Contributors and History
Who We Are & What We Do
Draglist Super Crew:
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What We Do
Draglist.com is a drag racing reference site. We list detailed current and historic information on all the world’s pro, semipro, exhibition, and quicker sportsman drag racers. Our online databases feature lists for each category of race car and we rank all the world’s racers by performance. Race fans and sport professionals alike can view, edit, or add to our online database.
If you are a current or former drag racer, please check the lists to check our information on your racing efforts. It’s our intention to list EACH and EVERY driver and racing team who made at least ONE PASS down a drag strip in ANY of the listed categories. AND it is our intention to list these drivers for each and every car they drove, in each and every year they drove them! We are nowhere close yet, but I think we’ve got more than enough to surprise you! Click on “The Lists!” to begin!
Site History/Background
Draglist.com is an extension of the printed Drag Racing List — a booklet we’ve published since 1986 (the booklet covered current racers only). Draglist readers range from racers themselves (many of whom call immediately after they record personal best performances), to sport professionals, to “hard core” drag racing fans. Sport professionals include the editors of and contributors to all the world’s drag magazines, track announcers, and racing businesses.
Draglist.com represents thousands of hours of research over the past dozen years by several dedicated volunteers. We are proud to offer this information to motor racing, stats, and history fans. Use the info at will — pass it around freely — but please don’t take credit for its compilation. Any time you see fit to distribute Draglist data, please give us full credit and add a link to Draglist.com.
ASCII and Ye Shall Receive
Before Brian Clark completely wrote our online database from scratch in 2005, Draglist.com files were done in the ancient dBase III database and then uploaded to the net in massive text files. We still have those archives available for the extremely nostalgic!
Nearly all word processors and text editors can read the downloadable American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) lists, regardless of the type of computer you use. There are three types of Drag Lists for each class, Alphabetical (sorted by year), Performance (sorted by year), and All-Time Performance (one listing for each racer’s best times, regardless of year).
The Historical lists represent the entirety of Draglist.com databases, our far-reaching, ever-growing attempt to list every racer, in every race car he/she drove, in every year they drove it. They are three pages wide, so be sure to scroll to the right to see all the information.
The Performance lists rank history’s drag racing competitors. In the Performance by Year lists, the competitors are ranked by their best performances in each year they ran.
The All-Time Performance lists contain the all-time best performance for each racer within a class throughout drag racing history. Each racer in the class is listed only once; that listing is for the racer’s best run ever, regardless of car. For instance, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits is listed for the 5.07 second test pass he made in Shirley Muldowney’s car in 1989. It’s strange but fun.
Hey buddy, can ya spare some info?
No doubt you will notice some holes and errors in the information. PLEASE go to the Draglist Entry Form page and fill in what you know or remember for a racing team. Don’t worry — we are VERY humble. Most of the early research results from painstaking reconstruction from many available sources, but certainly not from ALL available sources.
We have been well short of both manpower and time. I personally have forgotten more info than I remember, and I’ve only been deep into drag racing since 1972! My memory lapses have been compounded by my former idiotic practice of throwing away, yes THROWING AWAY, all my hand written lists at the beginning of each racing season from 1970 to 1982! This short-sighted “out with the old, in with the new” philosophy has been a constant regret for me. Again, please send new info and corrections, if you have ’em. We’ll use them proudly.
The Bret and Danny Show
My continuing thanks to Bret Kepner and Danny White. Bret recalls seeing the original 1986 ad in National Dragster in which I claimed to list “all the pro drag racers in the world.” Since that knowledge was Bret’s domain, he ordered a copy to get a good chuckle. Much to his surprise, I hadn’t done too bad for a guy who got most of his information from magazines.
Shortly thereafter, Bret provided me his outrageous list of “low-buckers, leakers, and drag racing madmen.” After I merged the two lists, we TRULY had all current pro drag racers covered. Early advice and help from Phil Elliott, Ron Colson, Chris Martin, and many others helped get Draglist.com off the ground.
