Name: Essa Omar Ali Alhadrami
ID: H00247436
Class: CIE
Instructor: Hedley Butterfield
Drag Racing
Introduction
There is no clear identifiable origin for the term, ‘drag racing,’ but the tracks of the history of drag racing remain very clear. For the last fifty years, people have explained the term and its origin in many different ways and with many theories. It is more of a challenge for some, to drag one’s car from its parked area to come and race an opponent. Drag can also be about the main street in any city which would be wide enough for accommodating two vehicles. There is also a mechanical side to the origin of the word, in which ‘drag’ was used to refer to gears where their transmission had to be held longer that was normal. Drag racing has a rich history, just as it has several unique rules.
History of Drag Racing
The history of drag racing is best explained with relation to the National Hot Rod Association which organizes it. The first races took place following World War II .Drag racing roots are known to have been planted on California's Mojave Desert in the dry lake bed of Muroc. In this area, the riders had been congregating since the 1930s, and it was clear that their speeds had gone even up to 100 mph. The organized drag racing is said to have begun around 1947. There was some military test-driver that worked for General Motors, who had also served in the army during the World War II in and around South Pacific. The man helped in organizing and became the manager of Southern California Timing Association. SCTA had a first ‘Speed Week’ that was held in 1949 at Bonneville Salt Flats. The racers were able to start running in what was referred to as against the clock, and Parkes he's inventor the drag racing had them use a stopwatch. The process coaxed the vehicles to actually accelerate in a much quicker manner as opposed to just attaining top speeds. According to Post (2009), the Santa Ana Drags were the first dragstrip, run for the first time on an airfield somewhere in Southern California. From the 1950s, it gained popularity amid the Muroc crowd because it had some revolutionary computerized speed clocks (Post, 2009).
Figure 1. 1971 Typical Super Stock Race between Hayetr and Carlton
Source: (Martin, 2001)
The NHRA has been at the center of organizing the drag races since 1953, when the first one happened in Fairgrounds parking lot of the Los Angeles County in Pomona, California. This is a track that has undergone some massive $6-million expansion within a time of four decades, and has played host to the Kragen O'Reillys NHRA Winternationals which were NHRA season-openers but also the NHRA Finals from the Automobile Club of Southern California. The NHRA was headed by Dallas Gardner as its president and since 1984 oversaw the upgrading of such facilities to have the qualities of a stadium, complete with fan amenities, tall grandstands, and some VIP towers. Administrative change happened in 2000 when Tom Compton took over as president.
Rules of Drag Racing
Some rules have been designed for drag racing events that happen around the world, and they have been set so that they would provide for orderly conduct and allow everyone to be informed of the minimum acceptable requirements when getting involved. Drag racing rules govern the condition for all events, so that when individuals choose to participate in events, they have agreed to such rules and must stick to them. As there are different people involved, they all know what is required of them as provided for within such rules (Patents, 2011). As the race director is an important person in organizing racing events, he is usually empowered to determine or permit to what extent the racers may deviate from the strict canon of rules as well as the specifications in place.
Though some rules remain extremely specific, there are quite a number that are general and apply to all drag races wherever they are run in the world. First, a driver who does not participate in a race is allowed the consumption of alcohol, just as alcoholic drinks are never allowed within the staging lines and at the starting lines. Within the track premises, all glass bottles with drinks are forbidden. In terms of the speed limits within the pit area as well as the return road, it is only allowed to do 10 m.p.h. All skateboards, as well as roller blades, are not allowed within the pit area. If under the age of 16, no one will ever be allowed to operate when it comes to the motorized vehicles. These are among the general rules, and depending on location and management, drag races can have many more rules (Johnson & Menge, 2009). Anyone found to have violated the same will usually be expelled from a competing.
Famous Racers
The NHRA is touted to have achieved incredible success and produced some incredibly famous racers. According to Pratt (2012) operations by NHRA have been ongoing for 50 years, and it has become the motorsports sanctioning body that is the largest in the world. It has 80,000 members and has established 140 member tracks. Among the licensed competitors, there are about 35,000 of them, and the member track events have gone up to 5,000. From all this activity, there have been some individual drivers that clearly stood out of the pack (Pratt, 2012). There are hundreds of possible nominees to the category of the most famous of these racers. To consider what has made a racer famous, one has to look into the amount of possible wins, the ways in which trends have changed for the sport, and how they have contributed to the sport in general terms.
The most famous among them is Don Garlits, who was nicknamed Big Daddy and had several top ten finishes in his career spanning from the 1950s to the 1980s. Garlits is known to have led the scores by a wide margin when all performance is considered, recording the drag racing history’s best run with 5.637-seconds, 250.69-mph during the Ontario 1975 World Finals (Pratt, 2012). Don Prudhomme is equally famous for the kind of performance he displayed especially during the 1960s and the use of his fuel funny car during the 70s. Warren Johnson is also known for such accomplishments, having had some consistent performances from 1972, and his specialty was mostly in the field of Pro Stock Racing.
Drag Race Series
There are various series for the drag race, the most famous of which is the ‘Lucas Oil Drag Racing’ but also there is the RuPaul's Drag Race which has become famous after it was made into a reality TV series. The NHRA drag racing series will in 2015 be on its 14th season, and there will be premier events that take place around the nation. This series usually has 45 divisional events which then feature a minimum of six for each among the seven divisions (Martin, 2012). RuPaul’s has been on Television and produced for LOGO by World of Wonder, with RuPaul being its host and mentor. Others include the “Sunoco Super Challenge Points Series” and “Bracket Drag Racing Series” all of which attract quite a huge following.
