Alfred John Young (April 28, 1946 - December 11, 2022) was a former World Champion Drag Racer and

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

Hall of Famer who competed in professional

Bracket racing Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, typically within the three standard distances (1/8 mile, 1,000 foot, or 1/4 mile) of drag racing. Goal ...

, and the heads-up categories from Super Street and Super Gas to Super Comp. He taught high school in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, for 37 years, and was involved in the preparation of classic high-performance race cars. After campaigning his 1970

Dodge Challenger The Dodge Challenger is the name of three generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full- ...

for over 25 years, winning the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) World Championship and numerous other

and AHRA titles, he donated his

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

car to the

Museum of History and Industry The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) is a history museum in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest private heritage organization in Washington state, maintaining a collection of nearly fou ...

(MOHAI) in Seattle, Washington, in 2007. During the majority of his

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

career, he was sponsored by Ole Bardahl of the

Bardahl Bardahl is a brand name, brand of Petroleum product, petroleum oil additives, lubricants and gasoline additives for motor vehicles and internal combustion engines made by Bardahl Manufacturing Corporation in Seattle, Washington. Ole Bardahl B ...

Company. In 2019, he was inducted into the

, Northwest Division, Hall of Fame. He was the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

World Champion race car driver.

Biography

Al Young with Championship Dodge Challenger Drag Car at MOHAI

Young, a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

, grew up in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the youngest of three children. His sisters are Janey Young Cheu, and

Connie Young Yu Connie Young Yu (born June 19, 1941) () is a Chinese American writer, activist, historian, and lecturer. She has written and contributed to many articles and books, notably including ''Profiles in Excellence: Peninsula Chinese Americans'', ''C ...

. His father was Col. John C. Young, a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

and businessman, and mother was Mary Lee Young, an artist and art collector. He was married to Vicki Johnson Young, who retired from

Seattle Public Schools Seattle Public Schools is the largest Public school (government funded), public school district in the state of Washington (state), Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Par ...

after teaching elementary school for over 28 years. They have two children, Chase Johnson Young and Ashley Victoria Durant, and six grandchildren. Young graduated from

George Washington High School (San Francisco) George Washington High School (colloquially GWHS or Washington High School) is a public high school located in the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond District on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California. The c ...

, studied English literature at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, and received a BA in 1968 and MA in 1972. He was an

Upward Bound Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as Federal TRIO Programs, TRiO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act ...

tutor/counselor, teacher, and an advocate for the program since 1968. A founder of one of Seattle's first

alternative school An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, wh ...

s, the Summit K-12 School, in 1973, Young taught high school for 37 years in the

system, instructing subjects ranging from auto shop, physical education, film studies, and Chinese cooking, as well as

honors courses Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name, including a list of people with the name * Honour (surname), English-language surnam ...

in history, and college-level

AP United States government and politics Advanced Placement (AP) United States Government and Politics (often shortened to AP Gov or AP GoPo and sometimes referred to as AP American Government or simply AP Government) is a college-level course and examination offered to high school stu ...

, and

AP comparative government and politics Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and Politics (also known as AP CoGo or AP CompGov) is an Advanced Placement comparative politics course and exam offered by the College Board. It was first administered in 1987. Course To better ma ...

. He was the adviser to school teams that participated in the Chrysler Trouble Shooting contests,

YMCA Youth and Government YMCA Youth and Government (YAG), also known as Youth In Government, or Model Legislature and Court, is a program of the YMCA of the USA that allows middle and high school students to serve in model governments at the local, state, national, and i ...

mock trial competitions, and

Junior State of America The Junior State of America (formerly the Junior Statesmen of America), abbreviated JSA, was an American non-partisan youth organization. The purpose of JSA was to help high school students acquire leadership skills and the knowledge necessary t ...

conventions, ad led high school groups to the South Pacific and Washington D.C. for close-up learning. During his teaching career, he also coached volleyball, softball, and basketball. The Seattle Committee for Excellence in Education named him as a nominee for their 1985 award. Young was recognized as one of Seattle Public Schools' "Heroes in the Classroom" by Vulcan Inc.,

Russell Investments Russell Investments Group LLC is an American investment firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Corporate overview According to ''American Banker'', Russell Investments has approximately $300 billion of assets under management, as of Septemb ...

