

2/2/2025
IHRA Events
Byrd named IHRA VP of Strategic Partnerships
HAMILTON, Ohio — The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) has named Christian Byrd the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships.
The 47-year-old Byrd has served as General Manager for zMax Dragway. He is the son of the late Jeff Byrd, who was a senior executive for the R.J. Reynolds (Winston) group and a 2017 inductee into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. The elder Byrd served as the president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway and Bristol Dragway from 1996-2010.
Christian Byrd grew up going to the Winston-sponsored IHRA races in the 1970s and 80s until he left for college. He's seen the sport and the sports marketing world come full circle.
"You look back in the history of drag racing, and there was a time when all these tracks hosted huge music and legendary rock festivals in the '60s and '70s," he said. "When I was at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, we had a Faith, Family, and Freedom Concert on July 4th - a celebration of Christian music, which drew 14,000 people out to the drag strip for fireworks and good family fun.
"I think the sky's the limit when we look at drag racing, looking at more of a dynamic platform and rethinking the way we've run a sanctioning body. You're seeing it with NASCAR. There's a bit of it in F1. Think about an IndyCar event; some people who go to the Indy 500 have never watched a car on the track. I've been to the Kentucky Derby in the infield at a much younger age, and I never saw a horse."
Byrd grew up in the sport surrounded by some of its most dynamic entities, who made sure he understood how the drag racing world worked. And there was no better mentor than his father.
“I share his passion for drag racing, and I learned a lot from him. He was at Bristol when they rebuilt the dragway, which really revitalized the sport in that area,” he said. “He played a key role in encouraging Bruton (Smith) to create that state-of-the-art facility and was also instrumental in the construction of zMax Dragway.”
His background in East Tennessee adds to his deep appreciation of IHRA history, going back to the foundation.
“If you look back at IHRA and its creation in the '70s by Larry Carrier putting it all on the map, getting to be a part of this team means a lot. I pursued other avenues and saw myself working in college sports, but to me, drag racing is a family thing”
Byrd believes that the drag strip needs to be a fun place where racing happens to be going on. He also knows that it needs to be affordable as well.
"It needs to be family fun, and it needs to be good for the teams, the drivers, the fans," he explained. "Most importantly, I learned from Bruton Smith that we all work for the fans.
"Look at discretionary incomes for people, it costs a lot to go out with a family of four anywhere in the United States. I don't care if you're going to your local fast-food restaurant, going on a trip to the beach or the mountains, or just maybe out of town for a couple of days,
"We need to make things cost-effective for our families. We need to make it cost-effective for racers. We need the right people in the room. The IHRA is well on its way to doing that."
(CONTENT COURTESY OF LORI WORLEY)
Submitted By: Jeff Birchfield