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NHRA to name top 50 drivers during 50th anniversary season

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
GLENDORA, Calif. - If ever there was an ultimate endeavor that tested the limits of man and machine, the flat-out, hold-your-breath quarter-mile blast that we call drag racing is it.

Whether the machine is a 6,000 horsepower, fire-breathing Top Fuel dragster, a short-wheelbased, wall-seeking Funny Car, a high-winding, 200-mph Pro Stock vehicle, or one of thousands of unique sportsman entries, it's the skill of the people inside the machine that help create the magic.

During NHRA's 50th anniversary celebration, the best drivers in the history of the sport will be recognized. Through NHRA's 50 years many heroes have emerged from the motorized masses to stand ahead of their peers. To recognize these individuals, NHRA has assembled a panel of experts to help determine, through a special voting process, the best of all time on the quarter-mile.

It was decided early that the spectrum of people involved in the sport of drag racing -- from drivers and owners and crew chiefs to aftermarket suppliers and component manufacturers -- was too broad to gain a consensus, so the nominees were limited to those who had actually driven a race vehicle in NHRA national event competition.

A panel of drag racing experts (see attached list), from diverse fields including print and television journalists, and longtime historians of the sport were asked to cast their votes for NHRA's Top 50 Drivers. The panel members used the following criteria in the voting process:

  • * On-track success
  • * Contributions to the growth of NHRA drag racing
  • * Technological breakthroughs
  • * Marketing/sponsorship breakthroughs
  • * Fan popularity
  • * Innovations
  • * Miscellaneous

Each panel member supplied a ranked listing of drivers from 1-50. The votes were then tabulated using a weighted points formula (see below) and combined to arrive at the final list.

NHRA's Top 50 Drivers will be unveiled on NHRA.com and through the pages of National Dragster, in reverse order throughout the 2001 season, with a schedule leading up to the naming of the top driver at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway on Nov. 11.

Text Provided By Anthony Vestal

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.