acumen allowed ND to bring all publications in-house with the advent of so-called “desktop publishing.” He hired the right people in the right roles and revolutionized the way the magazine was created and still is.

In his still-active LinkedIn profile, Neil, always the first to deflect praise, wrote, “The ‘secret’ to this success was my staff, which was made up of publishing professionals and true enthusiasts of drag racing.”

The sheer number and quality of people that Neil hired is mind-boggling. Chief among them, he brought in motorsports veteran John Raffa to train his young writing staff. That's Neil above with "Mean John." I always loved that Neil would often wear the same yellow and blue National Dragster crew shirt that we all did while working at the races.

Neil also let me hire aspiring young writing talents like Todd Veney, Melvyn Record, John Brasseaux, Terry Cole, and the late Bruce Dillashaw, guys who worked with me for years and made their marks on the magazine. The hiring of Record was especially noteworthy as he put his trust in my belief in Melvyn's future to the extent that we helped him emigrate from England to take the job. Melvyn was with Dragster for years and ultimately went on to higher callings at NHRA. Ditto for Jeff Morton, who was one of Neil’s first additions to the editorial team — I remember me, the late Chris Martin, and Jeff sharing a very small office — and it was also Neil who welcomed Jeff back to the team years later as a member of the advertising staff after a stint with Argus Publishing, and Jeff, like me, continues to validate Neil’s instincts as a continuing member of our team. 

Neil hired Teresa Long, who went on to become ND’s long-running photo editor, and brought in Joni Elmslie, a longtime standout at the nearby Pacific Division headquarters, initially as a receptionist but saw something special in her, too, and turned her loose to sell advertising. Her Joni’s Race Shop section was a huge success. Neil always saw something in people that they had yet to see in themselves.

Even when Neil came up with the ludicrous idea of publishing a daily edition at the NHRA U.S. Nationals beginning at the 1988 race, the staff was 100% behind him. We did it without really knowing how to do it, other than our faith in Neil and our eagerness to make history with him. You can read all about that endeavor here.

And, of course, I’d be remiss not to mention what he did for me. Although I may have eventually ascended to the role of editor of this amazing magazine on my own, Neil decided I was ready, long before I knew I was.

It was at the 1983 U.S. Nationals that I found myself standing next to Neil atop the old timing tower past the finish line in Indy. It was a good place to shoot top-end photos and, because the ND photo staff had the starting line well covered, I went to the tower. As a longtime reader of Car Craft, I certainly knew who Neil was. I had no idea he knew who I was.

As we chatted between runs, he asked me what I’d do if I was in charge of the magazine. At the time, there was a bit of an editor’s power vacuum between Jim Edmunds leaving just before I got there in May 1982 and Indy 1983. Wally took over as editor for a few issues then turned it over to the late George Phillips, an old-school newspaper veteran who had been its managing editor and perhaps was better suited in that organizational role than that of directing its tone. I figured that Neil was just the old veteran motorsports magazine guy who wanted to see what this relative newbie thought.

What I didn’t know was that Neil had already left Car Craft and had been hired by Parks, and this was my interview for the editor’s spot. I don’t remember exactly what I told him, but it must have made an impression. He didn’t make me the editor until January 1986, after he had gotten his feet on the ground and understood the team dynamics and possibilities for the team.

The things we accomplished during his tenure here were amazing, and his successes ultimately propelled him into a Senior Vice President role, giving the Publications staff a big seat at the table, for which we were all proud. One of his last great moves was allowing us to create the first motorsports sanctioning body website, NHRA.com, way back in 1995. Neil was a computer nerd, and even though the World Wide Web was still in its infancy, he green-lighted the project.

Even though he left under less-than-ideal circumstances in October 1997, his role still hasn’t been forgotten. Under a series of forward-thinking leaders like Adriane Ridder and now Brad Gerber and David Kennedy, we've continued to refine and improve ND, but the real journey began with Neil.

Neil went into the graphics business, partnering with longtime friend Joe Martinez, and I regret to say that despite his closeness to Teresa and Joni while they still worked alongside me, I never saw him as often as I could or should have, and I regret that.

