PEAK PERFORMER: Scotty Richardson

There are few racers who represented sportsman racing like Scotty Richardson, who passed away Wednesday, August 14 following a brief illness. Richardson, who was 54, started his racing career as a teenager behind the wheel of the family station wagon. Under the tutelage of older brother Edmond, Scotty quickly started racking up NHRA national event Wallys. He earned 39 of them across six classes, along with five NHRA world championships and an IHRA championship. In 2001, he appeared on the NHRA 50 Greatest Drivers list at No. 45, and when National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna wrote a tribute following Richardson’s passing, he declared him “arguably drag racing’s greatest Sportsman driver.”

[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September/ October of 2024.]

Richardson was also iconic on the big-money bracket racing scene, earning two overall titles at the equally iconic Moroso 5-Day E.T. Championships, as well as the 2020 Spring Fling Million at Bristol, among his biggest victories. Most recently, he won the $100,000 All-Star Shootout at the Summer Fling at National Trail Raceway. 

Outside of the driver’s seat, Richardson contributed to the sport as a driving school instructor and a track manager. Scotty Richardson’s Drag Racing School held classes at numerous tracks across the country, instructing rookies and experienced drivers alike how to excel in bracket racing. He also briefly held the lease at Kentucky’s Mountain Park Dragway and later served as race director at Edgewater Sports Park in Ohio. 

Richardson’s lifetime of achievements and contributions to the sport of drag racing have earned him PEAK Performer status.

This story was originally published on October 23, 2024.

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