# Why do we call it "Drag Racing"??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061 "2003-07-17T04:38:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/1 "2003-07-17T04:38:39Z")
Well, a funny picture came to mind as this question popped into my head. Why in the world do we call it drag racing? Surely, it has nothing to do with transvestites racing, does it? Maybe a little closer to the target, could drag refer to "smokin’ "? Gosh, isn’t it hard to run in those stelleto high heels!? 😃 - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Major\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/2 "2003-07-17T04:49:37Z")
Drag can mean street or road. > **[Definition of DRAG](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drag)** > > something used to drag with; especially : a device for dragging under water to detect or obtain objects; something that is dragged, pulled, or drawn along or over a surface: such as; harrow… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/3 "2003-07-17T04:50:10Z")
Here’s the NRHA website, read all about it. > **[Camping World](https://www.nhra.com/nhra)** > > NHRA - Camping World Now that site has to do with car drag racing. I did see a different kind of drag race in Key West where drag queens raced down Duval street on foot in high heels, but that’s a different subject altogether … LOL 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/4 "2003-07-17T04:56:15Z")
From [nhra.com](http://nhra.com) — About the term “drag racing” Although the tiretracks of its history are clear, the origin of the term “drag racing” is not. The theories are almost as many and varied as the machines that have populated its ranks for five decades. Explanations range from a simple challenge (“Drag your car out of the garage and race me!”) to geographical locale (the “main drag” was a city’s main street, often the only one wide enough to accommodate two vehicles), to the mechanical (to “drag” the gears meant to hold the transmission in gear longer than normal). ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/5 "2003-07-17T06:49:34Z")
[cite-free comment from lazy person with no patience for server speeds tonight] The term “drag” was used to mean a street or throughway before the arrival of the automobile. It goes back to the Civil War, at least.[/cite-free comment from person with no patience for server speeds tonight] ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/6 "2003-07-17T16:00:41Z")
The OP sounds like the intro to a bad Seinfeld routine. "Why do they call it ‘drag racing’? The drivers aren’t in drag. The car isn’t wearing a dress. The track isn’t lined with practical pumps. What’s the deal with that? Some of these guys should drop by a 50% off sale at a Lower East Side boutique. They’ll see some _real_ drag racing…" 😃 I’m sorry, so sorry, I couldn’t resist… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-call-it-drag-racing/189061/7 "2003-07-17T17:05:01Z")
SNL. Eric Idle in corset, garter belt, stockings and high heels vs. Dan Ackroyd in corset, garter belt, stockings and high heels. Drag racing. Funny.