The last time I saw Neil was June 2023, as we all gathered at the memorial service for longtime Dragster staffer, John Jodauga. We sat across from each other during lunch and shared old stories (that's Neil with his hand raised, sitting between longtime friend Joe Martinez on the right and current ND Photo Editor Jerry Foss and his wife, Jerrie, and me in the foreground). Before everyone left, Neil and I sat together for a while, and I told him, blinking through misty eyes, how much I appreciated his belief in me, the chance he gave me, and the wonderful things that have happened in my life because of that.

I replayed that moment in my head after hearing of his passing and, with the usual regrets you have when you’ve lost someone who meant so much to you, was able to make that my moment of sunshine on an otherwise dark day.

Neil’s departure from NHRA was sudden, but he was thoughtful enough, as he cleared out his desk overnight, to pen some notes to a few of us. I have kept mine all these years, and though it's yellowed and tattered, I re-read it that afternoon with tears in my eyes.

“Hey man,” he wrote. “Thanks for making me look good for all these years. We had quite a ride. When I think about 11/83 [his hiring date] vs. today, I think miracle, and the part you played was that of hero. I’ll miss your strength and energy. I know that you will continue making NHRA look professional and organized through the pages, paper, and electronics of all of your publications. My absolute best wishes for your success. Your friend, Neil.”

Everything about that note makes the tears well up again, and the fact that he had underlined “your” touches me to the bone — the passing of the torch — and I’ve tried to instill that in everything I’ve done in the years since. It’s still very much our magazine.

Of all the people whose lives Neil touched, certainly none was more special, meaningful, or deep as that with his wife, Rondi. Rondi, like her sister Joni, came to NHRA HQ in North Hollywood after years of working for Bernie and P.J. Partridge in the Division 7 office in nearby Upland, Calif. Neil and Rondi met at NHRA and lived and loved together for 40 years. As you can imagine, the words are tough to come by and her grief so deep, that she didn't feel up to sharing.

The two produced and nurtured an amazing son, Sean, who all of the ND veterans have known since he was born. As much as Neil was a supportive and guiding force for his employees, he did that and so much more for Sean, who was kind enough to share his memories of his father.

"He always supported me in whatever direction I wanted to go, and was always encouraging,” Sean told me. “He did a good job of just letting me do exactly what I wanted to do and not telling me that something I was doing was wrong. He was just very good and supportive of whatever it was I wanted to do. He let me be my own person while definitely implementing a lot of the silliness. That was my father. He definitely was one of my favorite people in my life.

“He loved to talk about his Car Craft days. He was having the time of his life in vehicles that were not even his own, and just tearing up whatever road was in front of him. As long as the keys were in the car, he was gonna have a good time with it.”

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As mentioned earlier, Rondi's sister, Joni, and their childhood friend Teresa Long not only were hired by Neil but thrived under his mentorship and belief in them.

Said Joni, "Neil, my friend, my mentor, my brother-in-law, and best of all, the most amazing father to my equally amazing nephew, Sean. Neil was a master of funny jokes and bad puns, no matter what the situation was. He was the inspiration of my career, launching an advertising section in National Dragster, Joni’s Race Shop. Starting with four pages of complimentary ads in 1990, adding punny quips and amazing black and white photos by Teresa Long, building to more than 30 pages in its heyday.

"He provided so many of my co-workers with career-launching opportunities like no other. With his passing, he has left a hole in my heart that can never be filled. I’m grateful beyond words for the time and wisdom that he shared with me. Rest peacefully, my BIL."

Teresa was initially hired on a part-time basis to transform our black and white photos into the halftone graphics that ran in the magazine, but Neil quickly recognized something more in her and, before long, she was a standout photographer for the magazine and, ultimately, our photo editor for years.

