Bill Holland
Bill Holland is not a typical drag racer; he has been involved in almost every aspect of the sport. His first involvement began as soon as he received his driver’s license. Bill worked several years as a crew member on a supercharged Chevy-powered MGTD running in Modified Sport class.
In 1966 Bill won his first trophy as a driver at the wheel of a Chevy powered 1953 Studebaker at the dry lakes. In 1967 Bill became partners in a AA/Fuel dragster with John Guedel, which Tom McEwen drove at the Grand Opening of Orange County Intl. Raceway where it set the track e,t, record and was Top Eliminator runner up. Later that year the car was featured in the fabled Hollywood Santa Claus Lane parade and appeared on worldwide TV. The car was revamped in 1968 and received more national exposure by obtaining sponsorship from Art Linkletter’s House Party TV show. Later on, he and Guedel also operated National Speed Shop in Canoga Park, CA
Bill joined the advertising staff of the Hollywood Citizen-News/Valley Times newspaper in 1968 where he also wrote an automotive column called the “World of Wheels”. In 1969 he moved to the editor’s position at NHRA’s National Dragster (ND) where he remained for the next five years. He left ND in 1974 to form his own advertising and public relations business, Holland Communications, where he created advertising material and logos for companies such as JEGS, Lunati Cams and other notable brands –plus did promotional work for racers including Tom McEwen, Don Prudhomme and “240 Gordie” Bonin. He formed the automotive industry’s first internet resource for disseminating press information to magazine editors, www.Electronic-PR.com, in 1990.
Bill was part of the original committee that created the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion (CHRR) in 1997 and in 2017 he received the CHRR Lifetime Achievement award. Today Bill is still active, running his Holland Communications advertising/PR business, contributes tech stories to several publications and websites, and attends many racing /industry events.