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NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES In 2012, Antron Brown won the Top Fuel world championship and in the process became the first African-American to win a major auto racing title in the United States. In 2008, NHRA was named the Diversity in Motorsports Award winner at the 12th annual Urban Wheel Awards, held during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. NHRA claimed the award based on the success of Hispanic driver Tony Pedregon, who won his second Funny Car world championship title in 2007. In 2008, Tony’s brother Cruz won his second Funny Car crown. Also in 2007, Peggy Llewellyn became the first black female to win an NHRA event. She ultimately finished a careerhigh fourth in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category points standings. In 2006, J.R. Todd, an African- American and former NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League competitor, recorded his first three professional wins in the Mello Yello Series circuit to earn the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award as the season’s top rookie. Information about the NHRA is available in various forms, including the award winning National DRAGSTER magazine and highly acclaimed NHRA.com. National DRAGSTER covers every race from the first sportsman run to the final Mello Yello Series blast in the winner’s circle. NHRA.com has won several awards for its innovative, interactive coverage of all forms of NHRA drag racing and provides daily results, feature stories and breaking news at the click of a mouse. The brand new Nationaldragster.net is a companion website available exclusively to members who subscribe to National DRAGSTER print version and provides live event news, regular columns, cool features and more. For the 13th season, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will provide television coverage of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, with same-day tape or live coverage in most instances. Thousands of media outlets across the country, including the Associated Press and USA Today, provide regular coverage of NHRA racing. Keeping with Parks’ original philosophy, President Tom Compton guides the sport and assures that safety and technological improvements will remain a top priority in 2013. Progressive changes will help the NHRA continue to fulfill its leadership role in the motorsports world well into the future. The NHRA will protect and further the best interests of the sport, constantly lobbying for beneficial safety and insurance legislation for auto enthusiasts. Participation on and off the track has made the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series one of the most popular forms of racing, reaching thousands of fans, members and sponsors at 300 mph. 10
BIOGRAPHY WALLY PARKS NHRA Founder, (1913-2007) The primary driving force behind the formation of the National Hot Rod Association, Wally Parks was the visionary whose early goals created what today is the world’s largest motorsports governing body. After nurturing NHRA for six decades, Parks died in September 2007 at the age of 94. Parks, who founded NHRA in 1951, never implied that he did it all himself. Reflecting on the tremendous growth and success of NHRA, he noted often how fortunate he was that so many dedicated people shared his outlook that almost anything is possible if you believe in it strongly enough. One of the most dedicated was unquestionably his wife, Barbara Parks, who succumbed to cancer in January 2006 after a long battle with the devastating illness. Without Parks’ vision and perseverance, much of what has happened today may not have been achieved. Born in Oklahoma, then living in Kansas until age 8, Parks’ automotive interests surfaced after his family moved to California. There, in his high school years, he became active in building stripped-down Model T Fords and Chevy fours for use on the street and in early speed trials conducted on dry lakebeds in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles. In 1937, Parks took part in the formation of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) – an organization focused on conducting land speed record events – serving as one of its officials until World War II began. In 1946, following military service in the South Pacific, Parks was elected president of the reorganized SCTA. In 1947, after 10 years of employment as a road test driver and process engineer for General Motors, Parks left GM to assume a new role as the SCTA’s general manager. It was his concept that produced America’s first Hot Rod Show, presented by the SCTA in 1948 at the Los Angeles Exposition Armory. In 1948, Parks helped co-publishers Bob Petersen and Bob Lindsay in the introduction of Hot Rod magazine, which became one of the world’s largest-circulation auto enthusiast publications, and later was named its first editor. In 1949 Parks organized the campaign that led to the opening of Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats for hot rod speed trials – a still thriving annual activity. In 1951, utilizing Hot Rod Magazine as a conduit to nationwide readership, Parks formed the National Hot Rod Association. In 1963, he resigned his position as editorial director for all of Petersen’s automotive magazines – Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Car Craft, Sports Car Graphic and Motor Life – to assume full-time administrative duties as president of NHRA. An early recipient of Car Craft magazine’s prestigious Ollie Award for his many contributions to motorsports, Parks was named “Man of the Decade, 1962-1972” by Popular Hot Rodding magazine and was recognized as Man of the Year in 1973 by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) honored Parks in 1988 and again in 1994 for his pioneering efforts in motorsports. Parks received his highest honors in 1992 and 1993. He was drag racing’s first inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 at Talladega, Ala., and in 1993, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame at Novi, Mich. In 1994, the tributes to Parks’ legacy continued to pile up. A large bronze statue of Parks was presented at NHRA’s Gainesville Raceway, which was eventually moved to its current location in front of the NHRA Motorsports Museum at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif. Later in 1994, Parks and wife Barbara were co-inductees into the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame at Ocala, Fla., for their pioneering efforts that spearheaded NHRA’s success. Parks also was the first recipient of the Don Prudhomme Award, a trophy presented by NHRA to an individual who has made a profound impact on the growth and positive image of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. 11
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