Dale Armstrong, championship-winning crew chief and driver

Former NHRA national-championship-winning Top Fuel and Funny Car crew chief Dale Armstrong, along with Joie Chitwood, Alan Kulwicki, Jeremy McGrath, Ken Squier, Jerry Titus, and Rich Vogler, will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America when the organization stages its annual induction ceremony Aug. 25, 2010, at The Fillmore Detroit.

Armstrong, who also had an outstanding driving career, winning 12 NHRA national events in the 1970s, is credited with numerous innovations in drag racing technology. He was the first crew chief to use wind tunnels for improved aerodynamics. This mechanical genius tuned Kenny Bernstein to four consecutive Funny Car championships (1985-1988) and 28 national event wins. Later, with Bernstein in Top Fuel, he became the first crew chief to break the 300-mph barrier.  The 1996 Top Fuel title placed Armstrong among the elite crew chiefs to have won championships in both Funny Car and Top Fuel.

“The Motorsports Hall of Fame Class of 2010 features champion drivers who doubled as an innovative crew chief, a showman and stunt man, a race team owner, and a magazine editor. Joining them are an all-time win leader in sprint cars and midgets, a groundbreaking broadcaster, and a legendary Supercross rider whose nickname was ‘Showtime.’ Their exploits on and around the racetracks of America make them true Hall of Famers,” said Ron Watson, president of the Hall of Fame.