The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada.

[1] The association was founded by Wally Parks in 1951 in California to provide a governing body to organize and promote the sport of drag racing.

[2] Hot Rod magazine and NHRA worked together to convince the general public and especially the police that there was a difference between hot-rodders and reckless street racers, sometimes known as "shot rodders".

[2] Due to the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the NHRA cancelled its 2020 and 2021 editions of the Drag Racing Series at the Virginia Motorsports Park.

[4] Currently, there are two headquarters offices, one in San Dimas, California, and the other in Brownsburg, Indiana at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD) Alcohol Funny Car (AFC) Competition Eliminator (CE) Super Stock (SS) Stock NOTE: Top Fuel and Funny Car records are measured in the 1,000 foot (304.8 meter) increment NHRA has over 100 member tracks across the United States.

It previously owned National Trail Raceway and Atlanta Dragway The NHRA mandates numerous safety devices and procedures in all competition events.

This is to prevent any debris from entering the cockpit and becoming a missile hazard to the driver after the death of Top Fuel racer Darrell Russell.

All enclosed body cars must have a five-inch circular opening that will accept the nozzle of a fire extinguisher triggered by safety personnel.

NHRA rules call for a monetary, points, and time penalty if the car leaks oil during the run.

In the wake of Eric Medlen's 2007 death, the roll bars in a Funny Car underwent modifications to further improve safety.

These walls are able to withstand the impact of a vehicle traveling at well over the usual speed of any division within the NHRA's professional categories.

Although several drivers in the Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions have stated their dislike for the new sensor, they do admit that it should cut down on any fatal crashes similar to Kalitta's.

Pro Stock doesn't use nitromethane or superchargers in their engines and this presents a much-reduced risk of the massive explosions that can be seen in the nitromethane-fueled cars—and often at their peak speeds.

However, in the wake of several rather dramatic accidents on track, where spectators have been injured or killed, fans are no longer allowed within 75 feet (23 m) of the guardrail.

The rules now prevent the use of hardened chrome moly tubing in the framework construction of any Top Fuel or Funny Car.

All other classes continue to race a full 1320-foot quarter mile (402 meters) which has been the original distance established by the NHRA in the 1950s.

Should the driver be rendered unable to perform the normal shutdown sequence at the conclusion of a run, a pair of redundant transmitters, placed 400 feet (120 m) and 600 feet (180 m) past the finish line, will signal an on-board receiver to automatically shut off ignition power and fuel to the engine and deploy the parachutes.

[11] These transmitters and the receivers that are placed on all cars were designed by NHRA's Track Safety Committee and constructed by Electrimotion,[12] and are a direct result of Kalitta's death.

The Safety Safari has been in place since the late 1960s, after a rash of on-track accidents caused several promising drivers to retire early.

Aeromedical services are also on hand at the track for airlifting severely injured persons to local hospitals or trauma centers if necessary.