, and the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Seahawks Stadium Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League So ...

in 2004. Leaving

Roosevelt High School (Seattle, Washington) Roosevelt High School (RHS) is a public secondary school located in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened in 1922 to relieve overcrowding at Lincoln High School, it ranks as the second-largest high school in ...

in 2008, he retired from teaching. From 2011-18, Al & Vicki drove over 60,000 miles in their classic 1973

Plymouth Roadrunner The Plymouth Road Runner is a muscle car introduced by Chrysler in the United States for the 1968 model year and marketed under its Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth brand. Initially based on the Plymouth_Belvedere#1968–1970, Belvedere, the bra ...

muscle car A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, marketed for its performance. In 1949, General Motors introduced its 88 with the company's OHV Rocket V8 engine, which was previously available only in its lux ...

touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In 2014, they completed a 14-country, 45-day, 8,000-mile roadtrip around Europe in the same muscle car. On a repeat touring road trip in 2015, Vicki & Al visited 24 countries in 50 days, driving again over 8,000 miles in the Roadrunner (from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

). In June/July 2016, they completed an unprecedented 3rd road trip in Europe in their Plymouth Roadrunner, driving over 7,000 miles through the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Atlantic Ocean Road and National Tourist Routes of Norway, and making guest appearances at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

and the Power Big Meet classic car events. A member of the Seattle

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

Club for over 48 years, Young practiced the traditional Chinese style of

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

known as

Hung Ga Hung Ga Kuen (Cantonese) or Hongjiaquan (Mandarin) ( zh, 洪家拳, link=no, meaning "fist of the Hung family") - alternatively shortened as either Hung Ga () or Hung Kuen () - is an ancient southern Chinese martial art, which roots lie in th ...

Kuen taught by

Sifu ''Shifu'' is a Chinese cultural term. Although its pronunciation always sounds the same, there are two ways of writing it using Chinese characters, and they bear two different meanings. The first variation, Shīfù 師傅 ('Expert Instructor') ...

John S.S. Leong. He was also active with the

Chinese Historical Society of America The Chinese Historical Society of America ( zh, s=wikt:美国华人, 美国华人wikt:历史, 历史wikt:学会, 学会, t=美國華人歷史學會, p=Měiguó Huárén Lìshǐ Xuéhuì, j=Mei5gwok3 Waa4jan4 Lik6si2 Hok6wui6; abbreviated CHSA) ...

(CHSA), narrating the documentary "Dr.

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

at Liberty's Door." (2011) He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the

(MOHAI) in Seattle, Washington from 2012 until his death.

Racing accomplishments

Car Craft ''Car Craft'' was a magazine devoted to automobiles, hot rodding, and drag racing. It was published by the Motor Trend Group. It was established in 1953. The magazine published articles directed at inexperienced and expert car mechanics, such a ...

Magazine All Star Drag Team (1983) Firebird Raceway (Boise, Idaho) Bracketeer All-Star Inductee (1988) Twice winner of every major Championship E.T. Drag Race National event in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

from 1976 to 1996. A three-time winner of

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ...

Raceway's annual Day Fire Nationals Donated his 1970

to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle Winner of the "Long Distance" Award at the Power Big Meet, Vasteras, Sweden (July 2014) Winner (repeat) of the Long Distance Award at the Power Big Meet, Vasteras, Sweden (July 2015, July 2016) Winner

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsport sanction ...

Division 6 National Open, receiving

The Wally ''The Wally'' is the trophy awarded to winners of an NHRA national event. They have been handed out at national events starting with the 1969 NHRA race season. With an antique brass plating over a standard metal mix and a solid walnut base, the " ...

at Bremerton Raceway, 2018

Hall of Fame, National Hot Rod Association, Northwest Division, 2018

Publications

Hemmings Motor News ''Hemmings Motor News'' is a monthly magazine catering to traders and collectors of antique, classic, and exotic sports cars. It is the largest and oldest publication of its type in the United States, with sales of 215,000 copies per month, and ...

