The NHRA.

For those of you not familiar with drag racing, I’ll present a brief overview. Drag racing, for all intents and purposes, began in southern California here in the U.S. as early as the 1930’s, where dry lake beds and secluded back roads hosted innumerable unsanctioned and unorganized “events”.

One early attendee was Mr. Wally Parks, who, along with organizing the Southern California Timing Association, was instrumental in getting things going with an event called SCTA Speed Week on the Bonneville Salt Flats. This was the beginning of timed races and led to a greater appreciation of acceleration and a higher awareness of the growing sport.

Parks formed the NHRA in 1951 as the editor of Hot Rod Magazine, initially as a way to take drag racing from the streets into a more formal and purpose-built facility (aka a “drag strip”). His early efforts helped to put in place a structure that has been built upon ever since to implement safety and standardization into the sport.

Those first few years were like the wild, wild west, with drivers creating purpose-built, front-engine dragsters like Mickey Thompson’s “Lakewood Muffler Special” slingshot (widely credited as the first such machine) and the George Morris built rear-engine car called the “Smokin’ White Owl,” which to me resembles an early Indy champ car more than it does a dragster.

The designs of these early cars were constantly changing throughout the years, and upgrades to system components were frequently added from season to season to improve performance and speed. The decades of the 1950’s and 1960’s formed an era of experimentation and a drive to be the fastest, as well as the quickest.

Front engine rails gave way to rear engine designs in the early 70’s after a devastating clutch explosion off the line severely injured “Big Daddy “ Don Garlitz, and by 1972 the front engine powered dragster rails were all but gone from the top ranks. There are still front engine slingshots racing today in heritage racing circuits and in some sportsman racing categories. But as far as top fuel nitro categories, they’re long gone.

NHRA Pro categories have been fairly consistent throughout the last few decades, the top classes consisting of the Top Fuel Dragster and Top Fuel Funny Car, which are running times in the upper 3 second range now with speeds in the 330’s (miles per hour). Just below them is the Pro Stock category. Other top classes include Top Alcohol Dragster/Funny Car, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Below the pro categories are several others (info taken from NHRA website):

Competition Eliminator (or Comp)

Consists of 75 classes based on chassis/engine set up, classified using a formula dividing total car weight by cubic inches. These entries range from dragsters, coupes, sedans, roadsters, altereds, front-engine nostalgia dragsters, compact cars and trucks.

Super Stock

Late model sedans and vintage muscle cars, similar to street cars with modifications for racing. Required to use the correct engine block, heads and carburetor. Indexed racing with breakout rule (anticipating the lights on the starting tree).

Stock

Similar to Super Stock but with more restrictions keeping things like bodies, interior, and engine components the same as a factory passenger car. Some mods permitted but very limited.  

Super Comp

This is an 8.90 second indexed class consisting of dragsters and other vehicles with unlimited modifications. These are powerful and can easily beat the index, which allows for some interesting and exciting psychological battles between drivers down the track. The trick here is to hit the 8.90 second index dead on but ahead of the other car.

Getting off the line is very important, as these races can be won or lost by thousandths of a second. The “holeshot”, or more officially called the reaction time, is the time between the green light flashes on the tree and the moment that the front tire of the car passes out of the staging beam set low on the track.

Super Gas

This is a 9.90 second indexed class consisting of full-bodied cars and street roadsters (no dragsters are permitted in this class). Wide latitude is given for modifications, but no exotic fuels are allowed. Similar strategies are employed, such as Super Comp to make this one of the most exciting classes to watch. It is also usually a very large class, and just about every muscle car you can imagine is represented.

Super Street

This is a 10.90 second indexed racing class consisting of all full-bodied cars with virtually unlimited modifications. These cars have minimum weight limits based on engine cylinder count.

Top Dragster / Top Sportsman

These two categories are fast E.T. open wheel and full-bodied cars with a maximum dial-in of 7.99 seconds. TD/TS classes use a bracket starting tree (3 amber lights counting down to the green, as opposed to the pro tree which has all 3 amber lights flashing and then green at 4/10 or 5/10 second, depending on class). They can produce 6 second runs with 200+ mph speeds.

Super Street

This is a 10.90 second indexed racing class consisting of all full-bodied cars with virtually unlimited modifications. These cars have minimum weight limits based on engine cylinder count.

