The history of drag racing
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), formed in the 1950s using dry lake beds or abandoned air strips, has more than 160 sanctioned drag strips in North America, with well over 3,000 drag racing events, eight of them major National Championship meets. NHRA has been a member of the Automobile Competition Committee for the U.S. since 1965, along with NASCAR, SCCA, and USAC.
With over 100 different classes of vehicles taking part in NHRA racing, it is sometimes difficult to identify one group from another, but classification is determined by car weight divided by advertised horsepower. "Hot" or competition cars are classed by a weight to cubic-inch ratio.
A drag race is a descriptive title for an acceleration contest involving two vehicles in a standing-start race over a closed and measured quarter-mile course.
