Additionally, Lee Beard had staffed both teams with crewmembers, tuners Rip Reynolds and Mike Domagala, and hired drivers Tommy Johnson and “Hot Rod” Fuller.

The purpose of the teams that are the brainchildren of Cregan -- who by the way, has never heard a nitro car fire up much less seen a race -- is to introduce the race fans of Abu Dhabi to, in his words, “The fastest race cars in the world.”

But drag racing in Abu Dhabi, where they suspend racing in May due to the overwhelming heat, is just part of the program. The teams are going on a worldwide tour racing back in the U.S. and then later in Europe and Australia.

Cregan is confident that other tracks in the UAE (and there are many, including the track in Qatar) will want to host NHRA-sanctioned events. He is also confident that motorsports enthusiasts in the region will want Top Fuel teams once they are exposed to them.

“In the UAE their passion is for speed,” Cregan said. “Speed is king and Top Fuel dragsters are the fastest drag cars in the world!”

The significance of the involvement of a group like the Yas Marina circuit with the NHRA and Top Fuel cars goes way beyond just Abu Dhabi. Mr. Cregan’s background and expertise is in the traditional European forms of racing such as F-1 and Endurance racing, but I could tell from talking to him one-on-one that he sees the potential of a worldwide drag racing circuit similar to what F-1 now has but with a lot fewer issues. And just wait until he gets a snort of nitro and stands next to a fuel car when they whack the throttle. I’m betting he’ll never feel the same about a turbocharged, gas-burning engine again. 

The future of drag racing is bright, for as expensive as it is it still can’t compare to F-1 or NASCAR in costs. It is well known that F-1 has gotten so expensive both in the racing of the cars and the amount of money required to stage the events that they are almost impossible for anyone who isn’t backed by his country to afford to get involved.

Right now drag racing is the only motorsport other than road racing that has established teams, fans, and suitable tracks established worldwide. NASCAR has failed to generate much interest outside of North America and F-1 can’t find a race venue in the States. Not so professional drag racing. Professional drag racing has established roots in most of Europe, South America, South Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, and North America.

Wally Parks was enamored with the FIA. I think he believed that if the FIA recognized Drag Racing then it was truly a worldwide sport. I think he would have embraced a real World Championship under the sanction of the NHRA.

If there is one truth we all have to accept it is that we all now live in a global economy. The days of isolationism in any form are long dead. If you are looking for a reason to embrace a worldwide NHRA championship for reasons other than competition to see if Americans really are the best drag racers, I have an answer for you. Exporting drag racing from the U.S. means jobs for drag racers here in the States and a lot of work for our manufacturers, and that is certainly a very good thing.

The Yas Marina folks probably spent – by my estimate - in excess of four million bucks for two teams and hired twenty people full time and all that money was spent here in the U.S.

In time, and I think a very short time, tracks and sanctioning bodies worldwide will accept the NHRA rules as the standard and the NHRA World Champ will truly be the World Champ. And they haven’t even seen a Nitro Funny Car run yet.

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