Since it was founded by Wally Parks in 1951, NHRA has been dedicated to safety while providing millions of racing fans with the fastest and most spectacular form of entertainment on wheels. Parks initially started NHRA as a means of getting hot-rodders off the streets and onto legal drag strips. Since those early days, NHRA has evolved into the largest promoter of professional drag racing in the world.

Keeping with Parks’ original philosophy, the NHRA will continue to guide the sport, assuring that safety and technological improvements remain a top priority. Progressive changes will help the NHRA continue to fulfill its leadership role in the motorsports world well into the future.

While the grassroots racing organization has come a long way in its 70-plus years of operation, some things will never change. It’s easy to see why racers and fans are so committed to NHRA Championship Drag Racing.

In 1947, Parks, a military tank test-driver for General Motors who served in the army in the South Pacific in World War II, helped organize the Southern California Timing Association and later became its general manager.

The first SCTA "Speed Week," held at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in 1949, was the result of a diligent effort of Parks, then its executive secretary. It was here that racers first began running "against the clock" - actually, a stopwatch - coaxing their vehicles to accelerate quicker rather than simply to attain high top speeds.

The first dragstrip, the Santa Ana Drags, began running on an airfield in Southern California in 1950 and quickly gained popularity among the Muroc crowd because of its revolutionary computerized speed clocks.

When Parks became editor of the monthly enthusiast magazine Hot Rod, he had the forum and the power to form the National Hot Rod Association in 1951 to "create order from chaos" by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport. He was its first president.

NHRA held its first official race in April 1953 on a slice of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot in Pomona, Calif. Four decades later, that track has undergone a $6-million expansion and renovation and hosts the NHRA season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals and the season finale, the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

In 1955, NHRA staged its first national event, called simply "the Nationals" in Great Bend, Kan. Six years later, as the Nationals hopscotched around the country to showcase the growing sport before settling in Indianapolis in 1961, the Winternationals became NHRA's second event.

The aggressive upgrading of facilities to stadium quality, with fan amenities, VIP towers, and tall grandstands, was the passion of NHRA President Dallas Gardner, who took the reins in 1984 when Parks became board chairman.

With 50,000 members and more than 35,000 licensed competitors, NHRA is a thriving leader in the world of motorsports. Parks, who died in 2007 at the age of 94, initially started NHRA as a means of getting hot rodders off the streets and on to legal drag strips. Since those early days, NHRA has evolved into the largest promoter of professional drag racing in the world. Today, with more than 200 dedicated employees, NHRA offers drag racing opportunities for hot rod enthusiasts of all levels, from youth ages 5 to 17 in the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League all the way up to the top of the professional ranks with the NHRACamping World Drag Racing Series.

While Top Fuel dragsters routinely cover the race distance at more than 330 mph, NHRA is moving just as fast in popularity with auto racing fans. Second only to NASCAR in terms of attendance, fan appeal, television ratings and sponsorship commitment among the major motorsports organizations, NHRA is moving quickly into mainstream America.

There are 120 member tracks across North America that host NHRA competitions each week in NHRA's seven geographic regions. In addition to the marquee Camping World Series, which crisscrosses the U.S., making 24 stops in 21 cities in 10 months, NHRA offers popular weekly grassroots programs at many of its member tracks. One of the most popular is the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style, which offers anyone with a car, driver's license, helmet, and auto insurance the opportunity to compete in grudge-match style drag racing. Serious weekend warriors can compete each weekend at their local track in the NHRA Summit Racing Series, which crowns national champions each season. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series provides a developmental series for those who are interested in a career as a touring pro. And the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series features some of the nation's wildest doorslammer race cars covering the drag strip at speeds approaching 250 mph.