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Readers Choice, my favorite time of year
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Seattle in the '70s, Part 1
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Remembering “Gentleman Hank” Johnson
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Friday at the movies
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A little of this, a little of that
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A work in progress
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Let there be lights!
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The Art of Matt Levonas, Part 2
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The Art of Matt Levonas
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News of the Week
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How Frank Hawley came to drive the Chi-Town Hustler
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Remembering Pat Minick and the legend of the Chi-Town Hustler
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Of national consciousnesses and Pandora's Box
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The many faces of 'Snake's Cuda
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Twas the Friday before Christmas
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'Jungle's' Vega: Who knows which nose?
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It's 'Jungle,' by a nose ... and other stuff
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NHRA Funny Car champs over the years
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Farrrrrr out ... it's 'Jungle Jim's' Vega
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The final showdown: 'Jungle' vs. Force
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Funny Car Breakfast of Champions
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The top three: Liberman
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The top three: Force
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The top three: Pulde
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The top three
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Key players from the Keystone State
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Missouri's finest fuelers
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Frank Oglesby and the Mello Yello Mustang
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A 'fiberglass forest' in Indy
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Indy's Funny Car heroes
Pat Austin and "The Double"
Pat Austin made drag racing history at Heartland Park Topeka in 1991 when he became the first driver to win in two classes at the same national event, scoring in Top Fuel and Alcohol Funny Car, but the road to fame wasn't an easy one.
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour heads next week to Heartland Park Topeka, which has been the site of a lot of drag racing history over the last four decades, including the first four-second and 300-mph Funny Car passes way back in 1993…
Readers Choice, my favorite time of year
If you’re an NHRA member or buy NHRA National Dragster on the newsstand, you’ll definitely want to check out the new issue, which went online Thursday and will be in mailboxes next week. ND Editor Phil Burgess tells you why.
If you’re an NHRA member or buy NHRA National Dragster on the newsstand, you’ll definitely want to check out the new issue, which went online Thursday and will be in mailboxes next week.
The current issue is our annual Readers Choice…
Seattle in the '70s, Part 1
The Great Northwest had some great car and great races, and some great photographers, too, as evidenced by the work of Herman Marchetti, who shares some of his images from the Seattle area in the 1970s.
My column last week about the life and career of Hank Johnson stoked me into action to begin pulling together a large multi-column project I’d been working on of photos from the Great Northwest that were shot back in the 1970s by Herman Marchetti…
Remembering “Gentleman Hank” Johnson
Sure, Top Fuel racer “Gentleman Hank” Johnson, who died earlier this week, was part of the answer to a great trivia question, but in a career that spanned more than two decades, he was much more than that.
What does “Gentleman Hank” Johnson, one of the Northwest’s best Top Fuel and Funny Car racers, have in common with fellow 1970s Top Fuel racers Bob Gibson and Gary Beck? Or with ‘70s Pro Stock hero Larry Lombardo? Or with modern-day nitro gladiators…
Friday at the movies
The internet is full of vintage drag racing footage. Here's five really cool nostalgic videos to enjoy.
Last week’s bits and pieces column elicited a lot of positive feedback, but none more so than the nostalgic video from the 1973 Popular Hot Rodding Championships. I thought that it was a pretty well-known video — if for nothing more than Paul…
A little of this, a little of that
From vintage drag cars found in hiding to some great old videos, new websites, and a resurfaced old drag racing board game, there's lots to catch up on in this week's Dragster Insider.
Back from another thrilling Gatornationals weekend – how ‘bout that Jonnie Lindberg making it to the Funny Car final in his debut? – with just enough time to catch my breath and do some scribbling for National Dragster before heading for Las Vegas…
A work in progress
Like assembling a new car using old parts, so has been the challenge of resurrecting the archives of the Dragster Insider column. Old pieces that don't fit, new pieces that need a little massaging, and a whole lot of other work beneath the hood, but well worth it.
Ever since NHRA.com migrated to this new site, a common lament among Insider followers was the loss of the column archives, which for years were easily accessible on the old site. Visitors could either used the collapsible year/month navigation and…
Let there be lights!
Master racecar airbrush artist Kenny Youngblood discusses the fine but mostly lost art of painting faux headlights and grilles on Funny Cars.
The Art of Matt Levonas, Part 2
Last week I showed off some of the marvelous artwork by NHRA’s Northwest Division Director Matt Levonas and I’m back with more this week, including some cool 1970s Funny Cars.
Last week I showed off some of the marvelous artwork by NHRA’s Northwest Division Director Matt Levonas (you can find the article linked in the bar at left), and I’m back with more this week.
As you all know, I’m a sucker for 1970s Funny Cars, so…
The Art of Matt Levonas
Northwest Division Director Matt Levonas' passion for racing goes far beyond his divisional duties, as he's also a talented artist whose work spans the history of the sport. Here's a look at some of his nostalgic pieces.
When I was five years old, I made a drawing in my first grade class of George Washington astride a horse that my teacher raved about. Unfortunately for me, that’s probably still the level of my drawing skills. Sure, I can paint a picture in words,…
News of the Week
In this week's Dragster Insider: Famous Funny Cars on the auction block, a female pioneer gets her due, and a farewell to a 1970s Pro Stock mainstay.
