 | |
| Sport | Drag racing |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | North America |
| Abbreviation | IHRA |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Fairfield, Ohio |
| Official website | |
| www | |
TheInternational Hot Rod Association (IHRA) is the second-largestdrag racing sanctioning body inNorth America after theNational Hot Rod Association (NHRA).[1]
The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Throughout this period the organization was operated primarily in the south-easternUnited States from its headquarters inBristol, Tennessee. The IHRA initially followed the NHRA's professional class structure ofTop Fuel,Funny Car andPro Stock until the 1984 season when it decided to drop the premier Top Fuel category, an arrangement that only lasted three years before the class was reinstated for the 1987 season. Carrier is also credited with initiating drag racing's long-term sponsorship association with theR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company'sWinston brand, which has ended.
IHRA headquarters briefly moved toWaco, Texas in 1988 after it was purchased by Texan racer and track operator Billy Meyer who made many changes to the organization, some of which proved controversial amongst racers such as completely restructuring the sportsman classes overnight. Another radical change came as a result of Meyer's ownership of theTexas Motorplex, considered then to be the premier drag racing facility in the world. The Motorplex had previously been the NHRA's flagship track but for 1988 it hosted two IHRA national events and was the site of Top Fuel's first 4 second run byEddie Hill. Other changes included the addition of a 'junior' Pro Stock class forsmall-block andV6 engines, named Factory Modified, which lasted until the end of the 1990 season. However, financial failure meant that Meyer's reign lasted just one year before the association was again sold on.
In 1988, the headquarters moved back to Bristol, Tennessee, under the ownership of Ted Jones and Jim Ruth.
In 1990, an all new class,Pro Modified, was introduced which has since become a feature at IHRA events and has become one of drag racing's most successful classes enjoying popularity in bothNorth America andEurope. During this period Pro Modified became the IHRA's main asset in its recovery from the 1988 season that had nearly destroyed it.
However, thenitromethane poweredFunny Car class was dropped for the 1991 season only to be reinstated for 1992 before being dropped again, not to return until 2006. In 2009 IHRA dropped the funny car class again due to sponsor problems caused by a deep recession in the American economy.
In 1998, the organization was purchased by Bill Bader who significantly expanded the promotion in the Great Lakes from his headquarters inNorwalk, Ohio. He sold the IHRA toClear Channel Communications, but remained as president until his retirement in October 2004. The headquarters remain in Norwalk, which was once the site of the IHRA's flagship World Nationals event.
In 2005, Clear Channel was split into Clear Channel Radio andLive Nation, with IHRA becoming part of the latter.Feld Entertainment bought Live Nation's motorsports division in 2008,[2] and operated the IHRA for four years.
In 2010, the IHRA adopted the "Chicago style" format for professional classes, which was criticised by racers.
IHRA was purchased byPalm Beach International Raceway owners in 2013 and was renamed IHRA Motorsports.[3] PBIR also owns and operatesMemphis International Raceway since 2011. Those companies were integrated into IRG Sports + Entertainment also in 2013. IRG also eliminated the Chicago format for 2014. IRG has since sold off its race tracks, and currently only operates the sanctioning body.
IHRA became a sportsman only series with track sanctioning after 2014 with elimination of national events, leaving NHRA the only viable drag racing series for the general public.
On December 14, 2024, it was announced businessman Darryl Cuttell would acquire IHRA.[4]
The IHRA announced on March 7, 2025 it was acquiring seven race tracks includingNational Trail Raceway, Milan Dragway andKil-Kare Raceway, as well as a 2025 schedule that included a return to professional national events.[5]
Ahead of 2026, the IHRA began expanding into other motorsports disciplines likeoffshore powerboat andstock car racing. The federation purchased Powerboat P1 USA/P1 Offshore in October 2025, followed by creating the IHRA Stock Car Series a month later.[6][7]
In addition to tracks in 30 states in the continental United States, IHRA oversees tracks inCanada,Hawaii, andAruba. Despite the "international" in its name the IHRA was for years based solely in theUnited States. However, in recent years the organization has made significant inroads north of the border. The IHRA's first major event in Canada was a one-off in 1992 atToronto Motorsports Park inCayuga, Ontario but it wasn't until later in the decade that Canadian events became the regular fixtures they are today.
The IHRA is now the premiere motorsports sanctioning body in Canada, holding three national drag racing events. One event is hosted in the province of Ontario (Grand Bend) and one in Alberta (Edmonton).
In addition to Canada, there are IHRA tracks outside the Continental USA in Hawaii (Hilo Dragstrip), Alaska (Alaska Raceway Park), and Aruba (International Raceway Park Aruba).
In 2015, the IHRA also added three Australian tracks following the split fromAustralian National Drag Racing AssociationPerth Motorplex,Willowbank Raceway, andSydney Dragway joining as part of the IHRA-sanctioned 400 Thunder series. A few months later,Cairns'Springmount Raceway joined the IHRA. Shortly thereafter, in 2016, Perth Motorplex returned to ANDRA sanctioning following an extensive tender process run by the Western Australia State Government, which owns the Perth Motorplex. ANDRA was deemed to have a more comprehensive set or rules and procedures which Drag Racing events would be run in accordance with, one major point being that IHRA Australia did not submit a proposal to the Government. IHRA Australia does not have a published rulebook. ANDRA has periodically run Group One cars since (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock), as most teams have switched to IHRA and its 400 Thunder series.
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Clay Millican | 52 |
| Rickie Smith | 33 |
| Scotty Cannon | 28 |
| Mark Thomas | 27 |
| Don Garlits | 25 |
| Bob Glidden | 21 |
| Mark Oswald | 21 |
| Rob Atchison | 20 |
| Doug Herbert | 20 |
| Mike Janis | 20 |
| Dale Pulde | 20 |
| Gene Snow | 20 |
| Driver | Wins |
|---|---|
| Anthony Bertozzi | 59 |
| David Elrod | 28 |
| Mike Boyles | 21 |
| Dan Fletcher | 21 |
| Dennis Mitchell | 20 |
| Monty Bogan Jr. | 19 |
| Rusty Cook | 19 |
| Bob Marshall | 18 |
| Gary Bingham | 16 |
| Curtis Smith | 16 |
| Gary Bowers | 14 |
| Scott Duggins | 14 |
| Gene Fulton | 14 |
| John Furr | 14 |