Further Discussion
For many years, drag racing has been in existence either in the form of street racing or in some regulated motorsport form. Taken in its historical context, the initial dragsters happened to be basically street cars that had lightly warmed-over engines as well as bodies that had been chopped down so as to reduce their weight (Pbs.org, 2012). With time there were professional chassis builders that committed to the construction of some purpose-built cars, and in this case they bent and welded together the tubing and then planted the engine within the traditional spot, , which was right in front of the driver’s seat. There is a way in which the fuels that begun being burned were exotic, powerful as well as more temperamental. At some point the street racing form became illegal due to the hazards it presents to the people. Each race is known as a pass, with the drivers performing a burnout so that they would heat the driving tires as well as lay rubber at the track’s start to improve traction. All drivers get to line up at the start line and the racing begins. Among the most essential contributors to the history of this sport is Wally Parks, who edited the magazine Hot Rod, and so found the basis and resources to begin, in 1951, the National Hot Rod Association. Consequently, he brought order to what had been mere chaos through rules and establishing of performance standards that legitimized the sport (http://amhistory.si.edu/, 2013). This made him its first president. Since then the racing organization has held competitive races in North America, Europe, Australia, South America, New Zealand, South Asia, the Caribbean as well as South Africa.
Figure 2 A 1950 Edition of Hot Rod, by Gregory Felson
Conclusion
Drag racing is a sport that has seen the participation of thousands of drivers, and a greater number of enthusiasts in the form of organizers and fans. The origins of the sport have been dated back to the time following the World War, and it has been noted that since then it has all grown steadily and allowed for worldwide participation. In its organized form it has seen the making of some very famous racers. The NHRA has been in charge, and has ensured that everything is done in an orderly manner and with strict following of all rules. There are different drag race series, and each has its operation base and different approach to organizing. Some, especially those in Northern America, have been known to attract thousands.
References
http://amhistory.si.edu/. (2013). Drag racing exhibition: Hot rod by henry Gregor Felson. Retrieved from http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_66_4.html
Johnson, T. M., & Menge, C. W. (2009). Is drag racing louder than nascar speedway? Retrieved from http://hmmh.com/cmsdocuments/InterNoise09_Dragstrip-paper_TMJ.pdf
Martin, C. (2012). AHRA: birthplace of pro drag racing. Retrieved from http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/ahra_history_1_1.html
Orlove, R. (2013). The ten greatest of drag races in movie history. Retrieved from http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/ahra_history_1_6.html
Patents. (2011). Led Christmas trees for drag racing starting and timing. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/patents/US6695460
Pbs.org. (2012). Drag racing. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/drag-racing/
Post, R. C. (2009). The land speed record and the last green monster. Technology and Culture, 50(3), 586-593. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/tech/summary/v050/50.3.post.html
Pratt, B. (2012). Drag racing story of the day! the draglist top 50 (100, 150 & 200). Retrieved from http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD Dec 2001/SOD-120301.htm
Appendix 1.
Draglist TOP 50 Racers with their scores. Source – (Draglist.com, 2014)
I. 173.00 Don Garlits
II. 141.00 Don Prudhomme
III. 136.00 Warren Johnson
IV. 133.00 Dale Armstrong
V. 123.00 Gary Beck
VI. 114.00 Kenny Bernstein
VII. 111.00 Bob Glidden
VIII. 110.00 Eddie Hill
IX. 108.00 Joe Amato
X. 102.75 Bill Kuhlmann
XI. 102.00 Roy Hill
XII. 97.00 Pat Austin
XIII. 95.00 Tommy Ivo, Ronnie Sox (tie)
XIV. 92.00 Frank Manzo
XV. 90.00 John Force, Dale Pulde (tie)
XVI. 86.00 Brian Raymer
XVII. 85.00 Bob Newberry
XVIII. 84.00 Scotty Cannon
XIX. 78.00 Don Nicholson
XX. 75.75 Fred Hahn
XXI. 75.00 Cruz Pedregon, Gene Snow (tie)
XXII. 74.00 Bill Jenkins, Tom McEwen, K Pittman, Lee Shepherd (tie)
XXIII. 73.00 Shirley Muldowney
XXIV. 72.00 Mark Oswald
XXV. 70.00 Brad Anderson, Dough Cook, Keith Stark (tie)
XXVI. 67.00 Kurt Johnson
XXVII. 66.00 Junior Thompson
XXVIII. 65.00 Jack Chrisman
XXIX. 64.75 Tommy Mauney
XXX. 64.00 Tony Bartone, Scotts Geoffrion, Darrell Gwynn (tie)
XXXI. 62.00 Mike Dunn
XXXII. 61.00 Ray Beadle, Butch Leal (tie)
XXXIII. 57.00 Johnny West
XXXIV. 56.00 Darrell Alderman, Tony Nancy (tie)
XXXV. 55.00 Chuck Etchells
XXXVI. 54.00 Gary Ormsby, Gary Scelzi (tie)
XXXVII. 52.00 Jerry Haas
