NHRA has announced that effective October 1, Jeff Conley (pictured at left) will become NHRA director of technical services, moving on from his current position as NHRA’s North Central (Division 3) director. At that time, Atlanta Dragway general manager William Tharpe (pictured at right) will take over the role of Division 3 Director.

Conley joined NHRA in 2007 as a member of the certification team. In 2013 he became operations and track manager at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Before joining NHRA, Conley held a number of positions in racing including event coordinator and national tech director for NMCA and NMRA.

Experienced track manager Tharpe will move to Indianapolis, to become director of Division 3, serving NHRA tracks in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. Most recently, he’s managed NHRA-owned Atlanta Dragway. Prior to that, he served as general manager for Kil-Kare Raceway, a Division 3 track in Xenia, Ohio, for almost 20 years. Tharpe’s father ignited his passion for the sport of drag racing at a young age and inspired him to pursue a career with NHRA.

(Photo courtesy of the NHRA).