By Chris Martin
2/8/05

ive years ago, yours truly presented a brief history of black racers who have achieved various degrees of success in the straight-line biz. The point of the article was that for all the "redneck" taint in the sport, black racers have achieved a lot. Malcolm Durham in Funny Car, Ronald Lyles in Pro Stock, and racers like Michael Phillips, Redell Harris, and most recently Pro Stock Bike racers Antron Brown and Reggie Showers have all made impressive names for themselves.

Actually Pro Stock Bike is about the only place where the Class of 2000 has maintained a visible presence. Brown is one of the very best riders in the world, having racked up 13 wins in a career that began at the 1998 NHRA Gatornationals, and finishing third last year behind champ Andrew Hines and U.S. Army teammate Angelle Savoie (I can't remember what her new last name is.)  Highlighting the 2004 season were his two wins at the NHRA Brainerd race and, of course, the U.S. Nationals.

Showers, of course, is the guy with the two prostheses instead of feet and a ton of skill. The Philadelphia-based pro debuted at the 1995 Maple Grove event and since then, the courageous performer has won two national events, one being the "big apple," the 2003 U.S. Nationals. He followed that trophy two weeks later by taking NHRA's Mid-South Nationals race at Memphis. Showers, one of the best interviews in the sport, found the goings a little tougher in 2004, as financial support flagged, pretty much putting him on the sidelines.

ADVERTISEMENT

Other racers include Phillips and low budget teams like that of Bruce Dickson. Phillips will always be an important historical figure as he was the first black racer to win an NHRA pro title, sweeping the class at the 1995 Slick 50 Nationals at Houston.

Outside of the bikes, the pickings have been very slim recently in the nitro classes, although there is one young racer from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, who showed impressively at a handful of IHRA Top Fuel races.  J.R. Todd currently holds the title of "Quickest, Fastest African-American in Motorsports."  Todd became one of the youngest licensed Top Fuel drivers ever at the age of 18.  The "Tiger Woods of Drag Racing," had a respectable career as a driver.  At the IHRA Amalie Summer Nationals at Cordova Raceway Park in 2000, Todd pulled alongside Shirley Muldowney on his first qualifying attempt and ran a very respectable 4.98.

Unfortunately, his youthful accomplishment was a bit overwhelmed because Muldowney ran the best speed in IHRA history with a 319-mph jolt. He qualified, but went out early and unfortunately his stint did too as funding never came for him to race the full tour. What we did see, though, was promising.  Todd currently works as a test driver and crew member for Bob Gilbertson's Funny Car team. 

Obviously, there is black talent in the Sportsman and Pro Modified eliminators, areas where my knowledge is severely challenged due to Super Bowl Sunday and my marginal knowledge of the second eliminator. Just for nostalgia's sake, I thought we'd run the list of competitors that have achieved success throughout the years.