(Sept 2021), article: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/09/08/how-a-slice-of-detroit-muscle-opened-doors-while-traversing-the-planet

Hot Rod (magazine) ''Hot Rod'' is an American car magazine devoted to hot rodding, drag racing, and muscle cars—modifying automobiles for performance and appearance. It was published monthly until 2024, when it transitioned to quarterly publication. History '' ...

(February 2018), article: "Road-Trippin' 'Round Europe" ("How to Take the Ultimate Road Trip in Europe") pp. 72–76.

"Drag Racing" (May 1988), articles: "How to Win at Drag Racing" – A Champion's Guide to Winning Races – and Sponsors; and "Paying the Way (How to get a sponsor)".

Mopar Mopar (a portmanteau of "motor" and "parts") is an American car parts, service, and customer care division of the former Chrysler Corporation, now owned by Netherlands-based automobile manufacturer Stellantis. It serves as a primary OEM access ...

Action Online: http://www.moparaction.com/2015/10/22/road_trip/

Magazine (Dec 1981), p. 50: "The American Way:" (Photo) "Al Young 'doubled" at Spokane, clinching the Super Street event and World Championship titles the same day". Super Stock & Drag Illustrated (Sept 1984), articles: "Kung Fu Fighter – Al Young applies his martial arts training to bracket racing". University of Washington Alumni Association: Viewpoints Magazine: "Road Runner" pg. 2, 2008.

References

External links

* https://nwasianweekly.com/2022/12/remembering-al-young/ * http://www.hotrod.com/articles/travelling-europe-1973-roadrunner/ * http://www.roadkill.com/travelling-through-europe-in-a-1973-roadrunner/ * http://nhra.net/basics/index.html#et * http://www.bardahl.com * https://web.archive.org/web/20140221102346/http://www.mohai.org/press-media/press-releases/item/2593-world-championship-drag-racer-al-young-comes-to-mohai-june-22-2013 * https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151502255786966.1073741832.37423026965&type=1 (Al Young presents his Dodge Challenger at MOHAI, Summer 2013) * https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Asian_American_almanac.html?id=sEYUAQAAIAAI (pg. 58) * http://chalkboardchampions.org./?s=al+young&submit=Search ("Drag Racing Champion Al Young and Chalkboard Champion Al Young: They Are One and the Same") * http://www.seeitimagery.com/wordpress/?p=1426 (Al Young at the Museum of History and Industry) * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aj3xXVxjB4 (Al Young racing his Bardahl Challenger) * https://web.archive.org/web/20140907173050/http://www.iexaminer.org/2014/09/racecar-driver-al-young-exhibits-vintage-muscle-road-car/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20140917205723/http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2014/08/25/features/meet-bardahl-sponsored-drag-racing-champion-a * https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/automobiles/detroit-love-swedish-style.html?_r=0#slideshow/100000003032427/100000003034372 * https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/roll-over-volvo-classic-americana-rolls?articleId=USKCN0PD1GL20150703 * https://lindylecoq.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/the-champ-wpc-alpha-beta-5/ * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT-KWI5Lp0c (interview with Al Young at

O'Reilly Auto Parts O’Reilly Automotive, Inc., doing business as O’Reilly Auto Parts, is an American automotive part retailer that provides automotive parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories to professional service providers and do-it-yourself custome ...

World of Wheels car show, Chicago, 2017) * https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/meet-al-young-a-world-champion-drag-racer/281-8018548 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UTK1AExnvw (brief interview with Al Young at MOHAI during Smithsonian Day Sept, 2018) * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKiU0CUSANs (Al Young's National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame acceptance speech, 2019) * https://q13fox.com/2019/05/28/chinese-american-wwii-veterans-will-finally-be-awarded-congressional-gold-medals/ * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEP4EulNErY (a Rick Quan documentary: "RACE: the Al Young Story"...22 min.) * https://www.atlasobscura.com/videos/show-tell-drag-racing-al-young {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Al 1946 births Living people American people of Chinese descent Schoolteachers from Washington (state) Racing drivers from Los Angeles Racing drivers from Seattle Sportspeople from Whittier, California University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Racing drivers from San Francisco