Jerry Toliver remembers a more primitive era for drag racing. He was there in the early days tagging along with his uncle, the legendary Jack Chrisman.

He glances over the paved pits at ZMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., and takes note of the large rigs and hospitality areas. Toliver remembers when the Top Fuel cars parked in the dirt. Jerry Toliver remembers a more primitive era for drag racing. He was there in the early days tagging along with his uncle, the legendary Jack Chrisman.

He glances over the paved pits at ZMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., and takes note of the large rigs and hospitality areas. Toliver remembers when the Top Fuel cars parked in the dirt.

Then he looked at the well-lit track he raced at last night and the pits, immediately the memories of fans having to line their cars along the guardrail just to keep the races going came to mind.

Drag racing has come a long, long way.

“There were no guardrails or safe barriers,” Toliver admitted. “The real comparison is within the competitors. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the drag racers want to still go out and win.

“When you look at tracks like this and compare it to those days, it’s like sandlot to Super Bowl.”