As a sport of ritual and repetition, drag racing is nearly unparalleled. That whole repetition thing goes a lot deeper than burnout, backup, stage, and run though. In the case of the current state of the sport there are some similarities that can be drawn to the way things were shaking out almost exactly 50 years ago to something that is literally happening today.

Yes the names have changed, the cars have changed, and the technology is different, but the craze that enveloped the sport in the 1960s was driven by the same things that are setting the world on fire today. What am I talking about? The current situation with the Radial VS The World class and the funny car revolution of the middle 1960s. The size and scope may not be comparable unless we open it up to machines like x275 and limited drag radial cars but the attitude and excitement are a parallel that’s almost shocking.

If we look at what has been going on with the no-holds-barred radial world over the last few seasons and more specifically since the middle of last season to present, it has been incredible. On a week to week basis the record has been getting pounded. It is like nothing I have ever experienced in the sport and frankly who knows when we will again. It is selfish as hell, but I cannot wait to get down to the NMCA/NMRA race this weekend to see what’s going to happen in 60-degree air and on a brand new track that is hooking like no tomorrow at Atlanta Dragway. Will someone find the 3.70s in competition? Will we see a bunch of teams bust into the .80s? All the while there are new cars being built, old cars being changed, and multiple engine combos that have proven themselves capable of running world record numbers. But how does this compare at all to the dawn of funny cars?

If you look back at 1964 and then 1965 specifically you will see that the cars were getting quicker and faster on a near weekly basis and the crowds were growing along with the power and capability of the machines that they were paying to watch. There was little to no predictability about who would win. The cars LOOKED like stuff that the people could actually purchase, and they connected with the fans. With only the weekly drag papers to spread the news on the latest creation, the newest record, or the biggest wreck from the previous week’s action people were continually being shocked and awed by these new things that would eventually be called funny cars.

It is my opinion that Radial VS The World specifically is in that excitement phase right now. Just look at what happened in Tulsa last weekend, hell even the weekend prior in Denton, Texas at the race we broadcast. The record started in the high 3.80s and ended up dropping a few hundredths over the course of the race with Rob Valden clicking off numbers in the 3.85 second range. We then move to Tulsa the next week and Dwayne Mills nabs the record early in the weekend only to see his performance numbers completely decimated by the likes of the Bad9er team and Kyle Heuttel who took it to the mind-numbing level of 3.81…on a freaking 315 drag radial. In decades past it would have been breathlessly reported by someone who was on the grounds and maybe they would have gotten the names and the numbers right. Now? Thousands tuned in to watch the stream of the event on the internet because of MotorMania TV and the information was flashing across the world like lightning bolts. WHAT?! He went 3.82?! Then hours later, DOUBLE WHAT?! He went 3.81?! Now the questions about runs in the 3.70s are already being asked as are questions about the ultimate performance potential of the tires and everything else on the car as well.

While the physical nature of the cars and their evolution does not really line up with the early funny car stuff, the excitement and following does. The way that the excited following has been built is identical when the technologies of the era are considered.

In the 1960s these guys built up a fan base by racing, racing, and racing some more. They would go wherever there was money to be made or appearance fees to be paid. As many times a week as they could muster they would find tracks and make a go at it. Not only was it good for the wallets of the racers, it was akin to a rock and roll band building a following by touring small venues and winning over crowds one night at a time. Eventually the groundswell of all that local support morphed into a national craze. This was not about national events, TV packages, or major sponsorship. Those did not exist back then.

In 2016 the math is eerily familiar. These drag radial guys are some of the hardest racing sons of guns in the world of drag racing and like their funny car predecessors they do not have a massive national event series to rely on, lots of TV promotion, or huge sponsors. Yes, the racers have events with profile like this weekend’s NMCA race, but they also run at a lot of more localized races. There is virtually no major sponsorship for these cars outside of the driver or team owner’s wallet. There IS typically stout payout available for the top running cars but you have to earn it. These racers and cars have gained their fame the old fashioned way…by busting ass for it.

The major league question at this point surrounds what happens next. In the much more quaint funny car story there was an incredible performance growth that would be experienced (which continues today) and the cars obviously morphed and changed over the years. In effect, the funny cars had nowhere to go but quicker and there was lots of room for them to do it. The same cannot really be said for the Radial VS The World Guys, in my opinion anyway. The funny cars were a “new” thing so as they evolved and advanced people kind of accepted it as technology. That path has already been worn and we’re sure that no one out there wants to see flip top drag radial cars at any point.

Perhaps that is what makes this whole thing so exciting. No one really knows what the “bottom” is yet and the expectations for what it could be get pounded to dust every week. Eventually it’ll be found, with its own consequences. Maybe someday we’ll be the old timers saying things like, “I remember the days when a couple guys with regular jobs could run a drag radial car with the best of ’em!”

I don’t know how long this will last for, what the breaking point will be, or what may eventually stop these cars from going every quicker, but I’m going to revel in the whole scene for as long as it lasts. If you are missing what’s happening right now it may be another half century before something as exciting comes along.