In NHRA, fastest drivers in the world wait to race again
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The split-second drama of the NHRA Drag Racing Series, with top speeds hovering around 330 mph, is halted until June at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Drivers across the series are stuck at home, many away from full-time racing for the first time since childhood.
“This is what I have done since I was a kid,” Nitro Funny Car driver J.R. Todd said. “I raced here (Lucas Oil Raceway) when I was 10 years old. So, knowing that eventually I get to climb back into a 330 mph Nitro Funny Car, that is my motivation to get up every day and not just sit at home pouting about it.”
Todd isn’t the only NHRA driver with no data to go off during this hiatus.
“My grandpa, he is 92 years old now, he has never seen anything like this in his life,” Top Fuel driver Austin Prock said.
“None of us have had to go without racing for this long. This is our second offseason pretty much. Usually, we only have two months off at the end of the year. I am chomping at the bit to get back out there.“
On the business side, following the announcement last month that the series is postponing races through the month of May, NHRA officials remained positive about the 2020 season.
With essentially a six-month layoff from last season to solid racing in 2020 — the burning question this summer: Which driver can capitalize on a wild sprint to the finish?
Racing fans across the country hope they get a chance to find out.