Celebrating 75 Years of NHRA: The Moments That Defined Drag Racing

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) turns 75 years young in 2026, a milestone the NHRA will celebrate all season long. Over those 75 years, the NHRA has grown from humble origins as a small grassroots pastime into one of the most thrilling spectacles in motorsports.

Across the decades, the NHRA has produced countless memorable moments, from record-smashing performances to innovations that changed the course of drag racing history. Choosing the biggest and best moments from the annals of NHRA drag racing isn't easy, but these five in particular stand out:

• 1951: Wally Parks founds the NHRA
• 1971: Don Garlits sparks the rear-engine revolution
• 1976: Shirley Muldowney smashes the gender barrier
• 1992: Kenny Bernstein breaks 300 mph
• 2002: John Force wins his 10th straight Funny Car championship

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

1951: Wally Parks Founds the NHRA

Prior to 1951, drag races were unsanctioned events that had moved from abandoned air fields to public streets. Many people — including drivers and fans — recognized the serious safety concerns that defined the sport's early years. Seeking to "create order from chaos," as he put it, founding figure Wally Parks solved the safety question by founding the NHRA in 1951.

Parks, a longtime racing fan and the editor of Hot Rod magazine, used his visibility in the racing community to standardize races, set safety guardrails, and make drag racing a legit sport. The NHRA hosted its first official race in 1953 in the parking lot of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, which is now the site of the iconic Pomona Raceway and the NHRA Motorsports Museum.

We had the pleasure of going for an NHRA Motorsports Museum walkthrough with drag racer and motorsports historian "Fast Jack" Beckham a while back. Check out that fascinating episode to get a real behind-the-scenes look at the NHRA’s storied history.

1971: Don Garlits Sparks the Rear-Engine Revolution

Affectionately known as "Big Daddy," Garlits was a groundbreaking innovator who authored the closest thing the NHRA has to a "before and after" moment. In 1971, Garlits became the first competitor to win a race with a rear-engine dragster.

The story of Garlits's signature breakthrough began in 1970, when Garlits lost half of his right foot after the transmission in his front-engine Swamp Rat 13 dragster exploded on the starting line of a race at Lions Drag Strip. Garlits conceived the idea of a rear-engine dragster while recovering in the hospital, and he immediately set to work on realizing his vision.

At the 1971 NHRA Winternationals, Garlits debuted his rear-engine Swamp Rat 14 against a field filled with front-engine dragsters. He won. After that, rear-engine configurations became the norm, and the days of serious injuries caused by front-engine dragsters being pushed beyond their limits became a thing of the past.

1976: Shirley Muldowney Smashes the Gender Barrier

One of the most significant moments in the history of NHRA drag racing belongs to Shirley Muldowney, who became the first female driver ever to win a Top Fuel race when she posted a final-round victory over Bob Edwards at the 1976 NHRA Springnationals in Columbus, Ohio.

Muldowney made her dragstrip debut in 1958, and slowly but surely made a name for herself as a top competitor in local events in upstate New York. Her barrier-breaking 1976 win followed what was, at the time, an unlikely rise to the uppermost ranks of the Top Fuel circuit. She went on to capture the Top Fuel world championship the following year, making her the first female driver ever to achieve the feat.

Muldowney may have been the first female Top Fuel winner in NHRA history, but she was far from the last. In the years and decades that followed, she was joined by the likes of Angelle Sampey, Erica Enders, Ashley Force Hood, Courtney Force, Brittany Force, Leah Pruett, and Alexis DeJoria.

These courageous competitors showed that women could not only hold their own in top-level competition — they could dominate. 

1992: Kenny Bernstein Breaks 300 mph

In a sport that's all about speed, one barrier loomed large since 1975: the 300 mph mark. It became drag racing's next big speed target not long after Don Garlits became the first driver to crack 250 mph. Seventeen years would pass before Kenny Bernstein finally eclipsed it.

On March 20, 1992, Bernstein's Budweiser King dragster was clocked at a top speed of 301.7 mph at the Motorcraft Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. He collected a $50,000 check from Slick 50 for his efforts. About a month earlier, Slick 50 had announced it would pay the bonus to any driver who broke 300 mph in NHRA competition.

It might not be much longer before the next big milestone — 350 mph — is topped. At 345 mph, Shawn Langdon currently holds the record for the fastest run in NHRA history. He set the mark in May 2026 during an NHRA event in Adel, Georgia.

2002: John Force Wins His 10th Straight Funny Car Championship

In 2002, drag racing legend John Force captured his 10th straight NHRA Funny Car championship, capping a streak that began in 1993. The historic win extended Force's hold on the all-time record for consecutive Funny Car titles, which he broke in 1997 by topping the four straight championships fellow NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein won from 1985–1988.

Force's rise to stardom was all the more compelling because he had struggled for years to establish himself as a serious Funny Car contender. Force had launched his racing career in the 1970s, but it wasn't until early 1990s that he truly broke through.

By 2025, when Force officially announced his retirement from racing, he had 12 NHRA championships to his name along with 16 season championships and 157 wins in individual events. Racing pundits widely believe that many of Force's records will never be broken.

For its part, the NHRA has itself acknowledged what scores of fans already knew: Force is widely considered the greatest of all time.

Honorable Mentions and More Great NHRA Moments

The preceding milestones only scratch the surface of drag racing's best moments. We could also easily have included these iconic chapters from NHRA history:

• Ashley Force's historic 2008 triumph that made her the first female to win an NHRA Funny Car national event
• "The Run:" Tony Schumacher's legendary 2006 championship clincher
• John Force's first career win in 1987
• Bob Glidden's undefeated 1978–79 year in the Pro Stock circuit
• Don Prudhomme's 1975 five-second Funny Car run

The list goes on and on, and the NHRA has compiled its official selections of the 75 greatest moments in its history as part of its 75th anniversary milestone.

PEAK is a proud supporter of the National Hot Rod Association, with fun fan engagement initiatives like the PEAKSquad Race Down the Track sweepstakes. It's free to enter, with the grand prize winner snagging a trip for two to the 2026 NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway.

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