Top Dragster / Top Sportsman

These two categories are fast E.T. open wheel and full-bodied cars with a maximum dial-in of 7.99 seconds. TD/TS classes use a bracket starting tree (3 amber lights counting down to the green, as opposed to the pro tree which has all 3 amber lights flashing and then green at 4/10 or 5/10 second, depending on class). They can produce 6 second runs with 200+ mph speeds.

Texas Fall Nationals, Texas Motorplex - Day 1 Friday, October 11

Texas Motorplex was built in 1986 by former funny car driver Billy Meyer as the NHRA’s first “super track,” and was the first post-tension, all concrete ¼ mile purpose-built drag strip. Several records exist at the track including Top Fuel Dragster “pilot” Eddie Hill’s first sub-5 second run (a 4.99 second run which I witnessed). A few years later a sister facility was built in the Houston area, also by Billy Meyer. I have attended several races at that track since 2005, but unfortunately it was closed last year.

Friday was not truly day 1 of the event, but it was the first day that I attended. The Fall Nationals are wrapped into a full 10-day event called the “Stampede of Speed,” consisting of other things including livestock exhibitions and a music festival. Friday afternoon was the effective start of the drag racing, which is when I showed up.

I opted for what is called a “Champions Club” admission (formerly known as the Top Eliminator Club), which is a ticket for a seat in a special grandstand just behind and to the right of the staging lanes. It also allows access to the Champions Club, an 11,000 square foot air-conditioned building with food and drink inside along with a big screen to watch the action going on outside. It was the first ever permanent hospitality structure built to host fans in a VIP atmosphere.

At first, I was not sure that I would get my money’s worth out of this arrangement, but as the day (and weekend) progressed in this Texas heat it became quickly apparent that I made the right choice. I was able to go in and out at any time, so when it got a little too hot outside it proved to be a great place to recover.

The racing action was already ongoing when I arrived. My first photos of the day were of Mike Morehead’s very fast Top Sportsman Camaro door-slammer entry, followed by the Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car qualifying sessions in mid-afternoon. The weather was already getting hot, and I can only imagine how much hotter it was inside one of those fire suits down on the tarmac.

I stayed in this location through the end of alcohol qualifying and then headed over to check out the Champions Club amenities that I had paid for. Upon entering, I noticed the cool air immediately. It was an open floor building with a stage and a cash bar to the left with tables for seating set up throughout the facility.

There was also a food table set up toward the back end to serve the daily meals they provided along with free cold ice water and tea. I sat inside for a bit to cool off, and then headed to the special grandstand reserved only for Champions Club ticket-holders.  

The view from these seats is great for viewing the race. I will say that I was a little disappointed by their value with respect to photography. The largest issue was a 30-foot boom camera which was set up right by the staging area for the cars just outside the retaining wall. This blocked any chance of getting a perfectly clean shot of the cars leaving the line. I had to work out how to get decent shots and I did achieve some success regardless of the obstacle.

One good thing about that vantage point was the view of cars being pre-staged, especially the funny cars which had their bodies raised for the mechanics to make last minute adjustments before the burnout and run. These are things that will add to your event portfolio in addition to your action shots.

Drag racing is not like road racing, or any other racing for that matter. The track consists of a 1000 ft long straight (formerly ¼ mile) from staging beams at the starting line to the speed trap and timing lights at the end of the track. There is a burnout area behind the staging beams, the purpose of which is for the drivers to get the tires up to temperature by spinning them through a patch of water, as well as for putting on quite a show for the spectators!

The day is filled with head-to-head matches of two cars each and run by categories. Compared to a race such as the 24 hours of Daytona, the action is split up all throughout the day, and each race is between 3+ seconds for the pro categories up to around 10 or 11 seconds for sportsman categories. This makes for a much different shooting routine than you might be accustomed to with rally or road racing.

For instance, during a road race, you have up to a hundred or more laps to catch just the right look and a variety of different “poses” from any particular car. In drag racing, you can count the total number of rounds during the entire event, and that is how many times you will have to catch what you need. Not counting shots in the pits, you will have to prioritize the shots you want. So, if you are lucky enough to have a commission, or if you want to get a lot of shots of your favorite car, you’d better plan it. Also, each round of eliminations cuts the number of cars by half, so it makes sense to get as much work done as possible during the early sessions.

