Flashback Friday: Color Images From The ’56 NHRA Nationals


Anyone that consider themselves a student of the sport appreciates vintage drag racing photos. There are literally gobs of websites dedicated to such images and stories. Possibly moreso than sites dedicated to modern day drag racing.

This week, a couple of these forums are abuzz over a set of images taken some 55 years ago showcasing several of the earliest hot rods to grace the quarter mile of asphalt. These images, shared by the father-in-law of a member of the Yellow Bullet forums, come to us from just the second NHRA national event ever held; the 1956 NHRA Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri. As historians will recall, the first Nationals was held in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955 but had already outgrown the Municipal Airport facility and was moved to Kansas City. It was also then that the race moved to it’s now traditional Labor Day weekend date.

It was at this race that legendary racer Art Arfons cracked the 150 mile per hour mark in his monstrous Allison-powered “Green Monster” #6, as can be seen among the photos. Also pictured is Calvin Rice, who kicked off the event with a 9.99-second lap and set the official low ET mark with a 10.09 and set the class speed record at 152.28 miles per hour.

There are a couple of things to note in these images that harken back to the culture of the 1950’s: as well. For starters, everyone is wearing white pants. Today, we couldn’t sit at our desks and not get a pair of solid white pants dirty. And secondly, everyone is thin and healthy-looking. They didn’t have Big Mac’s and super processed foods in 1956. These are some truly incredible images – surprisingly in color – from a time period there was even such a thing as slingshot AA/FD’s and Gasser’s. Enjoy the images and head over to the YB forums to check out the rest.

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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