Drag racing

Step on it.

Alex Q. Arbuckle

Feb. 20, 1962

Racers work on a 1962 Dodge Dart in the pit at the NHRA Winternationals Drag Race. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

Drag racing — pitting two cars against each other in a flat-out quarter-mile sprint — first emerged in the 1930s as an underground pastime among motor aficionados and rebellious teens on the salt flats and back roads of California.After World War II, it grew into more than just a hobby. Wally Parks, a military tank test-driver for General Motors, was a prominent organizer of races and time trials around southern California. In 1951, he founded the National Hot Rod Association, which held its first race in 1953 on the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds parking lot in Pomona.As the sport’s popularity grew, the dragstrip’s amenities were expanded and improved. Enthusiasts and professionals came from far and wide, bringing hot rods creatively designed to shave off weight and drag and increase acceleration.Here, a variety of vehicles face off in the 1962 NHRA Winternationals Drag Race.

Lonnie Butts packs the chute for the "Twitch-A-Wee" Competition Coupe. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

Racers and mechanics gather round a 1962 Dodge Dart. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

A Flathead-powered Ford from the Vikings Car Club of Pasadena weighs in. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

Lonnie Butts' "Twitch-A-Wee" Fiat-bodied Competition Coupe weighs in. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

A highboy Ford roadster weighs in. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

The flag man strides away as an A/Roadster leaves the starting line. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

Gene Adams' AA/Dragster takes off in the far lane versus Mickey Thompson's dual inline blown aluminum Pontiac-powered dragster in the near lane. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

Two Ford Flathead-powered turtledeck C/Roadsters square off at the starting line. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

A 1935 Ford Coupe in the far lane faces a Fiat Topolino in the near lane. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

The Dean Moon Mooneyes dragster with forward mounted supercharger. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images

The Dean Moon Mooneyes dragster pops the chute at the finish line to reveal the Mooneyes logo. Credit: The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images