NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

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.…

We stole out of Indy like thieves in the night under cover of early-morning darkness, me, Kelly, and "Bad Brad" with Big Go hangovers and three suitcases full of U.S. Nationals-soaked memories tucked in the trunk of the G6 rental. The o'dark-30…

Over the years, this job has caused me to miss a lot of dinners, some birthdays, a few family gatherings, and a couple of vacations, but this one really hurt. I love the U.S. Nationals; what serious drag racing fan doesn'…

After a travel day yesterday, the National DRAGSTER staff is here in Indy en masse to cover the Big Go not only for a regular weekly publication but also the annual Daily DRAGSTER publication, which is distributed free to…

So, there I was, standing in the warm embrace of the cascading water of the morning shower where I traditionally do some of my best thinking, running through my pre-Indy checklist at T-minus two days, when it struck me with…

Push almost came to shove this morning as we raced right past the deadlines that Production Manager Matt Hurd (that's him to the right) had set in stone for us yesterday, definitive lines that we absolutely could not cross…

J.K. Rowling could learn a thing or two about suspense from the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. If she had, old Harry Potter might still be casting spells and playing Quidditch or whatever it is he does. As the Toyo…

“Who are you going to make mad this week?” joked Mike Dunn when I spoke to him this morning for his regular post-race Final Take column. He was referring, of course, to DRAGSTER’s weekly dilemma of who to put “on the…

They say that a mechanic is only as good as his tools -- and by “they” I probably mean the tool companies, because I reckon Alan Johnson could get a fuel dragster to run 4.50s with a Swiss Army knife and some baling wire --…