If it's Friday when you’re reading this, I’m in Phoenix for the NHRA Nitro Spring Training preseason testing, getting my first annual whiff of nitro, but I wish I’d have been in Arizona a couple of weekends ago for the Barrett Jackson auction in…
How Frank Hawley came to drive the Chi-Town Hustler
Frank Hawley drove the Chi-Town Hustler Funny Car to two NHRA championships but how he got to drive the fabled machine is a tale of chance and fortitude. Even he didn't think he would get the job.
Although the new-look website prevents me from carrying over the familiar graphical banner and “The stories behind the stories” motto that headed this column for almost a decade, the motto and mantra still remains part of why I love this column…
Remembering Pat Minick and the legend of the Chi-Town Hustler
The passing of Pat Minick, original driver of the famed Chi-Town Hustler Funny Car, on Thursday took me by surprise and saddened me in the way that I mourn the loss of the pioneers of our sport. The heroes that I grew up reading about on the pages…
Of national consciousnesses and Pandora's Box
Last week’s column on the many looks of Don Prudhomme’s first Barracuda included the statement that the car was the one “That launched Prudhomme’s name into the national consciousness.”
I quickly heard from Insider regulars Dennis Friend and…
The many faces of 'Snake's Cuda
Insider readers got such a charge late last year out of James Ibusuki’s detailed recounting of the many faces of the fabled Jungle Jim” Liberman Vega that I’m revisiting the idea again, this time using Don Prudhomme’s first Hot Wheels Barracuda as…
Twas the Friday before Christmas
Twas the Friday before Christmas, and all ‘cross the Nation
Insider fans were fretting, thinking Phil’s on vacation.
The browsers were loaded to the designated page
In hopes of a column with which to engage.
With letters all nestled correctly…
'Jungle's' Vega: Who knows which nose?
Many longtime NHRA fans may remember artist James Ibusuki, who burst onto the scene in the 1990s with a series of stunningly accurate, photo-realistic lithographs depicting great scenes from drag racing history.
Although his business was a…
It's 'Jungle,' by a nose ... and other stuff
As we get closer to the holidays and prepare to shut down the Insider for another year, I wanted to circle back to a few topics and address some other outstanding issues. I’m not sure how many more columns I’ll have this year, but as long as there’s…
NHRA Funny Car champs over the years
As we wind down this 50 Years of Funny Car celebration, with Ron Capps – a huge fan of the history of our sport -- finally and fittingly crowned the champion, I took a look back over the list of champions who had preceded him and whose company he…
Farrrrrr out ... it's 'Jungle Jim's' Vega
As “Jungle Jim” Liberman probably would have exclaimed, having the No. 1 Funny Car of all time on the fan-voted top-20 list is pretty “farrrrrr out.”
Yes, race fans, when the final votes were tabulated, Liberman’s vaunted ’73 Vega emerged atop…
The final showdown: 'Jungle' vs. Force
“Jungle Jim” or “Brute Force”? Nostalgic hero or modern-day legend? Vega or Firebird? Those are the questions that will be answered this weekend in Pomona when NHRA unveils the car atop the list of its yearlong fan vote among the top 20 Funny Cars of all time.
“Jungle Jim” or “Brute Force”? Nostalgic hero or modern-day legend? Vega or Firebird? Those are the questions that will be answered this weekend in Pomona when NHRA unveils the car atop the list of its yearlong fan vote…
Funny Car Breakfast of Champions
NHRA’s annual SEMA Breakfast Wednesday saluted the yearlong 50 Years of Funny Car celebration and was the site of the official reveal of the top two cars in the yearlong fan-voted Top 20 Funny Cars list, though most people already knew that the…
The top three: Liberman
With the big reveal coming this weekend on which of the three finalists in the Top 20 Funny Cars list will make the final pairing, it’s time to take a look at the third car on the list: “Jungle Jim” Liberman’s 1973 Vega Funny Car.
The Vega —…
The top three: Force
Continuing my review of the three cars and drivers remaining in the Top 20 Funny Cars polls, we move from Dale Pulde’s ’77 War Eagle Pontiac to John Force’s ’96 Castrol Firebird. Again, don’t read anything into me putting…
The top three: Pulde
With the Top 20 Funny Cars list whittled down to just three – “Jungle Jim” Liberman’s '73 Vega, Dale Pulde’s '77 War Eagle Trans Am, and John Force’s '96 Castrol Firebird -- and the top two not to be announced for…
The top three
Last Sunday’s reveal of Don Prudhomme’s '75 Army Monza as the No. 4 Funny Car on the Top 20 fan-vote list whittles our list down to just three entries, with the No. 3 spot scheduled to be revealed Sunday of the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas…
Key players from the Keystone State
Another week on the road, and another “retro” column from the Phil Burgess Archives to tide you over. When this column is published, I’ll be in Reading for the Dodge NHRA Nationals (Keystone Nationals for all you old-timers), and…
Missouri's finest fuelers
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads this weekend to Gateway Motorsports Park, almost in the shadow of the famed Gateway Arch that is the symbol of St Louis. Although the racetrack actually is in Madison, Ill., NHRA markets the event — and…
Frank Oglesby and the Mello Yello Mustang
Fans at the recent Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals got to witness a special moment that hasn’t been seen on the dragstrip for almost 30 years: a Funny Car flying the colors of Mello Yello soft drink, the title sponsor of NHRA’s biggest and…
A 'fiberglass forest' in Indy
It was only appropriate during this yearlong celebration of 50 Years of Funny Car that the world’s biggest and greatest drag race host the best display of vintage Funny Cars this season, and so it was that at the Chevrolet Performance U.S…