Pro categories run back-to-back and the time between each run is around 3-4 minutes, so you can count on being in the same spot or generally close to it unless you are willing to miss some of the action. I take the opportunity to switch positions once the pros are complete, or maybe before they start during the track prep time. You do want to shift positions periodically, such as moving from close to the starting line to mid-track or further, or switching from spectator side to pit side (hint, always buy a pit-side ticket, just to have the versatility and option to go cruising through the pit areas).

You can get wonderful static shots, and if you’re lucky you’ll brush elbows with a driver or two. The “car on the track” photos can get a bit exhausting, and with drag racing you can shoot an entire card of the same shot, different cars if you don’t move around.

Setting up the camera can be interesting, based on what you are trying to capture. I found that using a compromise setting between 1/320 and 1/400) allowed me to catch a good burnout shot down by the staging area and then grab a sharp pan shot of the car going down the track without adjusting anything.

As these cars are accelerating quickly it can be a challenge, but you get used to the rhythm of each class after a few runs. One good thing about dragsters is that you can capture a variety of what I call “speed indicators”, such as tire wrinkle, front wheel lift, header flames (in the nitro classes), or a good close-up shot of the intake valve gates fully open showing the engine at full throttle, you can convey speed and action without the need to go down too low with your shutter speed.

A 1/320 shutter will get you there in almost any normal light condition, but experimentation outside of safe parameters will serve you well too. If you are good at panning, you could go much slower than I do, such as 1/100 or even slower. 

Supplement these shots with some rear-vantage point shots down range, and you basically have a good collection of what you can expect from this type of racing event.

 In addition to racetrack action, there are many chances to catch behind the scenes views in the pits. As I mentioned earlier, I would strongly advise always purchasing either a pit-side seat or an accompanying pit entrance ticket. You will want to walk around back there and give yourself a chance to meet drivers coming and going, maybe even have a brief conversation with them or their crew members in between rounds.

This is much easier on Friday or early on Saturday, but I wouldn’t expect too much of that on Sunday as the teams will be under the gun to act quickly between rounds, especially between the semi-finals and final round. It is one more thing for you to cover during a race weekend. I would have covered more of this during the event, but it was too hot for me.

Here are some pit area photos from the 2019 Houston Spring Nationals:

As far as the action of the day goes, after the pro rounds were finished, I did wander out into the pit area in search of Tony Stewart’s pit to share some photos that I took of his car at the moment the tires broke loose from lack of traction. It turned out that I walked past his pit without noticing and by the time I realized it I’d had enough, so I abandoned the effort.

Later, I had a conversation with Leah Pruett, former driver of the Tony Stewart Racing team, and she told me that they would probably not have learned much that they didn’t already know from all of the telemetry on board these modern racing machines. So I guess it’s just as well.

I decided to call it a day after my pit walk. I missed the nitro at night session; however, I had seen this about a month ago at the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Here are a few photos from that race:

Texas Fall Nationals Texas Motorplex - Day 2 Saturday October 12

On Saturday I got there ahead of the scheduled pro rounds, stopping by the Champions Club building for pre-hydration and then on to the main spectator grandstands. The Top Fuel Dragsters started things off. I sat a little lower in the stands to get as eye-level a view as possible without allowing too many obstructions to get in my way. Some of these shots were better suited as close ups; the vantage point was excellent to show off the rocket launch tire wrinkle. 

When you sit lower, you sit closer. You really feel it in your chest as a run goes by, particularly the beasts of the track--the nitro-burners. While my shot variety didn’t vary a great deal during this session, I was happy with quite a few of the shots. It seemed like a nice vantage point to capture all of the aspects of a run; from the burnout, some close ups, and high-speed pans.  

Once the pro round was finished, I took a walk over to pit-side grandstands. As with most racing events I attend, reserved seating is usually not in effect on days other than race day (Sunday), and they were 60-70% full at most during the pro rounds, 30% or less at any other time. I felt confident moving my position around as needed. Pit-side is tricky with the sun here in the early part of the day; you have to wait until mid-afternoon to avoid significant glare in your shots.  

I noticed an area for photographers called the “Content Creator Zone.” I will have to dig a little and find out what the qualifications are for getting into that cage. It looked like there was enough room for around 12-15 people and it was fully occupied.

