Head to any drag strip in America, and you'll hear all about a "Christmas tree" — but it's not quite what you'd expect. ... See, drag racing’s origins are almost inherently illegal.

When Was the Starting Line Christmas Tree First Used in Drag Racing? HOT ROD photographer Bob D’Olivo was at the 1963 NHRA Nationals, the first race that utilized a countdown starting system ...

RuPaul’s Drag Race. ... the start line that trigger the Christmas tree. ... first so you don’t manage to crash after the race is over. Swing by the timing shed to pick up a printout of ...

Don Garlits, one of the legends of the drag racing world, ran afoul of the timing during that first U.S. Nationals appearance and lost out to a a driver who was fairly unknown at the time.