In a move to better serve the needs of the racing community at all levels of competition, NHRA will move its technical department headquarters to Indianapolis.   The tech department will be housed at the offices at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, and continue to be headed by current vice president of technical operations, Glen Gray. 

“We have been aggressively expanding our technical services capabilities and believe this move will enhance our ability to not only serve our constituents, but retain and recruit some of the finest technical talent in the country,” said Tom Compton, president, NHRA.  

With the move, the tech department will be more readily available to the racing community, given the number of teams based in Indianapolis and the number of licensed drivers in the Eastern and Central time zones.   In addition, the proximity to a more active drag strip will allow for further testing opportunities for all categories and products of drag racing.   

The move will take place over the course of the next few months, with Gray moving to the Indianapolis area later this year.    NHRA will maintain a technical presence on the West Coast, with Danny Gracia, national technical director, remaining in the company’s Glendora, Calif. headquarters, along with technical services representative and newly appointed Division 7 tech director, Pat Cvengros.

NHRA has been placing personnel in key locations around the country over the last year.  Besides the tech department headquarters moving to Indianapolis, NHRA recently established a sales office in Charlotte, N.C. led by vice president of sales and business development, Tony Driscoll.  

NHRA’s corporate headquarters will remain in Glendora, Calif.   The Southern California area has long been identified as the birthplace of the sport and it was there, 60 years ago, that Wally Parks founded the National Hot Rod Association. 

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is celebrating its 60^th anniversary in 2011.  As the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States, NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. Two NHRA-sanctioned bracket racing series provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels: the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.  NHRA also offers the Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17.   In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.