The Seven Best Drag Racing Events in the United States
09-13-2021
#1
Former Sponsor
Thread Starter
The Seven Best Drag Racing Events in the United States
Drag racing is America. America is drag racing. Drag racing is the ultimate automotive benchmark of “Screw you, I'm better”. That... that phrase right there encapsulates America as a whole. From the inception of America itself, it has always been trying to best the people and countries around. When two cars lay rubber down the drag strip, slinging those wondrous hydrocarbons out the exhaust, a Bald Eagle sheds a tear due to the sheer beauty of American Freedom. Hyperbolics aside, Drag Racing is in the blood of Americans. One of the most popular shows on American cable networks is a show called Street Outlaws. This show is purely about some of the fastest drag race cars that race on the street in America. Frankly the world as almost all the drag racing records are held by Americans.
So what is Drag Racing? This is when two cars race side by side in a straight line to a given end spot. Excluding some exceptions, racers will start at the starting line from a dead stop. They will then race down the track at the same time until they reach the finish line which is an eighth mile or quarter mile down. In the past it has always been a quarter mile race but in the past ten years or so, eighth mile racing has gained popularity as cars are much faster now than they used to be. So what events are the best?
7) Your Local Track
Go to your local track. They will most likely have some sort of social media to follow. There you will find the people in your own community who love the sport. It is almost always a great environment where you can make friends and scope out your competition. The local tracks are the lifeblood of drag racing as they are where new racers will spawn. They will often have events there to draw in larger crowds. It is a great time all around and I can not suggest local tracks enough!
6) No Prep Kings (NPK)
Previously I mentioned how one of the most popular shows on television was about a bunch of the fastest street racers in the world. They have a live event at drag strips all across the United States where they race for money at drag strips. It is called No Prep as they do not add any glue or rubber down to the track to make it a better gripping surface. However the track is that day, that is how they race. People can meet their favorite Street Outlaws as well in the pits.
5) NHRA/NMRA Finals
Do you wanna be a part of one of the longest running drag racing series ever? NHRA is where it is at then. They have classes for the showroom stock, enthusiast racer, series drag racer, the best the manufacturers can do, and all the way to 11,000+ horsepower dragsters. It truly is a sight to behold as the fastest people in the world show up to lay it all down on the line.
NMRA has some of the fastest small tire radial people on the planet. These are the you and I’s. These are the cars that look like ours, and could possibly be ours if we put enough blood, sweat, and money into them. I know this is what I am building my car to do.
4) Duck’s Race’s
Donald ‘Duck’ Long is a character in himself and possibly one of the best event promoters to ever grace earth. He puts on a few events every year which are all named something different. There is Lights Out, No Mercy, and a few others. Together they are called Duck’s Races. It does not matter which event of his you choose to go to because they are all going to be wild. Bring some cash with you because there will be people betting at the starting line guaranteed. The cars there that he focuses on the most are going to be the small tire radial cars. Some of which are running close to 200 mph in the eighth mile.
3) Street Car Takeover
Are you all about fast cars that are more feasible or more practical or just don't care about a million dollar one off race car? This is your event. There's everything from big turbo Civics to classic muscle cars that will blow the doors off anything. THere are 1600 hp GTR and 2400 hp vipers. There are 7 second quarter mile cars there that the owner drove from his house in. If you're into twin turbo Lambo’s and Audi’s then this is the event for you. Thesee events that are all across the United States draw in hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts where anything and everything can be found.
2) Hot Rod’s ZipTie Drags or Roadkill Nights
Hot Rod Magazine puts on many automotive related shows along with their iconic magazine. One of these shows is called RoadKill where David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan often buy a junky old car, fix it up, and road trip it. They have a few events to meet fans across the United States but every single one of them is guaranteed to be a great time. Zip Tie drags is held at the Tucson Dragway and attendees can caravan from LA to Arizona with them. It is a massive event where everything from beautiful restored classics to retro muscle cars to a car that has been sitting for 30 years is at. They have a big party and often a bonfire for people to hang around and just talk. Dodge is a big sponsor and has the latest and greatest cars there. At Roadkill nights it is fairly similar but on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Here they actually race on a real road that people days prior were driving on. It is a spectacle and continues the long standing tradition of people street racing on Woodward Ave
1) Texas 2K
Texas 2K is probably the craziest event out there because it is not only a massive drag racing event with the fastest street cars in the United States coming but there are many extracurriculars that happen. The extraCurriculars are sometimes the bigger appeal for some. The event itself puts the fastest road cars and non-road legal cars on the strip to lay down as much power as possible, making a name for themselves. Hundreds of thousands show up for the event. But late at night, many racers decide to take it to the streets and roll race and dig race all across Houston Texas. You may be cruising home and see a 2500 hp Lamborghini racing an LS swapped twin turbo fox body down the highway. The event doesn’t even end when it's over! It is something that everyone should see.
