NHRA’s VP of Racing Operations Graham Light Announces Retirement

After 34 years of dedicated service to the National Hot Rod Association, NHRA senior vice president of racing operations Graham Light has announced that he will retire at the close of the 2018 season. Light will remain part of the NHRA’s Board of Directors and will serve as a consultant to the Glendora, California-based sanctioning body.

Light will be succeeded by current NHRA vice president of racing administration Josh Peterson and former NHRA director of racing operations Ned Walliser, who will be named vice president of competition. Current vice president of technical operations Glen Gray will round out the team.

“We can’t thank Graham enough for all he has done for the sport. We are fortunate that he has put in place a great team to support our racing operations when he begins his well-deserved retirement. With Josh Peterson heading up racing administration, Ned Walliser focusing on competition, and Glen Gray heading up technical services, we will still have the best team in all of motorsports,” said NHRA CEO Peter Clifford.

NHRA president Glen Cromwell continued, “With Graham able to personally coach Ned in his new role, and the rest of the team already up to speed, we’re confident that in 2019 we’ll be offering racing and team support that meets or exceeds the standards everyone has come to expect. We’re glad that Graham will still be available to consult with us and serve on our board while we have the strong team of Josh Peterson, Ned Walliser and Glen Gray to take over the reins. I look forward to working closely with all of them.”

It’s just a great sport, and I find myself very fortunate — I was able to take what was a passion and a hobby and turn into a livelihood and earn a living doing it for this many years. – Graham Light

Light, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is widely regarded for his institutional knowledge of the sport of drag racing — a trait that quickly propelled him from the driver’s seat to the board room.

Light shared with FOX Sports 1’s Bruno Massel, “when I add before working for the NHRA, it’s been 50-plus years [in drag racing]. I have a lot of good memories of when I was a racer and driving, and I have a big respect for what the racers and the teams go through. It’s just a great sport, and I find myself very fortunate — I was able to take what was a passion and a hobby and turn into a livelihood and earn a living doing it for this many years. It’s still a passion, it’s not a hobby anymore, it’s a business. But the people are what’s important. I have a lot of friends out here and that’s what I’m going to miss the most.”

Before joining the NHRA, Light accrued a lengthy racing and promoting resume of his own. He ran in Competition Eliminator in his formative years before moving to Top Fuel in 1971. A consistent qualifier throughout the mid-1970s, he recorded a final round appearance at the 1977 World Finals in Ontario, California and followed that success up a year later with a ninth-place finish in the NHRA Top Fuel championship standings.

From 1974 to 1982, he owned and operated the Edmonton International Speedway, a multi-use racing venue in his native city. He went to work for the NHRA in 1984 to oversee business development of what is known today as the NHRA’s Divisions 6 and 7, and 1986 assumed the role of Division 7 Director. Light quickly climbed the ladder, being named Competition Director and ultimately Vice President of Technical Operations just one year later. In 1993, he was again promoted, this time to his current role, where he has remained for 25 years.

Light is an inductee of the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame, a member of the NHRA Board of Directors, serves as President of the FIA Drag Racing Commission, and is a Director for the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States.

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.
Read My Articles