I COULD NOT PUBLISH Draglist.com WITHOUT DANNY WHITE. I met Danny White when he ordered a few products from our original “Race Place” catalog. The printed Race Place didn’t last too long, but Danny was a treasured find. Draglist.com was waning fast when he came aboard in the early ’90’s. A new family and ever-increasing responsibility at my day job made it impossible for me to do the research I once did. Young and smart, with a voracious passion for drag racing, Danny rekindled my drag racing fever and got Draglist.com back on its feet. He single-handedly caught up on two years of research and got us rolling again. Danny has been our Research Editor ever since.
The Condensed History of The Drag Racing List…
In the Internet’s infancy, drag racers and fans met on “newsgroups” like alt.autos.sport.nhra. There were a lot of great guys and gals up there, all of whom loved drag racing. Newsgroup member, fuel altered shoe, and photojournalist Tony DeFeo said it would be cool if we all told a little about ourselves. Big Head that I am, that sounded great to me. Back then, I submitted the following info, which I’ve reprinted here. It should give you a little idea of who I am and what Draglist.com is all about. Thanks to Jay Smith for saving this stuff and sending it to me after I had lost my copy! Here goes…
Bill Pratt, Competition Number DD/FC #121 (Day Dream/Funny Car)
Won Cub Scout Pinewood Derby at local pack at 8 years old (then spiteful scoutmaster who thought his son should have won screwed with my car and I lost first round of the regionals. It ran like the wheels were off!)
Began building funny car models at 12; got hopelessly, helplessly hooked.
Started keeping ‘favorite funny cars’ list in pencil at 14.
Expanded lists to include top fuel, pro stocks, and pro comp at 16.
Blew off most high school classes by: a) drawing drag cars, b) creating drag racing formulas, c) getting hazed by current Top Alcohol Funny Car racers (who then were 12th graders) Conrad Dahl and Al Pridemore, d) All of the above
Bracket raced in the Street class in 1975 and 1976 at Thompson Drag Raceway and Dragway 42 near Cleveland. The Uher & Pratt ‘Counselor’ series of cars (Jeff Uher said he was gonna be a lawyer). Raced a ’65 Mustang, a ’55 Chevy, a ’68 Mustang, and a ’67 Lemans (326 with tri-power, three 2bbls).
Honest to God 69.99 percent win record with the Pontiac at Thompson; only the last loss of the year took us below 70 percent! Also, let me say ‘sorry’ again to Lillian Ganoe for selling her the ’68 Mustang with the promise that it was the one car we hadn’t drag raced. Then she found a photo of the car leaving the line at ’42 in the glove box! Sorry, Lil!
Broke up the team to join the Navy. We promised to do four years, save up our money, and come out to put the 326 in a Vega Pro Stock frame for Super Pro. Jeff Uher ended up doing 20 years in the Navy and retired as a Chief. I did six, and spent four years floating around on the USS NIMITZ. Still kept Drag Racing lists in pencil the entire time. Mom would ship Drag News, National Dragster, Super Stock, and Drag Racing USA to the NIMITZ. I would digest the info, record it, and send back the books.
Met Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Kathryn Ross, Charles Durning, and other actors during filming of the ‘Final Countdown’ movie aboard the ship. Martin Sheen told me Navy ball cap and dungaree uniforms made us look like Hitler Youth. Almost knocked Kirk Douglas on his butt one day. I was running down the ladder with all my antenna cleaning gear; he was walking, not looking, while reading his script. BANG! “Whoa there, son!” “Sorry, Mr. Douglas!”
Had a chance to be in the movie, but butthead me, feeling particularly anti-Navy that day said NO. Now you can see our division Yeoman (secretary) on the movie turning all MY knobs in MY tech control center with no particular relationship to what they actually did.
BUMMER side of the job: was one of only a handful of enlisted men aboard the ship who knew about the ill-fated Iranian hostage rescue attempt before it happened. On watch all night as it happened. Heard the whole thing. Sucked.
Got out and took a well-deserved year off!
Started working as a telecommunications system analyst in 1983. Been in the IT business in the Washington, D.C., area ever since.
