There were no cell phones, and some count their blessings.

There was no social media to add to the shame as if any of the willing participants had any.

And for some, this proved to be a blessing.

Many have labeled Brainerd International Raceway's Zoo as the wildest experience in drag racing. However, back in the 1970s, a pair of national event campground venues would have made the Zoo look like a Yacht Club gathering.

If you attended a race at Rockingham Dragway or its cousin drag strip, Thunder Valley Dragway, which is now Bristol Dragway, back in the IHRA days, then you know what we are saying.

It's only fitting that an iconic doorslammer drag racer rebounds at an iconic track known for its doorslammer history.

Friday, at the legendary drag strip in Norwalk, Ohio, two-time Pro Boost champion Todd Tutterow found his groove again, laying down the quickest run of any car on the property, a 3.627-second pass at 208.04 MPH in the third and final qualifying session during the third stop on the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series tour. 

I’m always amused when I hear drag racing fans, racers or officials talking about how, in the history of the entire high speed universe, there never has been a strike or a boycott of an NHRA national event.  If you believe the conventional wisdom, pro racers simply don’t have the fortitude to effectively rage against the establishment.

It’s an interesting theory and there’s a lot of data to support it.  I mean, it is really hard to get pro racers to agree on anything.  Sit in a meeting with four or more pro racers and they can’t even agree on refreshments and drinks.

However, the declaration that there’s NEVER been a boycott of an event run by the guys my partner always has called the High Sheriffs, simply isn’t true.  I know, because I was there.  So was my press relations partner, Dave Densmore.  The year was 1981 and the site was State Capitol Raceway outside Baton Rouge, La. 

Last September, Comp Eliminator racer Don Thomas was on top of the world as he took home over $30,000 by winning the inaugural Rooftec NHRA Comp Cash Clash, a race-within-a-race for the top 16 racers in the highly complex division. 

On Sunday, at the NHRA Texas Motorplex, he climbed to the peak of another mountain.

Thomas scored the Competition Eliminator victory at the second race of the NHRA Division 4 double-header at the Texas Motorplex, located outside of Dallas. 

She has yet to turn a tire under power in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, yet 2023 FIA Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström is already showing plenty of marketing horsepower.  

Zetterström, who is scheduled to will make her American debut at Brainerd International Raceway, Aug. 16 – 18, in Brainerd, Minnesota, now has a crew chief and a schedule for her American tour. Jon Schaffer will tune her in at eight races this season. 

“I’m so excited to share that I’ll finally be hitting the track at Brainerd and will be competing alongside my teammate, Tony Schumacher, in the final eight of 20 races on the schedule this year,” said the Swedish-born racer who relocated to the Indianapolis area. “I’ve been champing at the bit to share my first race date, but we wanted to wait until we had it completely buttoned up first. 

If you want to win a doorslammer event, Eric Dillard is about as close as a sure bet as it comes. His combination of tech knowledge, feel for the car and talent has proven more than a few times to be a winning combination. 

Sunday, at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, Dillard had all of his attributes on display as a substitute driver for former world champion Jose Gonzalez. On Sunday, he secured a victory in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+. The event is the third of ten in the 2024 season.

Dating back to the early 1980s, when IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock raced down the Norwalk Raceway Park dragstrip, doorslammers have been an integral part of the track outside Cleveland, Ohio’s DNA. Then came Pro Modified, which took this genre of drag racing to another level. 

The next level will be on display at the Norwalk facility as the third event of the 2024 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series this weekend. 

Competition Plus’ Water-Cooler Topics From The NHRA Route 66 Nationals outside of Chicago, Ill.