COLUMN: NHRA: A Basic Attraction

A reporter was dining next to a pair of self-described motorsports fans Sunday morning. As the discussion focused on the fortunes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the results of Saturday’s night’s NASCAR All-Star Race, the reporter mentioned the NHRA drag race at Bristol Dragway.

By: Allen Gregory | TriCities.com
Published: May 18, 2008

A reporter was dining next to a pair of self-described motorsports fans Sunday morning.

As the discussion focused on the fortunes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the results of Saturday’s night’s NASCAR All-Star Race, the reporter mentioned the NHRA drag race at Bristol Dragway.

The reporter was raving about how much fun, wild and fast the drag racing show was when one of the fans responded with a quizzed look.

“I just don’t understand the sport,” said the fan. “I’ve tried to watch drag racing on TV. It’s just too complex and hard to follow. I would rather watch Dale Jr. any day.”

Are you kidding me?

Drag racing is anything but complex. In fact, the simplicity of the sport is one of the basic appeals.

America has been a car-crazed country since the glory days of Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet. What motorist hasn’t felt the urge to beat the SUV next to him off the red light in an effort to reach the mall first?

The Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars in the NHRA produce speeds in excess of 325 mph, and the drivers struggle to maintain control of their colorful rolling rockets all the way down the track.

Hey man, that’s good stuff.

If pure speed and talent doesn’t grab you, there are the personalities of the drivers. From John Force and Gary Scelzi to Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher, there are characters galore roaming these pits.

For good reason, NHRA fans tire of the comparisons between NASCAR. It’s unfair and lazy, but any true fan of racing should be able to appreciate both sports.

Many of the harshest critics of both NASCAR and NHRA have never actually been to a dragstrip or racetrack. Television, even with the wonders of high-definition, doesn’t do justice to either sport.

In addition to being an old-fashioned fun, racing is a treat for the senses. For many, the sounds, smells and sights can be downright intoxicating.

And that intoxicating mix is compounded many times over in drag racing.

So here’s my simple piece of advice for the drag racing skeptic: Set down the remote control, get off the couch and actually come to a drag race.

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544