"Within the first year that Neil came to National Dragster, he made me full-time and started sending me to races to shoot," she remembered. "I was scared to death. I was a nervous wreck, but he never stopped believing in me and was so proud of me. I think I probably shot more photos at my first race than I had shot during photography classes at school. I remember being at Indy and Neil saying, ‘My God, have you ever worked this hard in your life?’ because he was watching me, even though I was probably shooting crap. Later, when we lived on the same street, he’d tell our neighbors what a great photographer I was. 

"He was still just a big fan of mine, especially my portrait work and photos of people. This image above he told me was one of his favorites of him and Sean, and I love it, too."

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Outside of Rondi, Sean, Joni, and Teresa, probably no one knew or shared more good times with Neil than Joe “J.R.” Martinez, another Petersen alumnus whom Neil recruited to the ND staff as our art director.

“Though Neil and I worked together at NHRA for almost 10 years, that period is only a small portion of the 45-year friendship we shared," he said. "He was my mentor, my confidant, my supporter, my co-worker, my boss, my business associate, and my partner in mischief. We spent hours and even days working on projects together, developing solutions to problems and sharing a sense of humor that some say only we understood. Just being around him lifted my spirits. Neil was the most creative person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. A talented writer, a superb photographer, and the man who changed my entire career path by sitting me in front of a computer in 1988.

“I can’t possibly list all the things I will miss now that he is gone. Hearing him greet my phone call with ‘Dr. Martinez!’ or having lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, spending New Year's with him and other close friends in Pismo Beach [Calif], and just the pure joy I got being around him. But there is one singular thing that I will miss the most. Laughing. Laughing in that breathless, bent-over, uncontrollable way that is so consuming that you forgot what it was you were laughing at. Laughing until you cry. Laughing so hard that you blow snot out of your nose. Laughing like 6-year-old schoolboys. I fear I may never laugh that way again.

“We loved each other. In many ways, twin sons of different mothers. He has left an impression on my soul that will not allow me to say ‘goodbye.’ For every time I pick up the camera that was once his, watch the U.S. Nationals, discover a meal that I’m sure he’d enjoy, or hear references to Langer’s delicatessen, sushi, endless tequila shooters, or Rocky Rococo and the Firesign Theater, his face and voice will come to life for me once again.

"You blessed my life, Neil. I hope I blessed yours."

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Rick Voegelin, another of Neil’s earliest friends at Car Craft magazine whose work also has been published in National Dragster, shared his thoughts about our friend.

"Neil Britt was simply brilliant. As a professional, he was a talented artist who could create masterpieces with a camera, a typewriter, or a computer. More importantly, as a person, he was a friend, a colleague, an inspiration, and a hero. He was so gifted, so kind, so generous, so compassionate, so thoughtful, so funny, so effusive, so self-effacing – and so I miss him terribly.

"Neil came into my life in 1978 when he joined the staff of crazies at Car Craft magazine as Associate Editor. He'd made the move from Alexandria, Va., where he had held the titles of Associate Editor, Photographic Director, and Executive Editor at rival Lopez Publications' Super Stock & Drag Illustrated since 1974. As Car Craft editor, I enthusiastically welcomed his arrival in California in his rusty Datsun 240Z, bringing with him a case filled with high-dollar Hasselblad cameras — and the expertise that had already made him a superstar in motorsports photography. His talent was soon on display on the covers, centerspreads, and pages of the self-proclaimed "Complete Performance Magazine." But it wasn't just his skill with a shutter button that made Neil such a vital member of the magazine staff. It was his charm and humor when dealing with racers and car owners, his wit and intelligence when composing stories and articles.

"Examples abound, still preserved in ink on paper. His image of neon-lit Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas filled with street machines was a stunning expression of the spirit of the Cruisin' USA feature series. When the opportunity was presented to drive a Camaro that had been raced in the International Race of Champions by Indy car legend A.J. Foyt, Neil didn't hesitate to strap himself into the driver's seat and turn laps at Road Atlanta — an adventure he recounted in an article he titled 'IROC and I Roll.' 

"In addition to being a cover photographer, his handsome hair and full beard made him a cover model as well. He posed with Danny Davis' Chevy II Super Stocker on the cover of the April 1978 issue of Car Craft, pictured installing a small-block Chevy engine outfitted with a unique eight-into-one header.

