"This event has been a mainstay and an anchor on our calendar of events," Yingling said. "It's one of the jewels in our tiara of calendar of events."
Yingling said the races were going strong in 1982 when he started working with them, but "if you go deeper into the history of drag races they've been going on (in Tehama County) since the 1930s and 1940s."
The three-day event is one of the four biggest events in town during the year and the chamber expects it to bring between $1.5 and $2 million into town over the weekend, Yingling said. The other three being the Bull and Gelding Sale, Monster Trucks and the Red Bluff Round-Up.
"There are a few towns that have a bull sale, a few that have monster trucks and a few that have a rodeo, but there are darn few towns that have all of them and we're proud of that," Yingling said.
Abbassi said he expects the event to pull in between 20,000 and 30,000 people over the weekend.
The classes competing are Top Fuel Hydro; Top Alcohol Hydro; Top Alcohol Flat; Pro Modified; Pro Comp Eliminator; Pro Eliminator; Modified Eliminator; Stock Eliminator; River Racer and Personal Water Craft, which is split into Junior Division, ages 9-16, and Senior Division, 17 and up; Top Eliminator; Super Stock and K-Boats.
The event kicks off Friday with the 10th annual Palomino Room Drag Boat Show and Shine in downtown Red Bluff from 6-8 p.m. on Main Street. Gates open to spectators at 7 a.m. Saturday and the first race starts at 8 a.m., while the Top Fueler race starts at 10 a.m., Abbassi said.
"(Top Fuelers get up to 260 MPH and run on nitromethane and (pure methanol) so it's a faster boat," said Abbassi's wife, Theresa. "The adrenaline rush of seeing a boat go that fast in a quarter-mile is breathtaking."
Nitro nationals is "great, exciting racing for families," Abbassi said, adding that children 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.
Tickets are $21 presale and $26 at the gate. Presale tickets can be bought at Bud's Jolly Kone, 455 Antelope Blvd., the Chamber of Commerce, 100 Main St.; and Napa Auto Parts in Red Bluff, 1030 Main St., and Corning, 2026 Solano St.