If you were in there and up against the lane-side barrier, you would have quite a nice shot using a 24mm lens (for a dragster) and possibly a 35mm or so with anything else. It was unclear if these people were allowed to come and go or if they were trapped there for the session, but no one left that I noticed.

I did some decent work from here, even though many of the shots appear flat due to the smoke from burnouts blowing across the track. This was the windward side, so the experience of burned rubber and fuel smells was in full force!

Next up following the funny cars came an exhibition run by “Nitro Mike”, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest wheel stand in a car. It was quite a lot of fun to watch, with flames and a completely insane wheel stand all the way down the track, as promised. What a guy, that Nitro Mike.

I stuck around all afternoon and took in some of the sportsman classes. One of the highlights was a run in the Factory X class involving two tribute liveries. Both Camaros, the first was a throwback to Bill Jenkins’ “Grumpy’s Toy”.

The second was a tribute to one of my all-time favorite drag racing cars, the Reher-Morrison Pro Stock driven originally by Lee Shepherd and then later by Bruce Allen. Brilliant that they were lined up together, it made for a nice shot.

 In late afternoon I heard them announce an auction that was going to be held in the Champions Club building after the racing action was finished for the evening. I decided to wander over and see for myself; I was headed there anyway to wait out the exit crowds for a bit.

The auction was already in progress by the time I got inside and was being held in honor of the recently deceased Rosalie Noble, who was a part of the DRAW (Drag Racing Association of Women), which is an all-volunteer organization that provides financial and emotional support to individuals injured in drag racing accidents.

Attending this proved to be a great choice. I met several wonderful people and rubbed elbows all evening with drivers past and present, such as Ron Capps and Shirley Muldowney. I also made it home with a couple of gifts purchased during the auction.

Observing everyone during the evening really drove home the fact that the entire drag racing world is a very close-knit community. I believe that most people in attendance had some attachment to the sport in one way or another, either directly or indirectly. I was privileged to sit at a table with some cool people that night. We had a lot of laughs and supported the auction and were in a great location close to the stage.

Rhory Wilson bid on and won a very unique looking guitar, and Chuck “The Driver” walked out with a fantastic racing helmet signed by a variety of drivers (why didn’t I bid on that?). At one point he realized that it was also signed by John Force’s wife, Laurie. I bet that is a rare signature indeed.

Texas Fall Nationals Texas Motorplex - Day 3 Sunday October 13

My arrival on race day was ahead of the action. I’m not a big fan of things like track walks and autograph sessions, so I skipped those because I find them crowded and stuffy, and also because I wanted to conserve my energy and stamina for the most useful parts of the day.

I chose to sit inside in the cool air, have a decent lunch, and then venture out into the sunny reserved seats for the pre-race ceremonies, which included a very well-received sky diving descent complete with a large U.S. flag display.

Things got going quickly, with the Top Fuel Dragsters starting things off followed by the Top Fuel Funny Cars and then Pro Stock.

One strange thing about this round was the fact that two of the funny cars suffered the same mechanical failure preventing them from backing up after the burnout. The first one was hand pushed by the crew back behind the line but the second one, driven by Alexis Dejoria, sat on the track, briefly abandoned until the run was over. 

I stayed in my Champ Club seat through the Pro bikes, and then retreated to the cool building for a bit until I was ready for more action. I relaxed inside through the Pro round 2, meeting some more fun people in the Champions Club which added to the richness of my overall experience.

We watched the rounds on the big screen and talked for a while with someone who I am sure was a crew member from one of the teams. After this I wandered out in time to catch the semifinal round of the pros and also the final rounds for several other categories including Super Gas and Super Comp.  

In the pro ranks, the pressure was on, and the energy was getting serious. The penultimate round for Top Fuel Dragster saw Tony Schumacher line up against Justin Ashley, and Steve Torrance was matched with Clay Millican.

Schumacher has 88 wins under his belt along with 161 final round appearances, a career best E.T. of 3.649” and career best speed of 336.9 mph. By comparison, Ashley has seen 17 wins, 15 of those in Top Fuel. The pairing heavily favored Schumacher, however Ashley edged him out and took the win light.

The second run of Clay Millican / Steve Torrance was taken by Millican after the CapCo machine of Steve Torrance lost traction mid-way through the run.

