Since I seem to have a lot of time on my hands for now, I have ran across an excellent article that digs into the history of NHRA. Included is a year by year list of national event winners starting with 1955. Some of the winner and r-up names of yesteryear may surprise you. It can also let you know how long they have been in this game. I find it interesting reading about the history of our sport.
www.nhra.com/50th/years.html?year=1951
(Disclaimer: Opinions expressed by me on this forum are exactly that, my opinions.)