DI Tribute: Scotty Richardson
Scotty Richardson, one of the most accomplished drivers in the history of sportsman drag racing, passed away Wednesday, August 14th following a brief illness. He was 53.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September/ October of 2024.]
Richardson cut his teeth racing at Texas Raceway in Kennedale, Texas. At just 17, he earned his first Wally in Super Gas at the NHRA’s first-ever stop at Houston Raceway Park. He went on to win a total of 39 national event titles during his NHRA career, spread across Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street. He became the first driver to win two world championships in the same year in 1994 when he won in Super Comp and Super Gas. Richardson earned five NHRA world titles, while he lost two more on a tiebreaker. During NHRA’s 50th anniversary season in 2001, he earned a spot on NHRA’s 50 Greatest Drivers list.
“It’s not fair, it doesn’t feel anywhere close to real, and it is definitely the sad part of life,” said Jerry Emmons, a fellow NHRA Lucas Oil Series world champion. “I believe we all felt Scotty Richardson was immortal. One of the greatest of all time the sport of drag racing has ever seen. Much more impressive than his successful racing career is the friend he was to my family. He was like a brother to all of us and nothing will ever be the same, ever. I pray for Scotty’s family. May peace and strength be with all of them.”
“Today we lost the greatest sportsman drag racer of all time,” said Ray Miller III, the 2019 NHRA Super Comp world champion. “I never went to his school but I learned so much from watching him and getting my teeth kicked in by him. He was one of the first people to congratulate me in Pomona when I won my world championship. Great person gone way too soon. Prayers to the Richardson family.”
Richardson was also a prolific competitor on the big-money bracket racing scene, where he stacked up piles of money by winning some of the biggest events, like the Moroso 5-Day E.T. Championships, the Spring Fling Million, and the $100,000 Allstar Shootout at the JEGS Summer Fling.
“Scotty changed our sport with a unique and impressive talent that couldn’t be matched,” said Jared Pennington, a racer whose Coalburg Racing Promotions puts on events like the massive World Footbrake Challenge. “He was simply better than anyone he staged beside. The pressure on him to win was greater than probably any other racer in history. No one ever expected him to not win. Through it all, he still exceeded expectations. That’s how good Scotty was.”
Outside of the driver’s seat, Richardson contributed to the sport through his drag racing school. He would travel to tracks across the country to work with aspiring bracket racers looking to take their performance to the next level. Attendees were eager to pick up any tips that might result in even a percentage of the success Richardson experienced throughout his career.
For brief stints, Richardson also held the lease at Kentucky’s Mountain Park Dragway and later served as the race director at Ohio’s Edgewater Sports Park. He brought a racer’s mindset to those roles, but he also gained a new appreciation for track operators and promoters.
Richardson was also known as a great friend and family man who inspired many with his abilities on the racetrack.
“The on-track stories and hall-of-fame list of statistics are nearly untouchable,” said racer, Virginia Motorsports Park vice president, and PDRA series director Tyler Crossnoe, who recalled the time he was asked to help Richardson with his racing school at Holly Springs, “but I’ll never forget how I was just a young kid at Holly Springs running the computer and helping out, but Scotty treated me like gold and like he had known me my entire life. We will all miss that smile, those quick one-liners that you definitely were not ready for at times, and that skill set on the racetrack that I am not sure will ever be duplicated.”
This story was originally published on October 16, 2024.
The post DI Tribute: Scotty Richardson first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
