NHRA, the National Hot Rod Association is a governing body for drag racing that sets the regulations and rules for drag racing. They are also shouldered with the responsibility of hosting events all over the United States and Canada.
In order to organize, regulate and promote the sport of drag racing, the NHRA was established back in 1951 in California. The very event which was sponsored by NHRA was held in the year 1955 in Kansas at a World War two constructed air field. The NHRA has been blessed with tremendous growth and as a result it holds 24 events every year that bring together the finest racers and cars from all across the US. The Nations are now called the Mac Tools U.S. “Nationals” and it’s held at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont Indiana. The winner of the event is awarded a trophy in honor of Mr. Wally Parks – founder of the NHRA. Since the NHRA’s inception, the organization has been dedicated to safety all the while not compromising the thrill and action of extreme motorsports.
The responsibility of the NHRA is also to organize a number of developmental series which includes the Summit Racing Series, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Jr. Drag racing League and the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
The initial idea behind the creation of NHRA was to get the hot rodders off the streets where they were a danger to themselves and others. Since then the NHRA has evolved into an organization of 80,000 members, an excess of 35000 licensed competitors and 300 dedicated employees. The NHRA does a miraculous job in catering to drag racing enthusiasts of all age groups and levels – starting from kids aged 8-17 to hard core professionals in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
NHRA’s drag racing fans are some of the most loyal fans one could find in any sport; and that’s mainly because of NHRA’s open pit policy by which fans can see first hand how engines are rebuilt in 75 minutes or less while the racing heroes would stand outside the garage signing autographs.
NHRA has a total of 40 member tracks that hold NHRA competitions in various regions. The remarkable marquee POWERade Series which takes fans all over the US in a period of nine months – it crosses 22 cities and makes 24 stops along the way comes to mind immediately.
The premiere business partner for NHRA drag racing is Coca-Cola, the Lucas Oil Company and Summit Racing Equipment. All of the big NHRA drag racing events receive TV coverage via their exclusive partners – ESPN.
NHRA is gaining very quick popularity among racing fans and is second only to Nascar when it comes to fan appeal, sponsorship commitment and attendance.
NHRA has been successful in keeping with the founder’s philosophy of assuring safety and focusing on technological improvements. A survey conducted by SportsBussines Journal back in 2003 put NHRA up there with the leaders in the sporting industry along with NFL, NBA, NASCAR and MLB in a number of categories, which included sponsor satisfaction and best value for money.