"In 1982, Neil became CC's executive editor, and then departed the following year. He didn't go far — he stayed in the motorsports community, moving to the epicenter of drag racing at the National Hot Rod Association. By then I'd also moved on from the magazine, forming my own racing-oriented agency. We continued our friendship, frequently meeting for dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant just a short drive from Pomona Raceway during race weekends. By then he had ditched his rust-bucket Datsun in favor of a muscular El Camino powered by a big-block Chevrolet V-8. Now decades later, every morning I drink my cup of English breakfast tea from a custom-printed ceramic mug that Neil gave to me. The mug declares 'Camaro's R My Life.' Of course, I chided him about his punctuation and grammar.

"In 1997, Neil and I collaborated on a glossy marketing brochure promoting NHRA's family of publications among potential advertisers. Titled 'A Week in the Life of National Dragster — The Publication That Works Seven Days a Week,' the project reflected Neil's vision of the publication's greater purpose. It was more than a weekly race report in Neil's eyes — it was a vehicle to expand the universe of advertisers who wanted to reach affluent and knowledgeable consumers. The brochure boldly stated, 'National Dragster's demographics are a perfect match for the marketing goals of both automotive and non-automotive companies. National Dragster delivers an upscale audience with above-average discretionary income."

"Neil recognized that racers and fans didn't just buy spark plugs and carburetor gaskets — they purchased camping equipment, computers, high-end stereo systems, airline tickets, and other items that complemented their active lifestyles – and that NHRA publications were an effective means to reach them. That was Neil's view of the big picture of drag racing journalism.

"He later turned his gaze to the creation of computer-generated graphics at his new enterprise, Fineline Signs, which he founded in 1997. Located just down the street from Pomona Raceway, Fineline produced an array of eye-catching images in a variety of styles and materials – from banners as big as a building to brushed aluminum letters for college campuses. And he also supplied logos, banners, trophies, and plaques for my silly slot car tracks. 

"When I displayed 'Little Lions,' my HO scale reproduction of Lions Drag Strip, at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum on the 40th anniversary of the Last Drag Race at Lions, it was Neil who produced the Lions Drag Strip and Last Drag Race banners that adorned the track. And 10 years later, when we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the final race at Lions, Neil crafted stunning etched and illuminated trophies that were awarded to grateful racers.

"Neil and I stayed in constant contact throughout more than 45 years of friendship. We'd talk on the phone regularly, exchange humorous emails, and send each other links to entertaining videos on the Internet. Sadly, in a sign of our times, our recent conversations were frequently about mutual friends who were seriously ill or who had perished. I never expected that at dawn on a Sunday morning I would receive a call with the shocking news that Neil had joined the ever-growing ranks of departed friends. He will certainly be missed by all who knew him. A brilliant person has left us."

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Veteran motorsport journalist Jon Asher is another who knew Neil while working together at Car Craft magazine in the late 1970s and early 1980s and shared unforgettable times with him.

"Neil Britt was my closest friend for a long time – until he wasn’t – and it was all my fault our relationship changed," he wrote.
 
"I have a hard time remembering anything Neil wrote for Car Craft magazine. All I really remember was the laughter we shared and the fun we had. If it was something really stupid, we’d do it. If it was something that might get us in trouble with management, we might think about it for a moment or two, then we’d go ahead and do it anyway.
 
"Make no mistake about it, Neil’s contributions to the magazine were critically important to our maintaining a strong set of newsstand sales results, the yardstick by which all publications are still measured. A publication’s cover photo can be a make-it-or-break-it factor, and Neil’s photography meant we had the sharpest book in town. 

"When it came to street scene shooting, there was no one better, and Neil needed no assistance in setting those shots up and executing them. His night shot from Las Vegas for our Cruisin’ USA series was an all-timer, and when I said 'Las Vegas,' I meant an exceptionally arranged shot hastily put together on Fremont Street in old downtown Vegas.

