NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For most racers, the dream of driving a Top Fuel dragster fades long before retirement age. Not for Bernie Plourd.

More than three decades after winning the 1992 NHRA Winternationals in Top Alcohol Dragster and nearly a quarter-century after stepping away from the class, the 73-year-old veteran racer has accomplished what many lifelong drag racers only imagine. Last month, Plourd earned his NHRA Top Fuel license and is now preparing for a long-awaited debut in the sport's premier category at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge, with additional plans to compete in Pomona before the season ends.

For Plourd, the achievement represents the fulfillment of a dream that began nearly 60 years ago.

"Growing up in Seattle, I was hanging around Top Fuel teams when I was 15 or 16 years old," Plourd recalled. "My parents lived next to a guy who had a Top Fuel team, and I got to be around people like Jerry Ruth and Gus Foster. The hook got set pretty early."

The fascination never disappeared. Over the decades, Plourd built an impressive racing résumé. He competed in nearly every major Sportsman category, including Stock, Super Stock, Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Super Comp, Top Dragster, and Top Alcohol Dragster. By his own count, he has driven more than 45 race cars.

"I get bored," he admitted with a laugh. "I've got friends who still own the same car they had 40 years ago. That's just not me. I like new challenges."

That quest for new challenges eventually led him from Super Comp, where he finished eighth in the world one season, to Top Alcohol Dragster, where he enjoyed the most successful period of his driving career. His biggest moment came at the 1992 Winternationals, where he claimed a national event victory.

When financial realities and family priorities emerged in the early 2000s, however, Plourd stepped away.

"It really came down to finances," he said. "The economy got tough, and I had responsibilities. I had rental properties and businesses to worry about. Racing just wasn't something I could justify at the level I needed to be competitive."

At the time, he believed his days of driving a hand-brake dragster were over. Thankfully, he was wrong.

The years away from alcohol racing didn't mean the end of Plourd's driving career. He remained active in a variety of categories, from blown altered competition to Top Dragster and quick door cars. In recent years, he campaigned a highly competitive Top Dragster that ran 6.05 seconds at more than 230 mph.

Even then, Top Fuel lingered in the back of his mind. Initially, the plan was simple. He would spend a day getting licensed in someone else's Top Fuel car, check the item off his bucket list, take some photos, and move on.

"It was supposed to be a one-day deal," Plourd said. "I'd get the license and say I did it."

Instead, repeated weather cancellations derailed opportunities with several teams. Frustrated but still determined, Plourd eventually changed course and, with the blessing and encouragement of his wife, Ronna, he purchased his own Top Fuel dragster, a well-preserved 2010 Don Schumacher Racing chassis with considerable pedigree.

The acquisition quickly transformed a bucket-list exercise into a full-fledged race team.

Plourd assembled equipment, upgraded the car to current NHRA specifications, purchased a trailer, and partnered with tuner Austin West to build a competitive operation. What began as a personal challenge suddenly looked like something much bigger.

Then came the driving. His first experience in a Top Fuel dragster came roughly a year ago in Columbus, Ohio.

"It was frightful," he admitted. "I had no idea it was going to be as violent and explosive as it was."

Even with decades of racing experience and thousands of passes in powerful race cars, nothing prepared him for Top Fuel.

"There is no comparison," Plourd said. "No disrespect to the alcohol racers because those cars are incredible, but there is just no comparison."

Anyone who has driven Top Fuel talks about the same two moments: the initial launch and the point where the clutch fully applies hundreds of feet downtrack. Plourd discovered why.

"At about 400 feet, it just drives you back into the seat again so hard," he said. "It still blows my mind. The amount of acceleration that far downtrack is unbelievable."

The smile hasn't left his face since.

Earlier this month in Indianapolis, Plourd completed the final requirements for his NHRA Top Fuel license. His best run was an impressive 4.06-second pass at 296 mph, a performance that validated the team's efforts and earned him approval to compete in NHRA national events. In Indy, journeyman driver Jake Opatrny shook down the car and put the crew through the between-passes regiment.

For Plourd, the accomplishment resonates beyond simple performance numbers. At 73 years old, he may be the oldest driver ever to earn an NHRA Top Fuel license for the first time. While several veteran competitors have raced Top Fuel well into their 70s and even later, Plourd's late-career leap into the category stands apart. The response from fans has been overwhelming.

"So many people have contacted me and said it's an inspiration," he said. "They tell me it makes them want to get off the couch, go do something they've always wanted to do, work on a project, join a team, whatever. That feedback has meant a lot."

The support has extended throughout the Top Fuel community. While large multicar organizations dominate the modern class, Plourd said major teams have welcomed him with open arms. Competitors from powerhouse organizations have shared advice, technical assistance, and encouragement as his operation developed.

“Just being at the U.S. Nationals, even with Jake driving, was just such a fantastic experience, and everybody treated us so well,” Plourd said. “They want us to succeed. Everybody understands that healthy competition is good for the class. Nobody wants short fields."

The collaborative atmosphere has reinforced what Plourd loves most about drag racing.

"The people have been unbelievable," he said. "From the NHRA to the teams to other racers, they've treated us like we're part of something important."

That sense of belonging became especially meaningful during this year's U.S. Nationals, where Plourd's son, Brad, who was recently named to NHRA’s Top 50 Sportsman Racers list, competed in the Sportsman ranks. Watching the next generation perform on drag racing's biggest stage filled him with pride.

“I was standing there, just beaming with pride,” he said. “He's just done so much. He's such a serious racer, and I like to have fun with all my racing, and he's really serious about it. He doesn't care about going fast. I asked him. I said, ‘Hey, Brad, how about one burnout and one launch in the Top Fuel car?’ Before I can even finish, he says, ‘No, not interested.’ "

With the license secured, Plourd's attention turns toward competition. The current plan calls for him to make his NHRA national event debut at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge in Las Vegas and the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona.

No one is making predictions about beating defending champions or established stars. Plourd certainly isn't.

"I probably won't beat Tony Stewart or Doug Kalitta," he said candidly.

That's not really the point. For a racer who first stood in awe of Top Fuel dragsters as a teenager, who spent decades climbing through every level of the sport, and who never relinquished the dream despite life's interruptions, simply staging a Top Fuel dragster at an NHRA national event represents victory enough.

"This has always been a bucket-list thing for me," Plourd said.

Few bucket-list items come with 12,000 horsepower, speeds approaching 330 mph, and the possibility of becoming one of the sport's most inspiring stories. Then again, Bernie Plourd has never been interested in taking the ordinary route.