“Ohio George” Montgomery Selected as No. 28

On NHRA's Top 50 Driver List

 

If ever there was an ultimate endeavor that tested the limits of man and machine, the flat-out, hold-your-breath quarter-mile blast that we call "Drag Racing" is it. Whether the machine is an 8,000-horsepower, fire-breathing Top Fueler or Funny Car, a high-winding Pro Stock vehicle, or a Sportsman entry, it's the skill of the people behind and inside the machine that help create the magic. Through NHRA's 50 years, many heroes have emerged from the motorized masses to stand ahead of their peers. To recognize these individuals, the staff of NHRA.com created a panel of experts to help determine, through a special voting process, the best of the best. It was decided early that the spectrum of people involved in "Drag Racing" -- from drivers, owners and crew chiefs to aftermarket suppliers and component manufacturers -- was too broad to gain a consensus.  Thus, nominees were limited to those who had actually driven a race vehicle in competition. The creation of NHRA's List of Top 50 Drivers was based of the following criteria:

1. On-track success as a driver

2. Contributions to the growth of NHRA drag racing

3. Technological breakthroughs

4. Marketing/sponsorship breakthroughs

5. Fan popularity

6. Innovations or fresh thinking (regardless of success)

7. Miscellaneous

Dayton, Ohio's own George Montgomery, more famously known as "Ohio George", was selected as number 28 on this "NHRA Top 50 List." Not only was George a leading pioneer and innovator, he was also "the guy to beat" in one of the most colorful chapters in drag racing history - the saga of the AA/Gas Supercharged coupes. It was this AA/G class in drag racing that created some of NHRA's most intense rivalries from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. The combination of supercharged engines in full-bodied cars presented a readily identifiable package that the race fans loved. These AA/GS entries were, in essence, the forerunners of  today’s Funny Car and Pro Stock classes. In its heyday, this top Gasser