"There’s another point to be made about that stunning cover photo. It was shot on film, not digitally, where minute adjustments can be made to aperture and shutter speed settings instantly. With film, everything has to be right the first time, and with Neil behind the lens, it always was. 

"Neil had stunning rapport with the subjects of our street machine efforts. Despite the mechanical skills those car builders demonstrated with their artistic metalwork, many of them seemed somewhat in awe of actually being in the presence of someone from a national publication, but Neil put them at ease in seconds. He had them laughing in moments and their wives or girlfriends giggling with delight. He always knew the right words that would lighten any situation.
 
"In the chaos that was often the hallmark of Car Craft’s Street Machine Nationals events, it was Neil’s steady hand that often saved the day. While I might be going off the deep end as the de facto leader because I was the editor and theoretically in charge, it was Neil’s calm demeanor that solved all the problems. When our entrants were doing burnouts in the street and the authorities came looking for someone to blame, or maybe even lock up, it was usually Neil who managed to smooth things over.
 
"We often shared a room on the road, and I remember that we always had the thermostat set at 'freeze.' During the event in Springfield, Ill., we somehow ended up with a suite, which ultimately became our staff headquarters. I remember us standing by the windows late one night watching cars doing burnouts in the street below as one female staff member abruptly got up to leave, saying something along the lines of, 'You guys are nuts. Why is it so cold in here? I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.' She didn’t.
 
"He and I had rental car competitions, and I don’t mean illegal speed contests. Well, maybe a little, but not always because for some time we each tried to rent the most obnoxious car Hertz or Avis had available, and that was usually a cruise ship-sized Lincoln Continental. Then we’d compare rides to see which one would make us look the most foolish when we’d pull up next to a bright red Camaro with a blower and ask the jaw-hanging-open owner if we could shoot a feature on it.
 
"Our rental car 'wars' culminated at the U.S. Nationals one year when I proudly stepped into yet another Continental and Neil just gently smiled at me as another attendant rolled up in a Pontiac Firebird and held the door open for him. I immediately turned in the Lincoln and demanded a Firebird. One was gold, and I think the other one was red, but at this late date, I don’t remember which of us was driving which one. I only know that a few nights later, after having made fools of ourselves by driving wildly through the Indy pits, impressing no one but, well, ourselves, we finally reached the nadir of our rental car exploits. We put the cars bumper-to-bumper in the back parking lot of the old Speedway Motel and mashed the throttles until tire smoke was wafting over the two-story building’s roof. It was all fun and games until Neil began chasing me around the parking lot and I almost put my Firebird into the motel pool.

"I won’t swear to the accuracy of the timeline at this late date, but sometime in 1983, Neil and I both realized that our fun and games weren’t doing the magazine any good. We were having so much fun that we weren’t doing the jobs we were hired for. Something had to change, and truth be told, I asked Neil to leave. I don’t know if he ever told anyone that, but it is what happened. Ironically, it ultimately didn’t matter because less than six months later publisher John Dianna fired me – and I deserved it.
 
"Neil landed on his feet at NHRA, where his innovative approach to things combined with his managerial skills soon resulted in his being promoted to one of a very few Senior Vice President positions. Ostensibly in charge of the publications division, Neil nevertheless sat in at all senior management meetings, where he made meaningful contributions to NHRA’s growth and bottom line.

"He and I remained close until I committed the cardinal sin of journalism. I unintentionally revealed something Neil had told me in a published article. My stupidity was so all-encompassing I didn’t realize how egregious my error was until the magazine hit my mailbox. In actuality, I revealed two confidences in the same article. One of the individuals later forgave me, but Neil couldn’t get over it, and I couldn’t fault him for that. We remained cordial, but never as close as we once were.
 
