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NHRA Sport Compact Drags

A showcase for innovation and enthusiasm

Drag racing in the purest form has been around as long as two drivers wanted to race each other from start to finish. Along with being a straight-line challenge of speed, drag racing has always been a test of driver skill and machine prowess. In the early days of the sport, young hot rodders drove their "gow jobs" out onto the dry lakebeds of Southern California not only to race but also to test their skill as mechanics and backyard engineers.

A Racecar is Born

A new multiple carburetor intake manifold setup or set of hi-zoot pistons and camshaft paired with some forced induction was on the dry lakes to be tested. Some of these combos tested the length of time the driver could keep his foot in the throttle. Faith in one's own driving skill and mechanical ability was the key to success in beating the other guy to the finish line, as well as making it across in one piece.

It is this enthusiasm and innovation that has kept drag racing vibrant through the years and propelled man and machine to ever-faster speeds and quicker elapsed times in the measured quarter mile. In the halcyon days of drag racing, records fell and were broken again on a weekly basis. Drag strips sprang up all over the country on abandoned airstrips or new, purpose-built sites. Innovation and automotive enthusiasm proven on the track made its way into the fabric of American car culture.

Form followed function as the engineering and modifications made to racecars out on the drag strip made their way onto the streets and into showrooms. Even if one was not pummeling a Dodge down the drag strip, they could certainly and easily make it look and sound like they were. A big V-8, a set of headers and dual exhaust, some Cragar five-spokes or American Racing mags, and one was connected to the record breakers in spirit if not actual elapsed times and trap speeds.

Elapsed Time

As time marched on, the American automotive manufacturing paradigm gradually shifted away from big V-8 rear-drive cars and followed suit of the ever increasing popularity and thrift of the imports. Today front-wheel-drive cars with four-bangers underhood outnumber their rear-wheel-drive counterparts with the extra cylinders on the road. While the connection between the cars on and off the drag strip began to grow apart on one end of drag racing, a new connection was born on the other.

The same enthusiasm found in the early days of the sport had merely shifted a generation. Instead of '32 Fords and cars made from the salvage belly tanks from WW2 P-38 fighters, the new generation modified what they were driving. V-8's gave way to dual overhead cam four-cylinders and forced induction. The carburetor and mechanical fuel injection made way for computer-controlled multipoint injection and turbochargers equipped with barking anti-lag systems.

Common Denominator

With this new generation of racers and enthusiasts also came the collective style of the new, as well as a healthy respect and admiration of the old. The bringing together of many different facets of automotive cultures is an unquestionably postmodern process, and under the umbrella of enthusiasm for racing and custom culture are many faces of different ages and character. While the drag race of today may cover more than just a race under its umbrella, the current that runs through everyone involved is the same. Innovation and ever-faster speeds hold interest for those young and old.

The intersection of car culture and drag racing has changed its definition and become more vibrant. Along with the usual tire smoking action one might find some lowriders, a car show, and even a bikini contest at a modern drag race. Just as it was in the past, the loudest cheers from the fans come for those cars that look like the ones they drove to the event.