Dover mechanic drag races, wins NHRA trophy Published July 6, 2006 By Staff Sgt. James Wilkinson 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Dover has two landmarks that set it apart from every other city in the region: an Air Force base and an international speedway. Each of these landmarks draws large audiences from around the globe; however, few people have inner access to both fast-paced, exciting worlds. Even fewer yet turn wrenches on multiple-million dollar aircraft for a living and burn rubber around the local speedways in their leisure time. At 63 years old, John Henderson, an aircraft mechanic from the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is one of those few people. The DoD employee is a hobbyist drag-racer in the bracket-racing class of the National Hot Rod Association. He is also one of the few in his racing division to ever receive a "Wally" trophy. The trophy is named after Wally Parks, who founded the National Hot Rod Association in 1951. It is one of the most sought-after drag racing awards nation-wide. Until recently, the trophy was only attainable by racing in the top classes of the NHRA such as the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Sportsman classes, which require high budgets and have the fastest, most competitive vehicles in the country. In 2004, the National Hot Rod Association announced they would offer Wally Trophies to bracket racers, a class for hobbyists, through what they titled a National Dragster Challenge. "Bracket racing is for guys that don't have a lot of money for investing in their cars because you really have to have a lot of money to be competitive (in the higher levels)," said Mr. Henderson, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant. "Somebody on a budget that wanted to go race on the weekend could take his daily driver to the track and be competitive against somebody else on the same scale." The opportunity offered hobbyists like Mr. Henderson the chance to bring home some shiny metal to proudly display. "This inspired me. I've won a lot of races, but I wanted a Wally. Not too many people get these. You can go your whole racing career and not get one." According to Mr. Henderson, he's always had an interest in building, fixing and driving cars. "I built a hot rod when I was in high school. I had a hemi in an old Dodge coupe," said the Miami native. Mr. Henderson started his drag-racing career in 1973, when he was working as a line chief for C-5s in the Air Force, which was roughly around the same time NHRA bracket racing first started. He was featured in Airman Magazine in December '78 when he was a master sergeant here as an isochronal inspection operations, or ISO, dock chief. Back then, he raced a '72 Dodge Demon that had the Air Force logo painted on both doors to promote his service. "I had a letter from my commander authorizing me to race," Mr. Henderson said. In 1983, Mr. Henderson retired his senior master sergeant stripes with 23 years in service, but he refused to retire his tools and passion for racing. After more than 30 years as an aircraft mechanic and professional drag racer, he has no intentions of quitting either one. At work, he is responsible for maintaining transitory aircraft that are not assigned to Dover AFB. His duties include refueling, changing tires, preflighting aircraft to ensure they are mission capable and other various maintenance tasks. An ardent mechanic, he says he spends about as much time behind the wrenches at home as he does at work, regularly performing maintenance on his dragster, which he races more than 1,000 times every season. "I put my own personal touch to the car. I worked on it for about nine months in the garage. My wife would come out and ask, 'Isn't it tuned up yet?' When I had it painted, I got it lettered 'Tuned Up.' I brought the car home on a trailer and told my wife, 'now it's tuned up,'" he said, recalling how his wife inspired the name for his car. "Tuned Up," his '69 Chevrolet Camaro - which is also registered and "street legal" - can race at speeds of up to 115 mph. Mr. Henderson usually races his car at Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun, Md., which is also where the NHRA held the 2005 National Dragster Challenge. According to Mr. Henderson, Dover has 14 different tracks within a 300-mile radius, and he has traveled as far as Reading, Pa., to compete. There are seven divisions in the NHRA for bracket racing. The East Coast is Division One, the same division that Mr. Henderson won. Cars are placed into different classes based on requirements and specifications, including type of vehicle, engine size, vehicle weight, allowable modifications and aerodynamics. Every Sunday the bracket class has a regular race. Dragsters register at the beginning of the race season at their home tracks and accumulate points throughout the season. At the end of the year, the track champions and point winners compete as a team at the division finals, where Mr. Henderson qualified sixth out of six cars in his division. The 2005 Division One National Dragster Challenge was held in October. Mr. Henderson raced against the Cecil County track champion and another racer for the Wally trophy and Division One bracket racing championship. According to Mr. Henderson, at 63 years old, he is likely the oldest recipient of the award. "I'm having fun. When I race guys half my age and I beat them, it tears them up," he said laughingly. "There are some super drivers out there, but I wanted that Wally so bad I could taste it." Mr. Henderson races in the no-electronic street class, which is reserved for cars using no electronic driving aids or throttle controls. According to Mr. Henderson, his favorite part about racing is the joy of accomplishment. Having won the Division One bracket racing championship in the no-electronics, street eliminator class, he has completed a life-long dream that started in the Air Force more than 30 years ago. "I've ran against pretty darn good opponents, but I think this is the highest reward to win the Wally," he concluded. "It makes it all worth-while. If I didn't ever win another race, I could say, 'Well, I got a Wally.'"