CALIFORNIA HOT ROD
REUNION VIII

Steiner too tough in Top Fuel

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Gerry Steiner claimed the prestigious Top Fuel Dragster title at the eighth annual NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway Sunday. Facing Santa Rosa, Calif.'s Jim Murphy in the final round, Steiner gained a near tenth-of-a-second advantage away from the starting line and extended his lead downtrack to win with a run of 6.21 seconds to Murphy's run of 6.42 seconds.

Steiner, who has been involved with drag racing since 1959, and was one of the originators of the current nostalgia drag racing revival, was elated with his victory. "No question, this is the Granddaddy of all the nostalgia events," enthused Steiner, of San Jose, Calif. "Winning this event is almost as good as winning the March Meet [also held at Famoso Raceway] in years gone by. A great moment."

The victory for Steiner came complete with a traditional drag racing 'thrash,' where the team works to get the car ready for the next round. In his semifinal defeat of Kaysville, Utah's Jack Harris, Steiner's dragster burned a piston, broke some valves and damaged a cylinder head.

"It looked a mess after that run," said Steiner. "We had to replace our aluminum cylinder heads and replace them with 20-year-old iron heads we keep around in case of an emergency. I'd say they held up pretty good."

The following are the final results from the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield, Calif.:

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER
Round 1
8) Jack Harris, Kaysville, Utah, 6.344 seconds, 231.06 mph def.
Alt) Howard Haight, Upland, Calif., 6.417, 214.38

1) Larry Gotelli Jr., South San Francisco, 6.035, 224.77 def.
5) Sammy Hale, Novato, Calif., 7.203, 131.25

6) Gerry Steiner, San Jose, Calif., 6.144, 225.05 def.
2) Bill Dunlap, Capitola, Calif., 6.759, 186.41

3) Jim Murphy, Santa Rosa, Calif., 6.061, 244.96 def.
7) Lee Jennings, Chino, Calif., 11.691, 70.86

Round 2
Murphy, 6.276, 203.94 def. Gotelli, 6.407, 236.53
Steiner, 6.113, 242.45 def. Harris, 6.130, 237.21

Final Round
Steiner, 6.218, 229.29 def. Murphy, 6.424, 230.65.


TOP FUEL DRAGSTER (B) 
Round 1
10) Lance Osborn, Salinas, Calif., 6.153, 231.36 def.
14) Larry Huff, Bell Canyon, Calif., 9.485, 106.33

11) Bob Neal, Kelseyville, Calif., 7.417, 121.53 def.
16) Ty Norton, Exeter, Calif., 8.561, 112.85

18) Neil Bisciglia, Kenosha, Wis., 6.457, 220.85 def.
13) Shep Ginzburg, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 6.646, 213.11

12) John Barrett, North Hollywood, Calif., 13.791, 63.41 def.
17) Hans Kuesel, San Jose, Calif., broke.

Round 2
Neal, 7.095, 129.05 def. Bisciglia, 19.939, 27.08
Osborn, 6.328, 198.58 def. Barrett, broke.

Final Round
Osborn, Salinas, Calif., 6.165, 235.91 def. Neal, crossed centerline


A/FUEL DRAGSTER
Larry Pettit, Hawthorne, Calif., 6.786, 202.02 def.
Jason Richey, Pleasanton, Calif., 6.970, 199.24.

JR. FUEL DRAGSTER
Ron Pratt, Fallbrook, Calif., 7.302, 182.03 def.
Don Enriquez, Mission Viejo, Calif., 7.411, 181.30.

AA/GAS SUPERCHARGED
Bret Williamson, San Jose, Calif., '67 Plymouth, 7.299, 184.42 def.
Chris Abbey, Clovis, Calif., '57 Chevrolet, 7.548, 186.91.

FACTORY EXPERIMENTAL
David Franklin, '61 Ford, 9.479, 140.75 def.
Phil Featherston, '64 Ford, 10.145, 133.55.

NOSTALGIA ELIMINATOR (7.50 Index)
Greg Uffens, Tracy, Calif., 7.844, 174.21 def.
Jim Archer, Los Alamos, N.M., 7.367, 182.96 (breakout).