When it comes to drag racing in the United States, the National Hot Rod Association, or NHRA, is the 800-pound gorilla that dominates the sport.

The IHRA, or International Hot Rod Association, is merely the 600-pound gorilla that sanctions events at tracks not affiliated with the NHRA, although in Canada, it's closer to the 800-pound gorilla as the sanctioning body that dominates drag racing in the country.

Canada, and the Pacific Northwest of the United States, also seem to have a strong interest in electric car drag racing, thanks to an organization called the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA).

NEDRA has been pressuring the IHRA to recognize electric cars and motorcycles as a legitimate class, and the group’s efforts have finally paid off.

Both the IHRA and the NHRA now have classes for two and four-wheeled electric vehicles in their latest competition rules.

Electric drag racers like the VW Beetle-based Black Current III or the Datsun 1200-based White Zombie are the perfect response to those who think all electric cars are slow and uninteresting, and both can serve as examples of why electric vehicles are ideally suited to drag racing.

The White Zombie has turned a quarter mile in 10.258 seconds 123.79 mph, while the Black Currant III has run a 9.51 second pass at 135 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, a Bugatti Veyron runs the quarter mile in 10.2 seconds, at 142.9 mph.

While we may be a few years off from electric drag racing as a televised sport, the inclusion by both the NHRA and now the IHRA is an important first step. If you want to see it grow, be sure to support NEDRA in its efforts to raise awareness of the sport.

+++++++++++

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.