Went to MIR for the first time in ’84 or ’85 for the Mountain Motor Nationals. Took my girlfriend and little brother. Sat in the “betting section.” Won enough money on five dollar bets to pay our way in, and for dinner on the way home. Wasn’t fair, really, but what the hell. Some guy yells “I got the Ford for five!” The Ford’s a local eight second piece filling in the 16 car show. In the other lane sits the “Party Time” car.
I’m like, “Uh, I guess I’ll take the Pontiac…” Cleared my karma by leaving early, but giving some little kid the complete ladder to the final round winner (Roy Hill’s Budget Rent-A-Car Ford Tempo) before I went. Found out later it all came to pass and the kid musta made a few bucks…
Put all Draglist.com pencil lists on the computer in ’86. Come to think of it, the 1985 season pencil lists still exist around here somewhere and I don’t have them all transferred over to the computer! You heard it here first.
Put the lists on the computer with express idea of creating the Match Race Madness computer game (pretty state of the art in 1986 — dated but still fun now). Sat bolt upright in bed one morning with the thought, “Hey, I bet people would pay to see this stuff in a book!” The Drag Racing List is born.
Put out the first Draglist booklet in June 1986. Went to MIR to try to sell a few to the crowd. Met Tod Mack and Roberta Schultz, who were totally thrilled to be listed within. Super folks. Carte Blanche at MIR ever since…
Began writing stories for MIR for National Dragster. Tod took Draglists and sold them out of the back of his funny car trailer at Division One meets. Unreal that he did that…
Took out $400 ad in National Dragster for The Drag Racing List. Ad bragged that I listed every pro car in the world. Picked the Cajun Nationals souvenir edition because not only would the regular readership see the ad, but all the Cajuns fans would too. Cajuns get rained out…
Bret Kepner sees ad and orders one with the express purpose of goofing on this idiot who thinks he knows all the cars. Kepner gets blown away by the fact that we listed a St. Louis Pro Stock Camaro, with times, that had been destroyed on its one and only pass! (Of course, it was Kepner who had written about it). Kepner signs on as associate editor and TOTALLY rewrites the lists (big difference between reading about it and actually BEING there…)
Tired of hearing me describe all the low buck pro cars at MIR shows in the background, announcer Lewis Bloom sticks the mike in my face and says “Don’t tell me–tell THEM!” I’m like, “abba-da-abba-da-abba-da…” “Color commentator” career born. SHAKY at first!
‘Flying Phil’ Elliott talks me into putting all the exhibition cars in Draglist.com and fills in on lots of cars. Chris Martin and Phil Burgess go against the grain and do an “Out the Back Door” half page article in ND talking up Draglist.com (and paying back that measly ad price in SPADES). Many other people sign on to help out. Incredible network of Draglist contributors begins…
Australians see the ND piece and educate me on just how outdated my Australian coverage is. Enter David Cook, who generously provided copies of Dragster Australia magazine ON HIS DIME ALL THE WAY FROM AUSTRALIA FOR HIS TENURE AS EDITOR. Thanks, Dave.
Tod leases MIR to Royce Miller in 1990. Royce says, “Who can I get to announce?” Tod says, “What about Bill?” Full fledged announcing career born. I announced from 1990 to 2001, also I cut back to ‘special events only’ in 1998. Did all press releases, stories, and about half the announcing.
New son and work duties involved with Desert Shield and Desert Storm totally take all my time in early 1990s. Draglist almost folds due to inactivity. In steps young Danny White of Bogata, TX, who single-handedly catches up on all the research for two years and gets Draglist.com up to date. Sends me all his hand written lists (Draglist back in pencil!). I translate to the computer and we are back in business. This madness continues until we scraped up enough to get Danny on a computer. Of course, by now, Danny has been online for years and would love to hear your updates at updates@draglist.com.
Hit the Internet in January 1996, and put Draglist.com lists on the net on April 10, 1996. We have had over 46 MILLION visitors between our first visitor and YOU, increasing our readership drastically! I truly treasure all the new friends I have found up here on the internet. Please keep coming back and I promise to make the site better and better. Later!
Bill Pratt
bilden@draglist.com
