{"id":104662,"date":"2026-08-27T20:44:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/two-of-drag-racings-most-familiar-faces-are-headed-to-stroud-safety\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T20:44:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T20:44:06","slug":"two-of-drag-racings-most-familiar-faces-are-headed-to-stroud-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/two-of-drag-racings-most-familiar-faces-are-headed-to-stroud-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Two of Drag Racing\u2019s Most Familiar Faces Are Headed to Stroud Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stroud Safety has added Allen and Debbie Bridges to its team, bringing one of drag racing\u2019s most recognizable trackside duos to the Oklahoma City-based motorsports safety manufacturer.<\/p>\n

The husband-and-wife team has spent more than 30 years working directly with racers at the racetrack \u2013 31 of those years on the NHRA midway, most recently with Simpson \u2013 building a customer base that spans nitro, Pro Mod, sportsman and everything in between. Their addition comes as Stroud continues to expand its product line and its presence at events across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stood out to me about Allen and Debbie is that they bring a combination of experience, relationships and a real understanding of the racer that is difficult to duplicate,\u201d said Tommy Cunningham, owner of Stroud Safety. \u201cThey have spent decades in this industry, and they understand that motorsports safety isn\u2019t just about selling a product. It\u2019s about understanding what the racer needs, being available when they need you, and earning their trust over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Stroud continues to grow and expand our product offering, we felt like this was the right time to add people with that depth of experience. Allen and Debbie know the products, they know the customers, and most importantly, they understand the culture of this sport. That fits very well with how we want to grow Stroud.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Bridges, the move is a chance to keep doing what they\u2019ve always done \u2013 just under a different banner.<\/p>\n

\u201cDebbie and I are really excited to now be part of the team at Stroud,\u201d Allen Bridges said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been out there in the pits for over 30 years, and that\u2019s our racing family. Anything we can do to make it safer and be there for people when they need us is very important. It\u2019s going to be really refreshing to be part of a team whose main objective is to provide a quality product and service for our racing family.\u201d<\/p>\n

That availability is the reputation the Bridges have built.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pretty much live this deal,\u201d Debbie Bridges said. \u201cWe\u2019re always on call for our customers seven days a week. Anybody\u2019s got questions or needs to know anything, we\u2019re there for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stroud Chief Revenue Officer John Gentry<\/a>, who has been part of the company since 2019, called the hire a rare opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 30-plus years of experience in the safety industry, and specifically in drag racing, I truly don\u2019t feel like there is anyone in the United States as qualified as this combo,\u201d Gentry said. \u201cThe big thing Tommy and I have missed out on is being in front of the racers more at the racetrack. Allen and Debbie will help us change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham said the Bridges\u2019 impact is expected to reach beyond customer service and into what Stroud builds next.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllen has seen an enormous amount of safety equipment used in real racing conditions over the years,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThat kind of firsthand feedback is incredibly valuable when you\u2019re deciding what products to improve, what products to develop next, and what racers actually want versus what we think they want. We\u2019re working on several new and improved products right now, and Allen and Debbie will have key roles in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited about pursuing some new angles on parachutes, and the seat belt market as well,\u201d Allen said. \u201cTommy\u2019s very excited about this deal, and so are we. Everybody\u2019s just really pumped to go out there and push this brand to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen and Debbie Bridges will be in the pits at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Sept. 2-7 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, in their new roles with Stroud Safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, our goal isn\u2019t simply to sell more safety equipment,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cWe want Stroud to continue becoming a stronger resource for racers \u2013 better products, better service and people they know they can call when they need help. I think Allen and Debbie are going to help us move significantly closer to that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on August 27, 2026. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post Two of Drag Racing\u2019s Most Familiar Faces Are Headed to Stroud Safety<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stroud Safety has added Allen and Debbie Bridges to its team, bringing one of drag racing\u2019s most recognizable trackside duos to the Oklahoma City-based motorsports safety manufacturer. The husband-and-wife team has spent more than 30 years working directly with racers at the racetrack \u2013 31 of those years on the NHRA midway, most recently with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}