NHRA founder Wally Parks, who died in October, started the association in 1951 to help stop the carnage created by illegal street racing, and it evolved into a financial machine.
The amateur Sportsman class that Parks long championed now claims 80,000 card-carrying members who put pedal to metal at NHRA-sanctioned tracks.
But what interested HD Partners was the pro circuit that generates about $100 million in annual revenue from ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and television rights.
Most of that cash traditionally has flowed back into the NHRA to subsidize amateur racing, and during four-day NHRA race meets, amateur contests are sandwiched in with the professional races. HD Partners Chairman Eddy Hartenstein, who earlier founded DirecTV, believed that pro drag racing could grow more profitable if it were free of restrictions created by NHRA's nonprofit status.
The nonprofit status has frustrated some pro racers who believe that the arrangement has limited the pro circuit.
"I thought the idea of separating the professional categories and placing the emphasis on the pros was key, because those are the marquee classes and what the fans come to see," said driver Rod Fuller. "You don't go to a Major League Baseball game and watch a triple-A game before it."
By two important measures, NHRA's pro circuit considerably lags motor sports leader NASCAR.
The last-place NASCAR driver at the 2007 Auto Club 500 in Fontana earned $86,963; winners of the biggest NHRA races take home only about $40,000. NASCAR is in the middle of an eight-year, $4.4-billion media rights deal, while NHRA events are televised on a delayed basis on ESPN2.
In addition to being dangerous, drag racing also is expensive.
Some team owners spend more than $3 million during a single season to keep cars, drivers and crews going. The base pay for drivers fortunate enough to sign with a well-funded team can top $300,000, not including side deals with corporate sponsors.
But ever-increasing costs haven't dulled the appeal of pro drag racing.
"If we announced tomorrow that we had a new race car coming out and needed a driver and crew chief, we'd have 30 to 35 applications on the driver side," said team owner David Powers.
"And the same would go for every other position in the crew."
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greg.johnson@latimes.com
