Pat Austin

Pat Austin A Tacoma native born on Nov. 12, 1964, Pat Austin was an outstanding athlete at Franklin Pierce High School, twice winning the state shot put championship. That’s not, however, what he is best known for. Austin is one of the most accomplished drag racers in the sport’s history, earning distinction from the National Hot Rod Association as the 13best driver in the organization’s first 50 years of existence. The NHRA labels him as “the most successful drag racer born after the 1940s and the best driver of his generation.” Austin is a four-time NHRA world champion, and with 75 NHRA national event titles he ranks fourth on the organization’s all-time victory list.

After unprecedented success in regional competition – he won 90 percent of the races he entered in the Northwest – Pat picked up his first national win in 1986 and his first national championship in 1987. From 1987 to 1991, Austin appeared in 57 national event finals and won 43. He was the first driver to win eliminator titles in two classes (Top Fuel and Alcohol Funny Car) in the same event, a feat he accomplished in Topeka, Kan., and Phoenix. Austin was the first driver to clock a 250-mile per hour run in an Alcohol Funny Car and also the first to put down a run in the 5.50-second range. Before retiring, he competed in the Federal-Mogul Funny Car category and was a 16-time world record holder.