PLACE YOUR BETS :
LEGAL GAMBLING ARRIVES IN DRAG RACING
Gambling has officially arrived in the National Hot Rod Association ( NHRA ). While there have been options to bet on drag racing before , the NHRA officially launched its gaming initiative , PlayNHRA , in May .
As part of PlayNHRA , NHRA ’ s partnerships with sports books and fantasy sports providers give fans the opportunity to sign up for free and legally wager on national events and other outcomes in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series .
With the launch of PlayNHRA , the hope is to attract more fans and engage them in the sport while providing a safe and regulated place to play fantasy games , gaming , and betting .
Winlights Bets ’ Founder , Rex Simmermaker , who has been in the gaming space since 2023 and is on the cusp of releasing its real-money product , acknowledges the polarizing nature of sports gambling but highlights its potential to enhance fan engagement .
“ This could bring an air of integrity to our sport that ’ s been lacking for a while ,” says Simmermaker . “ If people can make legal wagers on drag racing , it will bring in a lot of people who aren ’ t necessarily diehard fans . When you see someone win $ 700 because they picked the right driver , it creates a buzz and raises awareness .”
Odds are released before every NHRA national event , allowing fans to analyze the data and place their wagers on drivers . As a by-product of PlayNHRA , Drag Illustrated ’ s own JT Hudson saw the opportunity to start Who Ya Got , the first NHRA gaming and fantasy show , as part of DI ’ s original content line-up . Who Ya Got provides everyone the opportunity to engage and a reason to love drag racing .
If gambling isn ’ t your thing , the first dynamic online drag racing bracket competition , Drag Race Bracket Bonanza ( DRBB ), has started a cult-like following within the sport . DRBB , launched in August 2023 by media expert Elon Werner , operates in the fantasy space and is free to sign up and play .
“ My goal is for drag racing fans to fill out their brackets and encourage their non-drag racing friends to try their luck . Drag racing is unpredictable , and the excitement of seeing your favorite driver win rounds should be recognized and celebrated ,” says Werner .
DRBB is user-friendly and can be played on a phone or laptop . Picks are made round by round for all four professional classes , and points are earned with every correct pick until there is one overall event winner . In an exciting conclusion , at the end of every national event , DRBB prizes are given to its players . – KAYLA ZADEL DI
DRAG-AND-DRIVE IS ON THE RISE
The drag-and-drive segment of drag racing was merely an infant when the original “ 25 Reasons to Be Excited About Drag Racing ” appeared in DI # 44 in 2010 . HOT ROD Drag Week , which is largely credited with kicking off the drag-and-drive movement , started in 2005 and steadily picked up steam . Almost 20 years later , drag-and-drive is one of the hottest things going in drag racing . It ’ s attracting droves of new participants and fans , its stars are veritable car culture heroes , and sponsors are rushing to be a part of the gold rush .
In a day when drag racing magazine titles can easily be counted on one hand , the drag-and-drive movement even inspired its own print publication . Michigan ’ s Tom Bailey , one of the icons of the drag-and-drive world , launched Sick The Magazine in 2021 to cover the rapidly growing list of drag-and-drive events popping up around the country . The next year , the Sick team created Sick Week , a five-day , fourtrack drag-and-drive event in Florida and Georgia . The Drag-and-Drive Calendar on Sick ’ s website lists nearly 50 events this year , from Alaska to Florida and England to Australia , including Sick Week , Sick Summer , and the forthcoming Edelbrock Sick 66 in October .
As the editor of Sick The Magazine , Luke Nieuwhof has an in-depth knowledge of the drag-and-drive scene . In addition to producing the magazine , he works with Bailey and the Sick team to determine the routes for Sick events . He also attends numerous other drag-anddrive events to provide coverage , while contributing writers and photographers from around the country and even around the world submit content from their local events . Over the last few years , he ’ s seen the community explode with popularity .
“ There are more events than ever , yet events are still selling out ,” Nieuwhof says . “ Sick Week , Sick Summer , Drag Week , Rocky Mountain Race Week – they ’ re all full . Smaller events have popped up in every region of the country . Where other trends like radial drag racing have popped up in a more regional fashion , drag-and-drive seems to be without boundaries . I truly believe it is as significant a development in drag racing as bracket
racing was in terms of attracting new people to the sport .”
One of the factors fueling the segment ’ s growth is the media coverage it receives .
“ Obviously , HOT ROD kicked off the drag-anddrive craze , so it has been media-driven from the start ,” Nieuwhof says . “ What they started , the YouTubers like 1320Video and Cleetus McFarland then sent into overdrive . Now there ’ s a whole ecosystem of media going on , from what we do at Sick The Magazine to the dozens of YouTube channels you can find dedicated to drag-and-drive builds . Even relatively small race teams will often have a YouTube channel dedicated to their builds .”
But very few of the hundreds of competitors who pull through the gates for a drag-and-drive event expect to become a YouTube star or a trade show celebrity . Some want to set records . Others want to prove to themselves and others that the car they built can withstand a week of torture on the dragstrip and on the road . But almost all of them just want to have fun with their family , their friends , and their car while enjoying the camaraderie of the drag-anddrive community .
“ Every trend in drag racing has a life span ,” Nieuwhof starts . “ We saw it with Outlaw 10.5 , radial tires , and so on . But I think drag-and-drive is unique because it ’ s a totally different way of experiencing drag racing . You can do it with your family , you can have a vacation at the same time , you get to see the country , and you get to spend so much more time in the car .”
– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
PHOTOGRAPH BY COLE REYNOLDS
118 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 190