So what is Drag Racing? This is when two cars race side by side in a straight line to a given end spot. Excluding some exceptions, racers will start at the starting line from a dead stop. They will then race down the track at the same time until they reach the finish line which is an eighth mile or quarter mile down. In the past it has always been a quarter mile race but in the past ten years or so, eighth mile racing has gained popularity as cars are much faster now than they used to be. So what events are the best?
7) Your Local Track
Go to your local track. They will most likely have some sort of social media to follow. There you will find the people in your own community who love the sport. It is almost always a great environment where you can make friends and scope out your competition. The local tracks are the lifeblood of drag racing as they are where new racers will spawn. They will often have events there to draw in larger crowds. It is a great time all around and I can not suggest local tracks enough!
6) No Prep Kings (NPK)
Previously I mentioned how one of the most popular shows on television was about a bunch of the fastest street racers in the world. They have a live event at drag strips all across the United States where they race for money at drag strips. It is called No Prep as they do not add any glue or rubber down to the track to make it a better gripping surface. However the track is that day, that is how they race. People can meet their favorite Street Outlaws as well in the pits.
5) NHRA/NMRA Finals
Do you wanna be a part of one of the longest running drag racing series ever? NHRA is where it is at then. They have classes for the showroom stock, enthusiast racer, series drag racer, the best the manufacturers can do, and all the way to 11,000+ horsepower dragsters. It truly is a sight to behold as the fastest people in the world show up to lay it all down on the line.
NMRA has some of the fastest small tire radial people on the planet. These are the you and I’s. These are the cars that look like ours, and could possibly be ours if we put enough blood, sweat, and money into them. I know this is what I am building my car to do.
4) Duck’s Race’s
Donald ‘Duck’ Long is a character in himself and possibly one of the best event promoters to ever grace earth. He puts on a few events every year which are all named something different. There is Lights Out, No Mercy, and a few others. Together they are called Duck’s Races. It does not matter which event of his you choose to go to because they are all going to be wild. Bring some cash with you because there will be people betting at the starting line guaranteed. The cars there that he focuses on the most are going to be the small tire radial cars. Some of which are running close to 200 mph in the eighth mile.
3) Street Car Takeover
Are you all about fast cars that are more feasible or more practical or just don't care about a million dollar one off race car? This is your event. There's everything from big turbo Civics to classic muscle cars that will blow the doors off anything. THere are 1600 hp GTR and 2400 hp vipers. There are 7 second quarter mile cars there that the owner drove from his house in. If you're into twin turbo Lambo’s and Audi’s then this is the event for you. Thesee events that are all across the United States draw in hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts where anything and everything can be found.
2) Hot Rod’s ZipTie Drags or Roadkill Nights
Hot Rod Magazine puts on many automotive related shows along with their iconic magazine. One of these shows is called RoadKill where David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan often buy a junky old car, fix it up, and road trip it. They have a few events to meet fans across the United States but every single one of them is guaranteed to be a great time. Zip Tie drags is held at the Tucson Dragway and attendees can caravan from LA to Arizona with them. It is a massive event where everything from beautiful restored classics to retro muscle cars to a car that has been sitting for 30 years is at. They have a big party and often a bonfire for people to hang around and just talk. Dodge is a big sponsor and has the latest and greatest cars there. At Roadkill nights it is fairly similar but on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Here they actually race on a real road that people days prior were driving on. It is a spectacle and continues the long standing tradition of people street racing on Woodward Ave
1) Texas 2K
Texas 2K is probably the craziest event out there because it is not only a massive drag racing event with the fastest street cars in the United States coming but there are many extracurriculars that happen. The extraCurriculars are sometimes the bigger appeal for some. The event itself puts the fastest road cars and non-road legal cars on the strip to lay down as much power as possible, making a name for themselves. Hundreds of thousands show up for the event. But late at night, many racers decide to take it to the streets and roll race and dig race all across Houston Texas. You may be cruising home and see a 2500 hp Lamborghini racing an LS swapped twin turbo fox body down the highway. The event doesn’t even end when it's over! It is something that everyone should see.