"It's often almost humorous how people change over the years. Some time after he’d left NHRA, I stopped by to visit him at his Fineline shop just off the racetrack at Pomona. I had to get to the track for something, so as Neil walked me out, he began telling me of his strange, new relationship with Wally and Barbara Parks, something I would experience myself with Wally a few years down the road. He said Wally had been stopping by for lunch once in a while. I was incredulous. After all, it was common knowledge that Neil hadn’t left the company under the best of circumstances, but suddenly, he said, ‘Speak of the devil,’ and there were Wally and Barbara, pulling up in their Chevrolet. ‘Want to have lunch?’ Wally asked. 
 
"Yes, life truly is strange sometimes."

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Former NHRA Top Fuel star and NHRA Vice President Carl Olson had a long relationship with Neil that predated their days at NHRA, but they became even closer when they became neighbors after both left NHRA.

“I first met Neil Britt some 40 years ago when he was with Car Craft magazine at Petersen Publishing Company. Our relationship involved not much more than a quick wave and a hello at the races. Not much later, Neil was hired at the NHRA, where I was employed at the time. We quickly became very close personal friends.

“Fast forward to 1990 when he became my next-door neighbor. One could not ask for a better friend and neighbor. Among his many talents, Neil was very good with technology and helped usher me through the technological revolution.

“My fondest memories over the past 30 years involve our neighborhood social scene. Because many NHRA veterans reside on our block, and others live very close by, our neighborhood celebrations are legendary. Each household has taken turns hosting our many friends and neighbors for wonderful parties, where Neil was a master entertainer given his trademark wit. Life on the Avenue will not be the same without him, and he will certainly be missed.”

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As good as I and my fellow writers thought we were, we had another thing coming when Neil hired respected industry veteran John Raffa to teach his young writers a thing or three. And boy, did we learn at the hand of the master; he was tough but fair and wanted only the best copy in ND. "Mean John," as we affectionately called him, left us years ago, but his spirit lives on in Karen, who was his wife at the time and, despite living far away from us all, still was very much a part of Brittworld.

“I met Neil at one of the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals in the 1980s, when I was with a video production company and was way over my head being the interviewer for them. Neil and Jon Asher were there, and I did interview each of them, and we did make some memorable shows from the event," she remembered.

“Not long after that, Neil and Jon [and Dave Wallace] wanted me to meet their friend John Raffa [who at that time was Editor-in-Chief at National Dragster with Neil], and that is when my life changed! For the next 20 years, I enjoyed Christmas, Thanksgiving, Super Bowl, Kagel Canyon Baseball Games, and so much more with this wonderful group of people.

"This family of Neil’s extended to Rondi and Joni Elmslie and Teresa Long and Leslie Lovett and Al and Michele Kirshenbaum … what a lucky gal I was for marrying John Raffa and being adopted into his clan. The fun and thought-provoking gifts for each other were always a standout at Christmas. 

"Eventually, Neil hired me to work on the Jr. Dragster program, where we broke magazine sales records and had so much fun with the kids. Then I was laid off [first-ever NHRA layoff] and landed successfully with Bill Bader at the IHRA in Contingency.

"All of this would not have happened without Neil and family gently steering the boat and supporting me in every aspect as only they would do.

"My last fun time with Neil was three years ago when I arrived at his office to find out he had hurt his foot, so Rondi, Teresa, and I took him for X-rays, and the gals left Neil and I to the task only to return to find me running up and down the halls in the clinic with Neil in the wheelchair ... needless to say, he did not break anything, and we were done with the whole ordeal and waiting for our ride to our Mexican dinner with everyone! 

"My heart hurts for his tribe, we all loved him so much, for his wit and his loyalty to his friends. Sean, his son, is his best friend, and I cannot imagine his pain.

"Vaya con Dios, Neil. Say hi to my John and Leslie, Wally, Barbara, Bill Bader, and the whole gang up there.”

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Neil Britt, Phil Burgess, Jeff Morton, circa 1985

One of the other things that Neil [did] in his first years was to expand the size of the National Dragster editorial team, which included a number of amazingly good hires, each of whom brought a different strength to my team. One of the earliest was Jeff Morton, who, as I mentioned previously, still works side by side with me all these years later. He’s gone to the "dark side” in advertising but still remembers those great early days.

