Drag racing has lost an iconic figure in the world of sportsman racing.

Scotty Richardson, 54, passed away on August 14, 2024, following a brief illness. 

It is estimated that Richardson won hundreds, if not thousands, of drag races during his storied career. Richardson’s talents shone on big and little stages and behind the wheel of full-bodied and open-wheeled machinery. 

A testimony to his talents, Richardson was voted into the NHRA 50 greatest drivers during the 2003 50th anniversary season. His wins spanned from victories close to home in Kennedale, Texas, to his first NHRA national event crown [Super Gas] at the inaugural [1988] NHRA SuperNationals in Baytown, Texas. 

NHRA National DRAGSTER Sr. Editor Kevin McKenna, who likely wrote more articles on Richardson than anyone in the business, shared one of his memories in a recent article penned on NHRA.com 

“There are more than enough Scotty Richardson stories to fill several volumes, and one of the earliest (and most entertaining) involves the 13-year-old prodigy sneaking off to a local track with the family station wagon, winning a big-bracket race and later having to explain to a Texas State Trooper how the $3,000 cash he was carrying was earned as prize money,” McKenna wrote. 

Richardson amassed 39 national event victories in six different eliminators, starting with the first win at the Houston event. He cemented five NHRA world championships and lost two on tiebreakers. Richardson became the first NHRA driver to secure two series championships in the same season when, in 1994, he won both Super Comp and Super Gas. A year later, he won four of seven events in the Super Street division. 

By 2005, Richardson had moved to the big bucks bracket scene, where he pocketed more than an average share of prize money. 

With Richardson’s passing, drag racing has lost a legend, and he will forever go down in history as one of a kind.