For as long as I can remember, drag racing has been chasing mainstream relevance. We’ve had our moments – big movies, big races, big characters – but nothing in recent memory has moved the needle quite like Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings.
These Discovery Channel programs – rooted in gritty, outlaw energy and dialed-up TV drama – did more for drag racing’s visibility than just about anything in the last twenty years. They put our culture, our community, and our competition in front of primetime television audiences. They made it fashionable – again – to be a racer, a hot rodder, a gearhead.
And no matter how you feel about the style or the staging, the impact is undeniable.
A Different Kind of Presentation
From day one, the presentation was wildly different than anything the sport had seen before. The producers brought a cinematic style to a gritty world. In-car cameras. Multi-angle cuts of a single pass. Slick editing. These choices didn’t just make for good TV – they told a better story about what it’s like to drive one of these cars than almost anything we’ve ever seen.
It wasn’t long after we first covered Street Outlaws on the pages of Drag Illustrated that the backlash came rolling in. A lot of it landed on my doorstep – people accusing me of promoting illegal street racing. My response? Look around. Hollywood has been glamorizing sketchy behavior since the beginning. No one watches a mob movie and thinks it’s an instructional video.
And truthfully, most people who were paying attention knew those races weren’t exactly being staged in a real back alley. Yes, it was riskier than a track. Yes, it wasn’t perfect. But there were real efforts being made by production to manage that risk. It was semi-controlled chaos – but it made for compelling television.
From Street to Strip: No Prep Kings Raised the Bar
As the show evolved, moving from illegal street racing to No Prep Kings at dragstrips, everything changed. And I think it changed for the better.
They brought the racing to sanctioned tracks, and in doing so, they brought millions of viewers and fans with them. People who had never been to a dragstrip before showed up in droves – not because they were lifelong fans of the sport, but because they were fans of the drivers. They were there for Big Chief. For Murder Nova. For Kye Kelly. For Lizzy Musi.
That’s something drag racing has desperately needed – personality-driven tribalism. Real fandom. It wasn’t just about cars. It was about people. It was about rooting for someone who represented something you connected with.
The New Aspirational Culture
One of the most underrated impacts of Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings is how they created an aspirational culture that felt… accessible.
You didn’t need a carbon-fiber-bodied Pro Mod or a $500,000 budget to be in the club. A back-halved Fox Body or an old tube-chassis car could still earn you street cred. And for guys on the outside looking in – guys with a decent car, some hustle, and a dream – that mattered. It gave them something to reach for.
That kind of visibility and validation is priceless in a sport where too often it feels like you have to be born into a millionaire family to have a shot.
Changing the Drag Racing Economy
Then there’s the money. Week in, week out, these racers were battling for $40,000 purses, with bigger bounties sprinkled throughout the season. Those kinds of payouts helped shift expectations across the industry. Suddenly, more track operators started chasing that no-prep crowd. Suddenly, capacity crowds were showing up at eighth-mile outlaw tracks most people had never heard of.
It used to be that hosting an NHRA national event was the holy grail for track operators. But the reality is, not every track has the infrastructure, parking, or facilities to host one. No Prep Kings changed that. They showed what’s possible at tracks that don’t check every box – if the stars align and the right story is being told.
Today, I still see Street Outlaws and NPK drivers pulling appearance fees, selling match race bookings, and slinging tens of thousands of dollars in merch every weekend. That’s a massive shift in the drag racing economy, and one we shouldn’t overlook.
Real People. Real Stars.
And let’s not forget the human factor. Street Outlaws brought attention back to the people behind the wheel – the stories, the rivalries, the heartbreak and triumph. From the late Lizzy Musi’s battle with cancer to the intensity of Kye Kelley, Shawn Ellington, and others – those real-life storylines gave this sport the emotional weight it often lacks on more traditional broadcasts.
Some of our highest traffic stories at Drag Illustrated? They’re Lizzy Musi features. They’re coverage of No Prep stars crossing over into the DI Winter Series. When Kye Kelley won the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals this past year? That moment moved the needle like few things I’ve ever seen in Pro Mod racing. It was a collision of worlds – and the result was magic.
The Future: Tip of the Spear Storytelling
If nothing else, the Street Outlaws universe taught us the value of storytelling. That’s what today’s sports fans want. It’s what drives Drive to Survive in F1, Quarterback in the NFL, and the upcoming Formula 1 Brad Pitt movie. It’s what brings in casual fans and turns them into lifelong followers.
We need more of it in drag racing. Not less. More storytelling. More rivalries. More character development. More access.
I remember being at the Texas Motorplex and attending both an NHRA national event and an NPK race just weeks apart. The crowds were different – not just in attitude but in demographics. NPK brought in younger fans. More women. More diversity. They made an intentional effort to create heartthrobs and heroes. And it worked.
Ryan Martin and his Fireball Camaro? That dude is a household name in drag racing now. He’s not from NHRA or PDRA or MWDRS – he’s from NPK.
And Now? The Road Ahead.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the current chapter.
The future of No Prep Kings – now operating under the Speed Promotions & Racing umbrella as The Outlaws – is very much in flux. After a dominating run on Discovery Channel, the TV show has been off the air for over two years. And life post-primetime? It’s just different.
Insiders know the story: a major leadership shake-up, a merger that saddled the parent company with significant debt, and a round of tough decisions that ultimately took Street Outlaws off the weekly lineup. I don’t know that the door is entirely closed – sources say it’s not – but it’s undeniable that the lights aren’t as bright without that national TV spotlight.
Crowds have thinned. Car counts are lighter. And yet – there’s still a spark.
A loyal fanbase is still following these racers around the country. They’re showing up to see Ryan Martin, to buy Kye Kelley’s shirts, to ask Murder Nova for a selfie. These racers built something real – and that connection still exists, even without a network camera crew in tow.
Whether The Outlaws rebounds amidst rebrands and a little bit of identity confusion remains to be seen. But honestly? I don’t think it matters.
Because this group – this cast of wild-ass characters – has already done the Lord’s work when it comes to drag racing. They spread the gospel. They brought people into our world who might never have otherwise stumbled into it.
And for that, I’ll always be grateful.
This story was originally published on June 19, 2025. 
The post OPINION: No Matter What Comes Next, Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings Moved Drag Racing Forward first appeared on Drag Illustrated.