Drag Racing at Arizona’s Wildhorse Pass Motorsports Park NHRA Sanctioned track 02/29/2020 @gofastentertainment #gofastentertainment
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world.[1]
The association was founded by Wally Parks in 1951 in California to provide a governing body to organize and promote the sport of drag racing. NHRA’s first Nationals was held in 1955, in Great Bend, Kansas. (Typical for the era, this race was held on a World War II-constructed training air field.) The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, the national event series which comprises 24 races each year, is the premier series in drag racing that brings together the best drag racers from across North America and the world. The NHRA U.S. Nationals are now held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana and are officially called the U.S. Nationals. Winners of national events are awarded a trophy statue in honor of founder Wally Parks. The trophy is commonly referred to by its nickname, a “Wally”.
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles (usually specially prepared for the purpose) compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi (1,320 ft; 402 m), with a shorter (1,000 ft (305 m)) becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard, while the 1⁄8 mi (660 ft; 201 m) is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing is nearly as long as the history of motorized vehicles themselves, and has taken the form of both illegal street racing, and as an organized and regulated motorsport.
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goal.
A race may be run continuously to finish or may be made of several segments called heats, stages or legs. A heat is usually run over the same course at different times. A stage is a shorter section of a much longer course or a time trial.
Early records of races are evident on pottery from ancient Greece, which depicted running men vying for first place. A chariot race is described in Homer’s Iliad.
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is a motorsports venue in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix. It features a quarter-mile dragstrip, a road course, an off-road course, and motorboat racing lake.
The facility opened as Firebird International Raceway in 1983 and hosts the NHRA’s Arizona Nationals. It held one IMSA GT race, in 1987. Due to its warm climate, it is a popular winter testing spot for NHRA and IndyCar teams. In December 1992, Three-time Formula One World Driving Champion Ayrton Senna famously tested an IndyCar at this facility (then still called Firebird International Raceway) with Team Penske. Senna was intrigued, but eventually decided to stay in Formula One.
The venue currently hosts an array of auto enthusiast events, such as the NHRA Nationals, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing Series, Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing, Red Bull Global Rally Cross, Bug-o-Rama, Formula Drift, Friday Night Drags, Drift & Drag Nights.
The 600 acre multi-use facility is currently used by dragsters, monster trucks, off-road races, and drag boats. Some of the biggest brands in motorsports, including Lucas Oil, Coca-Cola, CARQUEST and Ford have sponsored the circuit.
The park includes four race tracks: a 1/4 mile NHRA sanctioned drag strip; 1.6 mile road course; a 10-turn 1.25 mile road course; and a 1.1 mile road course, incorporating 11 tight turns and a 3/8 mile straight-away. It also features a 2.4 mile IHBA- and APBA-sanctioned oval lake.
On February 24, 1985, in one of the most chilling accidents ever seen at the lake, Drag Boat Racer Sunny Moon was nearly killed after jumping out of his drag boat when he jammed his throttle going around 160 MPH, which launched into the air after hitting the shore and exploded into flames after slamming into a row of high tension power lines. Moon was knocked unconscious after hitting the water at 160 MPH, but amazingly, he suffered only minor injuries in the accident. The accident was filmed by cameraman Terry Fox.