Wally Parks (born January 24, 1913 in Goltry, Oklahoma) is an automobile writer and hobbyist, and editor of the magazine Hot Rod, in the late 1940s and 1950s. As editor he began to promote safety in organization of drag racing, both in the magazine and by organizing "safety safaris" which taught drag racing organization and safety at several tracks around the country.
He helped to found the National Hot Rod Association, the largest drag racing sanctioning body, and became its head for several decades after leaving the magazine business. His second wife, Barbara, who died in December, 2005, worked for the NHRA.
He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California.
Winners of National Hot Rod Association national events are awarded a trophy statue said to resemble Wally Parks. Actually, another person posed for a photo and the trophy was created from the photo. Nevertheless, the trophy is commonly called by its nickname, “Wally”.
Awards
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992.
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