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A bold yet frustrating attempt
As always seems to be the case with any mysteries raised in this column, the sleuths of the Insider Nation always solve the case. Today's story, about Bill Traylor's Bold Attempt streamliner that I featured here a few weeks ago, is just Exhibit No.…
Remembering Jim Jackson
You may have read in the NHRA.com Notebook last week about the passing of Jim Jackson, who was partners with Simon Menzies on some Top Alcohol Funny Cars and a nitro Funny Car in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Menzies is a great friend of the…
Sticker shock, part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of the Sticker Shock thread that I began Tuesday. If you were sick that day or can’t muster the strength to scroll-wheel your way down this page, I'm showing off some of the vintage decals/stickers that I…
Sticker shock
As cities grow and redevelop, new buildings are built, and it seems as if we're always hearing about construction workers unearthing ancient remains or other remnants of previous civilizations. All work is halted as…
Feedback on your feedback
The countdown to Pomona continues -- now at an even 40 days before the kickoff of NHRA's 60th Anniversary season – while around here, the cleaning continues. We devoted a good portion of Wednesday to the final (and ugly) part of completing the move…
When 'Brute Force' met Mötley Crüe
Part of the trick of this job is the research, but a more important part may well be knowing who to ask about things you won't find in the printed records or for additional details. Being able to reach out…
Cleaning out the e-mail, Part 2
Welcome back, and to Part 2 of my Inbox Blowout. On Tuesday, I began the daunting task of sweeping out the many Outlook folders I have created to handle the stream of e-mails from the faithful readers of this column and wanted some of the saved and…
Cleaning out the e-mail, Part 1
We're all back in our places with bright shiny faces as we kick off the new year here at NHRA. Some staff members are still unpacking and setting up their work areas after last month's move, and we spent yesterday afternoon in a planning meeting for…
It's in the cards
If you read last Friday's column, you know that I have a huge trove of drag racing collectibles. I'm sure it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what some of the actual collectors out there among you have stashed away, but it's a pretty good…
Moving-day treasure trove
Well, I'm all moved into my new digs, with the exception of a few boxes that still need unpacking and stuff that still needs sorting. It was an interesting trip back to 1993, which is when the Publications Department moved out of the Financial Way…
Getting my move on ...
Boxes o' stuff in my office
Issues? Yeah, I've got some issues ...
I hate moving.
I've had to move my residence seven times in my adult life, but the…
Final farewell to a legend
The California drag racing community came together last Saturday to lay to rest Roger Coburn, the tuning genius behind James Warren's romp through the SoCal fuel dragster classes in the late 1960s and 1970s, and, as befitting the legend, the…
Our drag sport, illustrated
National DRAGSTER may have the longevity record for drag racing weeklies, and Drag News will always be considered by some to have been the sport's authoritative tome, but there still was room for others to…
The 'Garage Photo'
If there's a single photo that resonates deeply with all of us old-time race fans and racers, it’s this famous shot of "the Ridge Route Terrors," Roger Coburn and James Warren, photographed by Jon Asher in Coburn's garage.
Everything in this…
Being thankful
It's a bit of a short week here at National DRAGSTER what with Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday off for a four-day weekend, so this will be the lone column of the week. We're actually shipping this week's issue…
How to avoid the champions curse? Buy us lunch
Wow, just five days into the off-season, and it has been pretty eventful already. Rumors of firings and hirings (some of them even true) are flying faster than fuelers, Austin Coil ends his 26-year relationship with John…
No Maas? No way!
Butch Maas was flanked by his sisters, Judi, left, and Linda, as they helped their mom celebrate her 75th birthday in 1995. "It actually was one of the last times we were together," said Linda.…
Sorry, Butch
Two days after receiving the news, I still hate myself. Well, maybe that's a bit strong, but I'm certainly very mad at myself.
Tuesday evening, we lost Butch Maas to cancer, and I lost my chance to glean from him his…
The Johnny Appleseed of the Fiberglass Forest
Although carbon fiber has replaced fiberglass as the material of choice for Funny Car bodies, there's not a longtime fan around who doesn't recall Steve Evans hawking flopper shows and promising fans that "the pits will look like a fiberglass forest…
Running up the ol' phone bill
I devoted most of yesterday to trying to make some of the phone calls I mentioned in the column a week ago and trying to at least touch base with some of the people I've yet to reach but have promised myself I would.
…
'I always liked to hear about the old-timers'
Those of you who have followed this column since its inception July 23, 2007, some 380 entries ago according to my quick math, have seen this column evolve into its current format. Originally, it was conceived as a behind-the-scenes look at how …
Odds and ends injected to the thread
There are times when I wish that I could work exclusively on this column, and this is one of those weeks. I have so many things on my "want-to" list that I just can’t seem to get to them. I have promises out to so many people to call for stories…
Stars of the East Coast Fuel Funny Car Circuit
Two weeks ago, we heard from former Funny Car racer Jeff Foulk, who shared his memories of the East Coast Fuel Funny Car Circuit, and this week, I heard from fellow era flopper pilot Drake Viscome, who dropped me not one but…
Injected Funny Cars: How it was
They may not have sported superchargers, but it's clear that, pardon the pun, injected Funny Cars have blown a lot of people away over the years, at least based on the outpouring of info that the last few columns has inspired.
I received a great…
Twenty years ago, NHRA played hardball with NASCAR
On Thursday, Darrell Gwynn will be in Reading, where he and his father, Jerry, along with NHRA Board Chairman Dallas Gardner, former NHRA VP Steve Gibbs, former NHRA Division Director Darwin Doll, Kenny Koretsky, and Jack…
Groovin' at the 'Grove
In Tuesday's injected Funny car follow-up, I featured the Glory Daze Camaro of Kevin Johnson and mentioned that his dad, John, had taken some pretty cool photos from Maple Grove Raceway while working there in the early 1970s…
More injected Funny Cars!
First, I want to thank you all for the kind words about the Jeb Allen article last Tuesday. It was challenging for reasons that many of you understand and for the…
Jeb Allen: Building a new life, one home at a time
From the outside, Jeb Allen looked like he had it all. He was driving a Top Fueler and on the front cover of the sport's most popular magazine, Drag Racing USA, when he was 17. He became a national event Top Fuel…
Midwest injected Funny Cars of the 1970s
Injected fuel cars are a big part of the sport's history from Jr. Fuel on up, and although the combination lives on today in the Top Alcohol Dragster class in the A/Fuel designation, injected fuel funnies are no more, though…
The big ramp-truck send-off column
Just as the ramp trucks themselves passed into history, to be replaced by enclosed trailers, then fifth-wheel trailers, and ultimately 18-wheelers, so too must end (for now) the history of ramp trucks here. Oh sure, I could (and probably will)…