Austin Coil—drag racing crew chief extraordinaire and a friend for more than 50 years—is a lucid and spry 80 years of age. I’m 78. We talk about a lot of things in occasional phone calls, but as one ...

Bob Tasca was the first ever to top the 340-mph barrier, but it wasn’t an official NHRA mark because he clocked the time in March at an exhibition race at Bradenton, Fla., and not at an ...