Top Fuel Funny Car pair number 1 paired Matt Hagan in the Johnson Horsepowered Garage Dodge SRT against Daniel Wilkerson who immediately lost traction off the starting line giving Hagan the win.

Next up were Austin Prock and Ron Capps. I’m not sure what happened to Prock’s car, but he was a non-starter at the line. Capps easily cruised into the finals, but continued on with a full speed run regardless of the misfortune which had befallen his opponent.

The Pro Stock semifinal brought together Matt Hartford and Jeg Coughlin, Jr., a pairing which Coughlin won handily. Over the years I have really enjoyed good matchups in Pro Stock, including some of the famous battles back in the 80’s between Bob Glidden and Ricky Smith.

Coughlin, with his 88 wins and 146 career final rounds, really does put on a show. He would face either Greg Anderson or Dallas Glenn in the final round. Speaking of those two entries, they lined up as the second semifinal pair.

At the line, both cars launched with reaction times just 0.013” apart. The entire run was very close, with Anderson tripping the lights just ahead of Glenn. Now the pro brackets were all set for the trophy runs.

In late afternoon the sun angle had changed enough to eliminate most of the glare, allowing the colors to be brighter and more saturated. By the time the pro final rounds began, the cars were looking great on the track.

Finals started with the Pro Stock Motorcycles, won by Gaige Herrera on the RevZilla/Mission/Vance & Hines Suzuki who nudged out Matt Smith, who had a better hole shot (0.026” to Herrera’s 0.033” launch) but failed to pull off the win.

Next up were the two top entries in Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin, Jr and Greg Anderson. After smokin’ up the joint, Anderson posted the quickest reaction time and the higher top end speed; however, Coughlin Jr got the win light with a 6.592” ET over Anderson’s ever so slightly slower 6.602 light. It was an even contest overall, but someone has to win.

At the end of the Pro Stock final the track was cleaned and prepped for the nitro burners. Track workers walk around looking for debris, then a cart makes a pass or two spraying a liquid called VHT, or “Trackbite”, to add traction. After that, a pair of tractors make several passes up and down the track, sporting a special piece of equipment called a tire drag rig to apply rubber to the track.  

The funny car final round brought together Ron Capps in the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra and Matt Hagan in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat. Capps was my favorite to win this race. At first it was questionable if he would even make the run; he was very late staging but appeared under the tower just in time.

The burnout seemed fine and both cars staged up. Hagan took the quicker reaction time of 0.064” under Capps 0.084”. The match was dead even all the way down the track but as they neared the finish, Hagan pulled it out…barely. Capps took the quicker ET by 0.009”--extremely close--but it was the reaction time off the line that proved to be the deciding factor at a 0.020” delta, making the win by 0.011”. What a great run though, Capps had nothing to be ashamed of.

And then there were two. The Top Fuel Dragster final matchup put Clay Millican in the Parts Plus dragster up against Justin Ashley. Another great run, both cars launched within 33 thousandths of a second between them (Ashley getting the edge with a 0.026” hole shot), and down the line through at least the 660-foot mark the cars were less than 0.010” apart with a speed delta of just 0.26mph.

The final top speeds for both rails at the line were within 0.041 mph of each other, with Millican taking the quicker ET. But yet again, as with the Funny cars the win came down to a quicker reaction time. If it was a horse race, you would say he beat him by a nose.

Once the last run was complete, the echoes and vibrations which moments before shook the entire complex faded, the smoke slowly and quietly filtered through the gaps in the grandstands, and people began to stand up and climb down the steps, heading into the car park for the trip home. I sat for a while, reflecting on how well the event had been and admiring that dramatic finish.

Considering how long it had been since I walked through these gates, my high expectations were not disappointed. I came here last when names such as Kenny Bernstein, Bob Glidden, Don Garlitz, Shirley Muldowney and others filled the air. Now, a new generation of drivers, some of whom have been around a while already, has taken over with no less thrilling of an effort. I look forward to more NHRA events in the future.

Parting shot.

An interesting personal fact…I parked in exactly the same spot all three days, marked by this pylon (which on one occasion had been run over). At some point in time between Saturday night and Sunday morning, someone went to the trouble of straightening it back out. So here it is, standing weary but strong as a testament to my spot in the lot.