NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In case you haven't heard or have forgotten (yeah, right), the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals starts a week from tomorrow, the beginning to another glorious season of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing and the kickoff of…

There probably isn't a week that we work here at National DRAGSTER that doesn't cause us to do some research from previous issues that date back 10, 15, 20, or more years, where we often come across the names of those who…

I mentioned on Friday that y'all were hellraisers as kids, sharing all tales of boyhood shenanigans, and I seem to have hit on a common trait among drag fans. One of my best e-mail pals, Howard Hull, who grew up hawking…

I still have the first cars I ever owned. Let's see, there's that 1967 sleek Corvette and an immaculate '57 T-Bird convertible. A pretty cool late '30s Cord. Yes, friends, those were some pretty hot wheels for a 9-year-old to own. And, of course,…

Even though I'm known as a writer, I consider myself a pretty fair photographer as well. Self-taught in my pre-NHRA days with decent results, I found out when I got here that I really didn't know as much as I…

Monday's entry about the Don Prudhomme/David Letterman Top 10 list brought back a painful memory from 1989, when the DRAGSTER staff concocted a story for the Winternationals souvenir issue that was a series of Top 10 lists…

Memories of Don Prudhomme's Final Strike season of 1994 keep rolling in, the latest from Bill Holland, the former National DRAGSTER Editor and successful advertising and marketing businessman who some of you may remember…

Response to Monday's "Photo Follies" entry was heart-warming and informative. Seems like a lot of you really dig seeing photos of old cars and, as noted by CSK bloggisimo Bob Wilber, there's something a little more "real" about seeing fan shots than…

My entry last Thursday showing the destruction of the Pomona tower mentioned another tower, located at the rear of the track, that some readers said they'd never seen, so I dug out this photo I took at the 1980…

I'm continually surprised by who drops by The Little Blog With The Deceptive Title, as old pals are coming out of the woodwork, including a couple of guys for whom I hold the utmost respect and to whom I still owe a great deal of thanks…

It's the day after the day after Christmas, when eyes get refocused on work for a couple of days before we ring in a new year and begin the countdown to the start of another season of racing. Christmas was pretty low-key this year. Every other…

Twas truly the night before Christmas, and between entertaining family and friends, wrapping gifts for the grandkids, and last-minute rushing around, I almost -- note almost -- forgot my Monday deadline. So I sat down, while the family went about…

Wednesday's Christmas (Tree) Story was a big hit and elicited a number of interesting comments from those who remember those early days, but none more interesting than the submission from Troy Cagle, whose father, Gary, was…

(Top) Acrobatic flag starters were entertaining but human, and gave way at the 1963 Nationals to the Countdown Starter. (Above) Pictured at that event are Ed Eaton, left, NHRA’s national…

It wouldn't be hard for long-time fans to reel off the list of differences between the NHRA of 1982 and the NHRA of today, but, as proved on Wednesday, as much as some things change, they remain the same. Wednesday was NHRA's annual holiday party…

You'd think that I've been here long enough that nothing surprises me anymore, but I'm happy to say that's not the case, and yesterday's unexpected announcement from Kenny Bernstein that he was stepping out of the cockpit…

Bill Holland When I first slipped into the editor's chair at National DRAGSTER some 21 years ago, the hard work was already done. The 14 gentlemen who had preceded me at the top of the…

Let's face it: Numbers rule our lives. Pretty much every electronic device you own is programmed with a code based on two numbers (1 and 0) and let's not even get into having to memorize phone, PIN, driver's license, and…

Todd Veney would never, ever write about himself. He'd rather, as he so eloquently stated, "jump off the Empire State building." So I guess I'm going to have to. Sorry Todd. Hey, this isn't going to be any easier for me…

Lined up just behind the starting line at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona were some of the biggest names in drag racing, past and present. Kenny Bernstein, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, Joe Amato, Dale…

The pumpkin has been carved, the kids' and grandkids' costumes laid out, and a trip to the store is in order to replenish the candy we bought two weeks ago that somehow disappeared before the trick-or-treaters could get to…

(I lifted this drawing from the website of author Esther A. Lombardi, who has some great tips to beat writer's block here.)…

Before I begin today's column, please allow me to say … She bit hard and hiked the front end and was hookin' and bookin' for the other end, but kicked 'em loose, smoked the hoops, and got crossed up. I pedaled it and she stayed glued and hiked…

I can't believe it's been five days since we lost Wally Parks. Then again, a part of me still can't believe that we have. Not to overstate the drama, but Wally's passing is going to be one of the memories where I say, "I…

This is supposed to be a column about National DRAGSTER and a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on to produce drag racing's only news weekly, but lately I'm finding that that one topic alone isn’t going to dominate this column. I've shared quite a…

Well, I guess y'all sure do like John Force about as much as I do. After seeing what you did to help Ashley win the AOL Hottest Athlete poll, I reckon between us we could probably get John nominated for president, if not…

It's Sunday night and I'm parked by the computer, cell phone inches from my hand, trying to stay on top of The John Force Situation. I've done all I can do for now. The Web site is updated with the latest information we have…

I've been a Patti Scialfa fan since she married my all-time favorite rocker Bruce Springsteen, at first mostly because she was a Jersey girl of his own after the breakup of his head-scratching marriage to actress Julianne…

"Hi, my name is Marvin Graham. You might not remember me, but I used to race in Top Fuel." It took every ounce of willpower I could muster not to respond with "Who?" Of course, he would have said "Exactly," and we would have launched into the…

From left, Lisa Handy, Cynthia Cabrera, Jeff Mellem, Richard Wong, and Nicole Cintron wait out the search. Copy editor Sarah Barnes keeps herself busily efficient.…