DRAG RACING runs deep for Austin Hayward, the young gentleman standing guard over the timing systems at NHRA national events. Hayward’ s role within NHRA is to calibrate, maintain, and oversee national event timing for the categories that fall under the Mission Foods and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. He’ s the direct line between the NHRA division directors and the manufacturers of the three timing systems, working closely with representatives from Portatree, Accutime, and CompuLink, and he’ s also part of the team looking at what the future of timing systems is for drag racing over the next 30 years.

Genealogy connects Hayward to drag racing – his grandfather, Art Hayward, was president of Chrondek timing systems( the predecessor to the current Compulink system) and served as the NHRA Electronics Director for three decades. Buck Hayward, Art’ s son and Austin’ s father, learned the trade and devoted much of his early life to building racetracks.

“ I don’ t know if I had a choice, really,” says Hayward from In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, where he had just arrived to set up the timing system ahead of the final race of the season.“ I don’ t know what else I would have done – I was eight or nine years old and going to work with my dad at the racetrack every weekend. If he left me at home, I was mad. It’ s just where I wanted to be.”

Hayward was also a racer and grew up at Barona Drag Strip in San Diego. He went from Jr. Dragsters to a big car and did fairly well, but he truly found his

niche right there in his grandfather’ s footsteps. It wasn’ t, however, through Art’ s encouragement that his career grew in that direction.

“ We were very close, but my grandpa hated me racing and working at racetracks,” Hayward admits.“ He didn’ t want me involved in this at all. He had seen so many starry-eyed kids come into the sport and face challenges and have nothing else at the end. He died in 2018, the same day as‘ Mongoose’ [ Tom McEwen ], and two weeks before that – the last time I saw him – he apologized for trying to keep me away from this. He saw how much I loved it and that I was really good at it. That meant a lot to me.”

The younger Hayward’ s love for working at a dragstrip likely came at the pivotal moment when he was just seven years old and was tasked with working the time slip booth after the staff member was a no-show.

“ Over the years, I just ended up working every position imaginable at the dragstrip,” he recalls.“ I raced, too. I snookered my dad into buying me a Jr., had the deal set up when I was 11. When I was 18, I moved to Houston and went to SAM Tech because I wanted to go work on Pro Stock cars.”

But as fate and habit would have it, working behind the scenes was where Hayward would land. Kenny DeLaughter, who built Houston Raceway Park and became the track / maintenance manager, was his entry point, and track owner Seth Angel eventually took notice and offered him a full-time gig. It just grew from there. Hayward learned it all, fell in love with mastering track prep, and helped everyone he could. For a short time, he and wife Ambria worked to bring tiny Texas track Pine Valley Raceway back to life. Although they poured everything into the project, from heart and soul to time and dollars, that period of time proved more of a learning experience than a successful business venture.

Ambria has been by Hayward’ s side through incredible highs and lows, and they’ re looking forward to the future and a time when they can grow their family and pass along their shared passions and all this life has to offer.

“ I love drag racing and the people I work with, and I really love seeing records set and first-time winners,” says Hayward.“ I’ ve been very blessed in that way. Drag racing has taught me a lot about life and how it has a weird way of changing. You have to be able to pivot. You also have to enjoy what you’ re doing and have fun. I don’ t do this for the accolades, I’ ve just always done it because I’ ve loved it.”

– KELLY WADE DI

PHOTOS: JERRY FOSS, ALEX OWENS

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