Drag Racing's Quarter-Mile Warriors II & Drag Racing's Rebels 2 Book Set

Drag racing fans have a fondness for the drag cars that competed during the sport’s golden era (from the late 1950s through the 1970s). The cars were simpler to understand and, in many classes, were similar to cars that people saw on the street. A Pro Stock car in the early 1970s resembled a street car with big slicks and a massive engine. Today’s Pro Stock cars look more like fighter jets than street cars. The newer cars just aren’t as relatable as those from the past.

With the evolution of technology and the sanctioning bodies constantly changes class rules, drag cars often don’t last very long before they are no longer competitive or a sanctioning body has outlawed the tech that the car features. So, what happens to all of these old race cars? Some sit in a shed, some are dismantled and parted out, and some still race in small events or vintage events across the country.

In Drag Racing’s Quarter-Mile Warriors: Volume II, prolific veteran drag racing author Dog Boyce chronicles even more of the most popular cars from the sport’s golden era. Rail cars, Funny Cars, Altereds, Junior Stocks, and Super Stocks are all covered here―more than 80 of them in a “then and now” format. A blend of vintage and modern photos tell the story of the racing lives of these cars.

When the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was formed in 1951 by Wally Parks, the reasoning for the formation was to “create order from chaos” by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport of drag racing. Some organization was certainly necessary. A postwar boom in automotive enthusiasm was reaching new heights, and Hot Rod magazine and the NHRA were right in the thick of it.

The NHRA hosted its first drag racing event in 1953, and in 1955, the organization staged its first national event, which was simply called “The Nationals.” The AHRA formed in 1956 as an alternative to the NHRA, where the drivers voted on the rules (rather than sanctioning bodies and tracks), and their influence on the sport was felt almost immediately.

When the NHRA denied the use of nitromethane in 1957, the AHRA approved it. When the NHRA banned aircraft-powered dragsters in 1961, the AHRA welcomed them. When the NHRA said no to the emerging Funny Car in 1965, the AHRA said yes. When fans and racers screamed for a heads-up Super Stock category in 1968, the AHRA delivered. The AHRA was called a rebel association. Some say that it was more of an association that got things done—to the delight of fans and racers. The AHRA was on equal ground with the NHRA by the 1970s, drawing enormous crowds and racer entries.

In this fascinating history, veteran author Doug Boyce tells the story of the AHRA: the rise, the competition, the events, and the eventual downfall of the organization. After AHRA President Jim Tice passed away in 1982, internal fighting for control of the association resulted in its doom. Get the whole story here, and add this wonderful volume to your drag racing library