“I have many fond memories of Neil,” he wrote. “In fact, I came down on my spring break from college in Washington state in the spring of 1984 and interviewed with then PR Director Joe Sherk about an internship. Joe didn’t have anything available but said they had recently hired a new publisher for National Dragster and he [Neil Britt] may have something available. I met with Neil later that day, and he agreed for me to come down three months later to do a three-month internship with National Dragster. What makes my first day of that internship so memorable was that I started the Monday after Shirley Muldowney’s crash in Montreal. Understandably, the phones were ringing nonstop. 

"Neil also offered me the opportunity to go from writing for National Dragster to selling ads for ND. I’m forever grateful that I was given that chance as I parlayed that into a 40-year career in this sport. After a brief five-year hiatus working as a publisher of Super Chevy magazine with Argus Publishers, it was Neil and NHRA founder Wally Parks who were instrumental in bringing me back to NHRA after Argus was sold back in 1995. Thankful and blessed to have worked under Neil’s tutelage, may he rest in peace.”

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I mentioned Melvyn Record earlier as probably one of Neil’s biggest gambles that paid off. We on the Dragster staff knew Melvyn for his great coverage of the English racing scene, and I went to Neil with the crazy idea to hire him in mid-1989. NHRA had brought people in from Canada before, helping with their emigration, but never someone from so far away. Neil trusted our instincts and put the wheels in motion. Like Jeff Morton, Melvyn went on to other roles within NHRA through 2000, most notably in the Field Marketing department helping to run the Sportsman series, known then as the Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series, and our International Relations department then went on to be a vice president at famed Laguna Seca Raceway and a top sales position at Sonoma Raceway, and today is a member of the leadership team at World of Outlaws.

“Honestly, Neil changed my life in so many ways," Melvyn said. "If it wasn't for Neil, I wouldn't be here now. I don't think there's any question about that. Everything that I have been fortunate enough to experience in motorsports, I owe to Neil Britt. There's no question about that.”

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And former Associate Editor John Brasseaux, another who signed as one in a wave of brilliant hirings in the mid-1980s.

“Neil Britt hired me in April of 1986. Almost over-concerned about doing well on my National Dragster interview, Neil instantly put me at ease. Right then I knew he was someone I wanted to work for.

“I didn’t see a whole lot of Neil for the first year. He frequently was away attending computer conferences and workshops, absorbing the technology needed for moving from IBM Selectric typewriters to those early versions of desktop word processors. 

“Neil was more than a member of management. He also had a solid journalism background and a fingertip feel for writing. He once told me, 'There are no boring stories. only boring storytellers.’ I didn’t realize how true that statement was in the moment, but over time, I did.

“He also hired former noted Editor John Raffa some time before I came on board. John brought several additional layers of professionalism to the operation of ND, not to mention entertainment value for the readers.

“I eventually moved on to other publications during my career. Looking back, Neil was the finest publisher I ever worked for.”

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Neil used to joke that this is how his name was phonetically pronounced

I also heard from Vicky Walker, who was our managing editor at National Dragster for more than two decades, a master wordsmith whose words pretty much say it all:

“I feel so fortunate to have worked at NHRA, and National Dragster specifically, during 'the Neil years.' Neil Britt didn't go to work in the way most people view going to work; he attacked it with true vigor to innovate day in and day out and to both challenge and support his staff every step of the way. He had a true passion for publishing and for everything wordsmithy, which I couldn't admire more. I can recall with ease so many of his silly puns and corny jokes because there wasn't a one that didn't either make me laugh or make me groan. In both cases, I so appreciated Neil's full-display personality. I remember the best punchlines, a classic being 'Pardon me, Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes?' I'll never forget the whole involved story that preceded that final line, and I certainly will never forget 'ANYISLE' Britt, one heck of a boss man, mentor, friend, punster, and simply really cool human being."

I can't say more than any of these other folks whose lives Neil Britt touched. He won't be forgotten, and his legacy lives on every time a new issue of National Dragster rolls off of the presses.

Phil Burgess can be reached at pburgess@nhra.com

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