NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Former NHRA Media Relations Director and long-time NHRA track owner Steve Earwood was among those honored at the 2024 North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame banquet that concluded the 21st annual Shriner’s Drag Racing and Hot Rod Expo at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Earwood, who directed the NHRA’s media program from 1975 through 1982, accepted the Jeff Byrd Memorial Award for lifetime achievement from three-time former NHRA Top Fuel world champion and fellow Carolina resident Shirley Muldowney.

The award recognizes the late Jeff Byrd, who was president and general manager of Bristol Speedway and Dragway before losing his battle with cancer in 2010. He previously was the manager of the Winston Drag Racing Team.

“It’s a great honor,” Earwood said, “because of my personal relationship with Jeff Byrd, but to have Shirley make the presentation, [that] put it in a category by itself. She and I have a lot of history together. She broke all the barriers in motorsports, and she always was willing to go the extra mile to promote drag racing and change the image. She and I did a lot of appearances and media tours in the 1970s and ‘80s.”

After leaving NHRA, Earwood was PR director at Texas Motorplex when it opened in 1986 and was co-owner of Atlanta Dragway during its 1990 makeover. In 1992, he bought Rockingham Dragway and operated it for 31 seasons before selling it to Al Gennarreli and Dan Van Horn in 2022.

The Pioneer Award went to the late Jim Turner, former operator of Piedmont Dragway, and his wife, Dora, while Pro Mod pioneer Rob Vandergriff, Top Fuel Motorcycle champion Larry “Spiderman” McBridge, Pro Stock driver, and car builder Wally Stroupe and brothers Charlie and Gary Wisecarver were the competitive inductees.  

A member of the NHRA Southeast Division Hall of Fame and that division’s 1994 Person of the Year, Earwood was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame as the Founder’s Award winner in 2016.

A founding member of the North Carolina Motorsports Association and a member of the Governor’s Motorsports Advisory Council, he continues to serve on the board of Racers for Christ International.

Greg Burrow photo