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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…
All Snake, all the time
Over the wails of frustration from the few residents of the Insider Nation complaining about the current “all-Snake-all-the-time” format … sorry ‘bout that, and here we go again.
Last Friday, I left the floor open for further comments/discussion…
What became of the original yellow 'Cuda?
I knew this would come up one day – I just didn’t know it would be two years later – but now seems to be about the perfect time considering the recent subject matter concerning Don Prudhomme and Barracudas. It may give you an excellent idea of what…
The 'other' black 'Cuda
(Above) Don Prudhomme shook down the Snake III 'Cuda at OCIR prior to its debut at the 1973 Supernationals. (Below) The fully decaled/painted car as it appeared at the Supernationals and Lions' Last Drag Race. (Steve…
Red Gooses, black Snakes, and steam catapults
After somewhat reluctantly (yet honor bound to do so) publishing mixed reviews of the replica Hot Wheels Duster Funny Car in last Friday’s column, I was glad to see an outpouring of support for the project from fans. Though…
That was then, this is now
Coming or going, you can nitpick the differences between the original, as shown in the first and third photos supplied by Bob Snyder and shot at the 1970 AHRA Summernationals at New York National Speedway,…
It's ready!
Just a real quick hit this morning while I try to dig myself out from the chaos that is my desk anytime that I travel to a national event. We didn’t get back into SoCal from our trip to Norwalk until late yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to drop…
M&R revisited, and the tale of Bob Gibson
After posting here last week about Roger “Riceman” Lee’s upcoming re-creation of the Masters & Richter Top Fueler, it didn’t take me long to get the expected reply about whether it was the ex-M&R car that “Big John” Milner drove in More…
Top Fuel seasons, then and now
OK, Insider experts, what do Top Fuel racers Carl Olson, Don Garlits, Chip Woodall, Jeb Allen, Art Marshall, Gary Beck, Jim Walther, and Don Moody have in common? I’ll give you some time to think about it as the column progresses.
If you’ve been…
Filling out my to-do list
Dale Pulde, far lane, took on Dave Condit and the L.A. Hooker Mustang at Lions.
My recent mention of upcoming topics brought forth a lot of responses and, as always, some great help.
I’ve been…
It's ramped up and almost ready
Any trip to Englishtown is steeped in history — the names of heroes such as “Jungle Jim” Liberman and Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney are always invoked. The vast majority of the nitro racers who compete annually always…
The name game
Quite a few of you applauded my tongue-in-cheek strikethrough "mistake" in referring to the annual event in Englishtown as the Summernationals, which, of course, now is the name of the recently completed event in Topeka. I'd…
Rats, snakes, hustlers, and kings
At this time next week, I'll be at one of my favorite places in the drag racing world, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown for the annual Summernationals SuperNationals. (Still struggle with that one, and don't even get me started on…
At a loss, again ...
Another Tuesday, another sad duty to report another substantial loss to our sport. Yesterday, about 5 p.m., just a week after the death of James Warren, we lost 1970s veteran fuel Funny Car campaigner Dick Rosberg, adding to the already staggering…
Memories of James
As expected, the news earlier this week of the passing of Top Fuel hero James Warren brought forth a sea of sorrow and a wave of nostalgia as fans and friends remembered the West Coast giant and mourned his passing.
A few…
A monumental loss
Searching through the James Warren photo archive, I was struck by this photo, showing Warren, center, in the Irwindale Raceway winner's circle with Roger Coburn, left, and Steve Evans. Hard to believe we've lost all three of…
Hot times in ol' Hot-lanta
Fair warning that this will be this week's only Insider column because come Thursday, I'll be in the air again (surrounded by an airplane) on my way to Atlanta for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern…
Let's get small
Honestly, I don't know where and how some of you find the patience to craft incredible machines out of just about thin air, but follow-up to last Friday's report on the from-scratch efforts in plastic of British artist/modeler Mark Gredzinski…
And ... action!
"And then we put a camera over here to catch my good side ...."
So, the news is now out, unveiled last Friday at the Anaheim Comic-Con during a panel discussion and officially announced yesterday on…
Model citizen
Most of us hard-core drag racing fans built plastic models in our youth – and a lot of you apparently still do – but I have to admit that I was never very good at it. Sure, the pieces would all end up in the right places and the decals mostly…
A weekend of tributes at the NHRA Museum
In his five-decade racing career, not many people got one over on Don Prudhomme. Save for Tommy Ivo's notorious practical jokes on the young "Snake's" first road trip with him in the early 1960s, you couldn’t pull a fast one on Prudhomme, whether in…
More odds and ends
I spent the weekend combing through recent submissions to catch up on some of the follow-ups you guys have been sending. (Yes, this is how I spend my weekends ...)
Frequent artistic contributor John Bell wrote to say that he enjoyed "The Legend…
Enough!
You know what? It has been a pretty lousy two weeks for the NHRA family. Just before the Las Vegas event, we learned of the passing of former Division 4 tech ace Lindy Vencill, known far and wide as one of NHRA's great…
More of your photos
The outpouring of photos of Don Garlits from your collections in the last week prompted me to revisit – as promised earlier this year -- some of the many other photos that have been sent my way the last few years. Many of you have given me the honor…
The Legend of Benito Magneto
I may have mentioned in a column or two over the winter that we moved our editorial offices downstairs to consolidate the Publications Department onto one floor of our humble little Route 66 salt mine and that…
The Garlits lovefest continues
The Bucher brothers -- from left, Mike, Rick, and Tim -- helped Garlits push Swamp Rat 34 back into the pit area at the 2002 Gatornationals.
Just back in from a great weekend in Sin City, and the…
Your Garlits stories and photos
Writing a drag racing history column about "Big Daddy" Don Garlits is like playing The Beatles or The Beach Boys on your classic-rock radio station: Ain't no one gonna complain. I wasn't surprised to see an outpouring of love (and old…
Swamp Rat Spotters Guide, Part 3
Welcome to the third and final installment of my Swamp Rat Spotter's Guide, a thumbnail look at "Big Daddy" Don Garlits’ historic hot rods of the last six decades. Inspired by my recent reading of his new book, Don Garlits and His Cars,…
Swamp Rat Spotter's Guide, Part 2
OK, we're back on the hunt of the elusive Swamp Rat. … Well, I guess not really elusive, seeing as how I'm cribbing from Don Garlits’ book Don Garlits and His Cars and giving you my interpretation of his recount about the construction, life…
Swamp Rat Spotter's Guide, Part 1
Ask any serious drag racing fan how many Swamp Rat entries "Big Daddy" Don Garlits had over the years, and you’re likely to be told 34, which is a pretty expected answer. After all, those fans know that "Large Father" took…