National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Breakfast Honors Founder Wally Parks and Hypes New Points Structure

Jan. 1, 2020

Early this morning the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) staged their annual breakfast meeting at the Las Vegas Hilton just before the SEMA Show opened for the second day. At the breakfast they showed a video honoring the late Wally Parks, who foun

Mike Anson

(OCTOBER 31) Early this morning the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) staged their annual breakfast meeting at the Las Vegas Hilton just before the SEMA Show opened for the second day. At the breakfast they showed a video honoring the late Wally Parks, who founded the NHRA back in 1951 when he was Editor of Hot Rod Magazine.

Parks died on September 20th of this year at age 94. In the video tribute to Parks, current and former NHRA stars such as Kenny Bernstein, Gary Sclezi John Force, Ron Capps and Don "The Snake" Prudhomme honored Parks for his work in establishing first the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Parks legacy with the NHRA includes the founding in 1951 to "get hot rodding and racing off the streets and onto sanctioned race tracks." The NHRA is currently the largest racing sanctioning body with more than 80,000 members and 140 affiliated race tracks across the U.S. The NHRA held its first race at the Los Angeles Country Fairgrounds in Pomona, California in April 1953.

Appearing on the panel were representatives of the four professional categories involved in the new Powerade "Countdown to the Championship" which is aimed at "leveling the playing field in each category." Jeg Coughlin represented Pro Stock, Tony Pedregon represented Funny Car, Larry Dixon represented Top Fuel and 24-year-old Andrew Hines represented the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.

Jeg Coughlin pointed out that the new points structure will indeed level the playing field and will return the drama to the Pro Stock series. "All four champions will be crowned at the last race of the season at Pomona. There will not be a runaway champion, as in the past," Coughlin said.

Tony Pedregon reminded the audience that "we are in the business of entertainment." And that the new points structure creates more interest in drag racing. "Like the NFL football playoffs," he added.

Larry Dixon, who drives for former champion Don "The Snake" Prudhomme said "the pressure never lets up, even during the winter." He agreed with Pedregon that the new points scheme would help the sport generate more interest and cited the football analogy.

Motorcycle racer Andrew Hines who is part of the famous Vance & Hines motorcycle family recounted how his time struggled at the start of the season. "We were not certain we would even make it into the top 8 to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. Fortunately, things started to come together for the team and here we are," he added.

About the Author

Mike Anson

Mike Anson is Editor-in-Chief of Styling & Performance magazine. He has road raced in Sports Car Club of America competition and in production-based race cars (the infamous Playboy Cup series). He has participated in off-road racing, including the Baja 1000 and the Mint 400. Mike began his journalism career at Road & Track magazine, followed by a stint at Four Wheeler Magazine. He then handled the start up as the first Editor of Petersen's 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine. Eventually he moved to Petersen's flagship publication MOTOR TREND as Editor-in-Chief. He worked in public relations for automobile distributors Hyundai and Suzuki.