Keeping NHRA Fans Up to Date
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The Winternationals mystique
What the Winternationals means to me, and probably to you, too
I love the Winternationals. Always have. This is my 30th, and the memories never die. Indy is bigger, Virginia quicker, Las Vegas more flashy, but the Winternationals are magic. The points are all at zero and…
Mail call ...
Simon Menzies weighs in; Doug Herbert heals; Greg Ozubko tells hockey tales; more "Growing Up Boy"
It's T-minus one day before the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals and my mind is so a-twitter at the thought of fuel cars firing down Parker Avenue that it's going to make it difficult to keep a train of thought, so I'm going to derail any…
Can I get a Whit-ness?
The life and times of Whit Bazemore
The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals begin in three days and, for the first time since man invented the wheel, Whit Bazemore will not be participating in the season opener. Okay, so it's "only" been since 1994 that…
The return of Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos
National Dragster photographer Marc Gewertz shares his favorite images
I'm proud to introduce the second in a series of Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos, works of art captured by the drag racing photographers who prowl the sidelines of our sport and capture, for all eternity, the moments that makes…
Pioneering in Pomona
John Collins and the Pioneer Express Datsun Funny Cars
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…
The good ol' days of magazines
Dick Wells tells Hot Rod stories; reader Don Nickles recalls shooting photos at Lions;
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…
Growing up boy, the sequel …
Readers share their childhood memories
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…
Growing up boy
Hot Wheels, model cars, fireworks, and more. Growing up as a boy was cool
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,…
Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos: Jerry Foss
National Dragster photographer Jerry Foss shares his favorite images
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…
Top 10 lists, the one that got away ... and a white-knuckle SIMO
A Winternationals Top 10 list that almost got me fired; Don Ewald's tough Winternationals loss; Stuff in my Office: Riding a rollercoaster with John Force
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…
Snake's Top 10 ...and the return of SIMO
Top 10 reasons why Don Prudhomme retired; more Stuff in my Office: commemorative booze
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…
Photo Follies Follow up
Reaction to Dec. 31, 2007 photos, including some Stone-Woods-Cook trivia; a look at the National Dragster photo archives
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…
Phil's Photo Follies
My fan photos; New Years Eve with Bill Bader and the Mazis
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…
The Name Dropper
Pat Galvin, the "other" Ron Capps, and more Christmas Tree tales
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…
Spreading Christmas cheer ... and more SIMO
Looking back at Christmas gifts past; Stuff in my office: Piece of the old Pomona tower
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 the blog before Christmas
Putting a National Dragster spin on the classic "Twas the night before Christmas"
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…
More Tree tales, the Mazi model, and Stuff In My Office
Gary Cagle knocks down the Tree (with a crowbar!); Fran Mazi Opel model; Stuff in my office: Don Prudhomme retirement toasting goblet
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…
A Christmas (Tree) Story
The story behind the drag racing's Chirstmas Tree, and the improvements since
(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…
Party time, NHRA-style
Holiday hijinks at the NHRA Holiday Party
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…
Hail to the King!
Reaction to the surprising retirement announcement by Kenny Bernstein
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…
“The Good Old Days?”
Former National Dragster editor Bill Holland looks back at how the publication was assembled back in the 1960s
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…
Statistically speaking ...
Why stats are so important in drag racing; a look at the printing presses that produce National Dragster
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…
See you in the glue, friend
Longtime National Dragster staffer Todd Veney leaves the team to concentrate on his racing career.
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…
One nation, united for Wally
A celebration of the life of NHRA founder Wally Parks at the Auto Club NHRA Finals.
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…
Tricks and treats
Prepping for the World Finals; remembering L.A. Times sports writer Shav Glick;
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…
Writing made infinitely easier
The creative writing process is built on countless choices among infinite options.
(I lifted this drawing from the website of author Esther A. Lombardi, who has some great tips to beat writer's block here.)…
What's your legacy?
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…
"Now he belongs to the ages"
Reflecting on the passing of NHRA founder Wally Parks
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…
Travel Agent woes and more Force fan feedback
Funny Car racer Frank Mancuso talks about two memorable crashes in his Travel Agent flopper
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…
The healing power of words
Fan reactions to John Force's crash
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…