Rear-Engine Funny Cars
It’s funny the things we take for granted. Most of the readers of this column have their own vast mental encyclopedias of drag racing knowledge, so I try not so much to regurgitate the history they already know by heart but to fill in the details…
More cars with scars
One of those I heard from was John Largent, who was a race car painter “back in the day,” who was more than familiar with those works in progress and not a big fan of the unfinished look … for his own reasons.
“Most of…
Topless Funny Cars
When Raymond Beadle famously lost the roof of his Blue Max at the 1981 Winternationals, it turned his Plymouth Horizon into a convertible. He had to tack the roof from Kenny Bernstein’s spare body onto his to make the final because the rules said (…
Reyes brings on the ugly
Last Friday, I promised a collection of Steve Reyes shots of primered race cars for today, but once he started sending me photos for our “ugly car” collection, it became clear that I had a big problem on my hands. Or, to be more precise, more than…
This could get ugly
Drag racing machines have long been known as rolling pieces of art, with intricately designed paint schemes, pinstriping, gleaming chrome, and detail beyond what the outside world’s most obsessed might find acceptable, but (to borrow from the…
Cleaning out the Inbox
Forgive today’s later posting as I’m still sorting through the facts and figures from the great race this past weekend in Las Vegas and putting the finishing touches on my National DRAGSTER assignments from the event.
I’ve also been…
Remembering Phil Castronovo
Compared to those of other former world champs, Phil Castronovo’s Funny Car driving career was short-lived – spanning just a handful of seasons – but the recently departed 1971 NHRA class kingpin certainly left a legacy of…
Crowning champions, then and now
I had planned today to share – as promised Tuesday -- some stories behind the stories of former NHRA Funny Car world champ Phil Castronovo, who passed away Saturday, but, without boring you with details, one thing led to another, and I’m now…
Back on the 'Dyno'
Tuesday’s column about Don Nicholson bought out the love for the dyno man and a slew of those whose lives he touched. I’ll share some of those stories below as well as offer great additions to the Psycho Mustang tale I also wrote about earlier this…
Brush with garage greatness
I got an email from reader Derek Staples that, based on years of correspondence with the readers of this column, may well ring true with many of you. For many race fans of – ahem – advanced seniority, introduction to the sport sometimes came from a…
Of jackrabbit finishes and faked photo passes
The return of Fan Fotos brought interesting feedback and fun stories to light.
There were a lot of nice submissions about the Burkholder brothers, including the photo at right from Dave LeRoy,…
The return of Fan Fotos
There has been so much to talk about lately that I’d forgotten how long it has been since I reached into the vault for Fan Fotos. In this column’s earlier years, I ran these pretty regularly as a way to thank everyone for their support and interest…
Another Memorable Motorplex Moment
First Top Fuel five: Missed it
First Funny Car five: Ditto
First 300: Not present
…
Fan Fotos: New England
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Welcome to Fan Fotos, the sequel! Steve Heuer – and quite a few others -- took advantage of my offer two weeks ago to display their 10 best fan photos, and here they are. Again, the purpose of this is to show off…
How the elephant crushed the guardrail
Even when you truly enjoy the subject matter, the reader response, and the thrill of telling a new story, writing a biweekly column can be tough. (I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I began this column more than four years ago as a thrice-…
Open houses, early chutes, and finals gone wrong
As I knew it would, Tuesday’s column about early shutoffs elicited a few more head-slapping incidents of drivers lifting too soon or woofing the chute prematurely. So let’s take a look at a few more prime examples, then we’…
Don't lift until you've heard the referee's whistle
I coached youth hockey for my son’s teams for a number of years, and one of the things I always worked hard to remind the kids of was to keep playing until they heard the referee’s whistle; until then, the puck is live, and play is ongoing. You may…
NHRA's first computers
Everyone who has ever owned a computer has a "my first computer" story. Whether your earliest experiences with the "ones and zeros" was a Commodore 64 that loaded programs from a cassette player or you just finally got wired and broke your computer'…
More Indy yearbook feedback ... and 'Jungle's' wedge
Back safe and sound and mostly caught up after the Big Go (my 29th straight!), and I thought I’d wrap up a few loose ends before moving on to our next topic. The 1977 NHRA U.S. Nationals Yearbook continues to be a favorite topic (I’m…
My favorite time of year(book)
Whether you’re lost in the woods or tortuously filling and tying off scores of water balloons for your 4-year-old grandson’s “swim party,” it’s good to know you’re not alone, and when it comes to admiration for the 1977…
The 1977 NHRA U.S. Nationals Yearbook
Drag racing fans still love the printed word (thank goodness for me!), which explains why a lot of us still have library-worthy collections of old drag racing magazines – Super Stock, Drag Racing USA, …
Chi-Town and 'Jungle': Farrrrrrrrrrr out!
Lots of thumbs-up (and one thumbs-down, as you will read) for last Friday’s column about the Chi-Town Hustler and “Jungle Jim” Liberman, which I guess should well be expected seeing as how they’re two of a handful of surefire winning column topics…
Clearing the table (again)
Like a busboy in an all-you-can-eat restaurant, seems like I can’t clear the plates fast enough to satisfy your rabid hunger, so I’m going to try to use today to wipe the table clean of some news and notes I’ve had scattered across my desk. (I wish…
The day that 'Jungle' drove the Chi-Town Hustler
It’s a fact of life that just when you think you know everything about something, you get slapped upside the head, which happened to me (again) this week.
Everyone knows the story of the great Chi-Town Hustler, how engineering ace John Farkonas,…
Open for business, again
As any of you who have been around this cantina for any length of time full know, it’s as much your own memorable morsel as the main course that I serve up that makes this column the popular potluck it has become.
Despite me hanging out the…
The slingshot's last hurrah
Who had the first slingshot dragster is certainly debateable, but Mickey Thompson long took credit for it with this car, pictured in 1954.
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of a very telling date in…
Second helpings
Yeah, and they have pretty cool t-shirts, too ...
Friday’s "Food for Thought” column about dragstrip delicacies may have been…
Food for thought
It may well be the most famous and photographed concession stand in drag race history, showing up in the background behind superstar racers burning rubber at Irwindale Raceway in the 1960s and ‘70s, and…
A farewell to Dave Condit
I was all set to kick off a discussion of dragstrip food when I learned yesterday about the passing of former Funny Car racer Dave Condit. I guess John Force mentioned it on the air during this weekend's ESPN2 show from Denver, but because I was…
And, finally, ‘the Snake’ weighs in
(Above) The "slightly off" Rapid Transit paint scheme and (below) the real deal.
(Above) The same Rapid Transit car, new '91 grille treatment, another kinda-sorta…