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The Era of the
Oswego Dragway 
I worked at a newspaper office for a while, I waited tables, and I worked in a doctor's office. But what I really wanted to do was drag race. - Shirley Muldowney, 1987
"It seemed like a good idea at the time officer"
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Writers Drag Racing Glossary:
ACCUS Automobile Competition Committee of the United States. Members include NHRA, NASCAR, CART, IRL, USAC and SCCA.
ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
aftermarket One word. The market for parts and accessories used in the repair or enhancement of an automobile.
Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals
Annual An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years.
automaker
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award
backup As in backup car, referring to a spare car.
Big Three Automakers General Motors, Ford, Chrysler.
bite Jargon referring to adhesion of a tire to the racing surface.
Bondo Brand of body filler. Capitalize.
bracket racing Popular type of handicap racing where each competitor uses a dial-in or performance prediction.
break out (v.), breakout (n.) Occurs when competitor has run quicker than his dial-in time.
Budweiser Shootout NHRA bonus event for qualified Top Fuel competitors. Not Big Bud Shootout.
burndown Occurs when two competitors purposely delay the staging process.
burn out (v.), burnout (n.) Spinning the tires prior to the start of a drag race to increase tire temperature and improve traction.
bye When a racer has no competition due to short field or a no-show.
car length Two words.
career-best Use hyphen.
carmaker, carmakers
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals CARQUEST always listed in all caps.
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals CARQUEST always listed in all caps.
chassis The plural of chassis is chassis.
Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals No hyphens or commas.
Christmas Tree The electronic device incorporating calibrated lights used to start a drag race.
clutch disc Not disk.
cubic centimeters Engine displacement, usually written as cc on every reference with no periods or spaces.
cid Cubic inches of displacement (lower case, no periods). Used with a hyphen, e.g., 500-cid.
crew chief
Datelines Datelines on stories should contain a city name, entirely in capital letters, followed in most cases by the name of the state, country or territory where the city is located.
DaimlerChrysler No space or hyphen.
debut This is a noun, not a verb. Correct use: It was his drag racing debut. Incorrect use: He debuted a dragster.
deep stage Describes the act of staging the car past the initial pre-stage light.
dial-in In bracket racing, a predetermined E.T. or performance prediction.
disc Reference to type of brakes
DNF (n. or v.) Abbreviation for did not finish. Past tense is DNFd (no apostrophe). Use only when writing for racing audience. Otherwise spell it out.
DNQ (n. or v.) Abbreviation for did not qualify. Past tense is DNQd (no apostrophe).
DNS (n. or v.) Abbreviation for did not start.
downforce One word.
drag race Two words. No hyphen.
drag strip Two words. No hyphen.
dropped cylinder (v) To drop a cylinder (n) a cylinder that has too much fuel-to-air mixture, preventing spark plug from firing.
dynamometer Slang term is dyno.
E.T. Accepted abbreviation for elapsed time, not ET or e.t.
elimination
ESPN
ESPN2
FIA Federation International de l’Automobile.
finish line
final-round Use hyphen.
first-round Use hyphen.
FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals
front-runner (n)
Funny Car Always uppercase.
game plan Not game-plan or gameplan.
gearbox One word.
grandstand One word.
groove The preferred path of a race car on a race track.
halfway Noun and adjective.
HANS device Acronym for Head and Neck Support.
Harley-Davidson
holeshot An advantage at the starting line achieved by the driver having the quicker reaction time to the Christmas Tree than his opponent.
horsepower One word.
Jell/gel Do not confuse the two words. Jell means to take shape and achieve distinctness; to become cohesive. Gel means to change into or take on the form of a gel.
Jr. Drag Racing League
K&N Filters SuperNationals
King Demon Crown NHRA bonus event for qualified Pro Stock competitors.
loose Jargon for a handling condition of a race car in which the vehicle's rear tires tend to lose traction.
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Manufacturers’ Midway
Manufacturers’ Cup
Mickey Thompson Six-Second Pro Stock Bike Club
Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Motel 6 Who Got the Light?
mph The abbreviation for mile per hour. It’s acceptable in all references.
motorsports One word.
motor racing Two words.
national record Avoid the redundant new record.
National DRAGSTER weekly magazine of NHRA
NHRA National Hot Rod Association; use NHRA on every reference when writing for motorsports audience.
NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals
NHRA2day Weekly show on ESPN featuring NHRA drag racing exclusively.
No. 1 qualifier Top qualifier in 16-car order for drag racing's professional categories.
nitromethane Monopropellant fuel used in Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.
numbers Spell out one through nine. Use numerals for 0, 10 and higher. Use numerals when using No. 1, No. 2, No. 8, etc.
oildown
O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League
O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals
O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals
O’Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals
O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
percentages 90 percent rule, 1 percent back up. No hyphens.
pit area Location where race teams park and service their race cars between races. Also referred to as pits.
pole position Slang reference used in oval racing to describe top qualifier. Not to be used in drag racing in any reference.
Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals
POWERade world champion
POWERade championship points standings
POWERade Drag Racing Series
prerace Not pre-race
preseason Not pre-season
professional Describes driver who competes in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock or Pro Stock Motorcycle. Lower case in all references.
Pro Stock Always uppercase.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Not Pro Stock Bike.
quarterfinal Not quarter-final
quarter-mile
quarter panel Two words.
race track Not racetrack. No hyphen.
race car Not racecar. No hyphen.
race day
reaction time Term describing the time it takes a driver to hit the throttle once the Christmas Tree is activated
red light (n. and v.) Term describing a foul start when a vehicle leaves the starting line before the Christmas Tree is activated
Ringer Gloves Pro Bike Battle NHRA bonus event for qualified Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors.
rpm Abbreviation for revolutions per minute
runner-up Plural use is runners-up, not runner-ups
Safety Safari NHRA safety team
scuff Jargon for a race tire that has been used previously. Refers to the fact that the manufacturers' label, or sticker, has been scuffed off.
Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals
SEMA Specialty Equipment Market Association.
semifinal Not semi-final.
set up (n.) setup (n. and adj.)
show car Not showcar.
Skoal Showdown NHRA bonus event for qualified Funny Car competitors.
sportsman Term to describe competitor in one of eight NHRA Sportsman Drag Racing Series categories. Lower case in all references.
staged Final step for cars to get set prior to the start of a drag race.
starting line
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
supercharger Avoid using the slang term “blower.”
tight Jargon for a race car handling condition in which the vehicle's front tires tend to lose traction.
Top Fuel Capitalize first letter in both words.
Top 10 Capitalized when used as a proper noun. Example: It was his first appearance in the Top 10. Lowercase in all other references. Example: He was listed as one of the top 10 drivers of the year.
Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals
Tracks
Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Ga.
Bandimere Speedway, Morrison, Colo.
Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
Firebird International Raceway, Chandler, Ariz.
Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.
Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kan.
Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, Texas
Indianapolis Raceway Park, Clermont, Ind.
Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pa.
Memphis Motorsports Park, Millington, Tenn.
National Trail Raceway, Hebron, Ohio
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, N.J.
Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash. (formerly Seattle International Raceway)
Pomona Raceway, Pomona, Calif.
Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill.
Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas
Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
turbocharger, tubrocharged
victory Preferable to win, which is a verb.
victory lane, victory circle Do not capitalize unless used as a proper name.
Wally NHRA’s official trophy, named after NHRA founder Wally Parks, awarded to event winners, world champions and special award winners.
Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum
Western Swing Traditional trio of national events in consecutive weeks, including Denver, Seattle and Sonoma. Do not use West Coast Swing.
wheelbase One word.
winner's circle
