Championship Drag Racing: All-Time Greats

The printed version features full-color, die-cut driver "cards". Everything needed to play in included!

Find out who the best drag racer was of all-time.

*The Premise*

For their 50th Anniversary, the NHRA hired a panel of experts to determine the Top 50 drivers of all time. This got me thinking about the subject, and how cool it would be to have those drivers compete on the tabletop in Championship Drag Racing.

Of course, with any list of all time greats, there will be controversy as someone’s favorite driver will be omitted. With a game, there is certain to be even more controversy as ratings come into play, and someone’s favorite driver is bound to be rated differently than expected.

I expanded on the NHRA’s “list” to the top 75 drivers, for one to include drivers that were omitted that deserve all-time status. And secondly, to bring some modern drivers into the mix, as the Top 50 was compiled a few years ago.

The next task from a gaming perspective was to put all of the drivers on an even playing field. Just using raw stats wouldn’t get the job done. Not only is there a big difference in the eras of racing, but there are huge differences in the types of equipment. A Top Fuel Dragster would have the advantage over all the other equipment. So, I weighted each driver’s career performances and normalized them by racing class. Then further normalized them for competition in the Pro Stock class. Granted, this method isn’t 100% scientific, but I think it is accurate as it can be when dealing with hypothetical situations.

I chose the Pro Stock class, as it generally has fewer breakdowns and offers great side-by-side racing. Setups and equipment do make a difference in the class, but it isn’t as dramatic as say, Top Fuel Dragster. The Pro Stock class gives each driver equalequipment and makes the driver sill the paramount factor in determining the race winner.

Keep in mind; this is the best of the best, so parity reigns supreme. You should have very close races with multiple event winners.

Overall, I think you’ll find a great deal of enjoyment and replay values with this set.

Drivers included in the set are:

Don Garlits
John Force
Don Prudhomme
Bob Glidden
Shirley Muldowney
Kenny Bernstein
Warren Johnson
Bill Jenkins
Joe Amato
Dale Armstrong
Mickey Thompson
Lee Shepherd
Pat Austin
Eddie Hill
Ronnie Sox
Tom McEwen
Jim Liberman
Don Nicholson
Ed McCulloch
Raymond Beadle
Connie Kalitta
Pete Robinson
Jack Chrisman
Gary Beck
Tommy Ivo
Gene Snow
Jim Dunn
George Montgomery
Art Chrisman
Chris Karamesines
Dick LaHaie
Darrell Gwynn
Brad Anderson
Willie Borsch
Terry Vance
Blaine Johnson
Edmond Richardson
James Warren
Danny Ongais
Frank Manzo
John Mulligan
David Rampy
Frank Hawley
Dave Schultz
Scotty Richardson
Ken Veney
Billy Meyer
Malcolm Durham
Richard Tharp
Elmer Trett
Doug Kalitta
Gary Ormsby
Tony Schumacher
Ron Capps
Greg Anderson
Scott Geoffrion
Kurt Johnson
Buddy Martin
Scott Kalitta
Russ Conroy
Art Arfons
Dandy Dick Landy
Dan Fletcher
Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Gary Scelzi
Bob Newberry
Tony Pedregon
Angelle Sampey
Jeff Taylor
Peter Biondo
Jay Payne
Cory McClenathan
Whit Bazemore
Mark Oswald
Dale Pulde