The national hot rod association nhra divides its race cars into. Mccourry toured the car for a couple more years as it was but interest began to wane as the racing fan became more enamored with a new, emerging breed of race cars called funny cars. Essentially an alteredwheelbase dragster with a fiberlass body, funny cars were scary. Will named driver of blackkalitta top fuel dragster ypsilanti, mich. Barbara hamilton drag racer tom hoover drag racer bill jenkins drag racer howard johansen. Mar 04, 2016 in fact, you can see a photo of the shop on the june 2012 hot rod cover. The field of gassers, vintage funny cars, and frontengine top fuel dragsters competing in the national hot rod associations hot rod heritage racing series is as close as you can get to going back to the early 1970s to see some of the legends of drag racing compete on the quarter mile. Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles usually specially prepared for the purpose compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. Some 70s funny cars, by virtue of having been raced infrequently andor for a short period of time, having only been raced locally, etc. Finally each race tech chassis goes thru two quality control checks before they are powder coated or assembled.
The national hot rod association nhra oversees the majority of drag. Gene snow was an american racing driver who pioneered funny cars in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, bringing innovations such as a direct drive system using multiple clutches when rivals were still using automatic transmissions based on those used in production models. The front engine dragster came about due to engines initially being located in the car s frame in front of the driver. Shirley cha cha muldowney on the cover of sunday news magazine in 1978. The last five nhra mello yello top fuel dragster champs are. Top fuel dragsters are the fastestaccelerating race cars in the world, and reach up to 335 mph over a feet. Like many fields of work, the drag racing scene was and is fairly well dominated by men. Russell september 20, 1968 june 27, 2004 was an american national hot rod association nhra drag racer. King also was named grand marshal of the 20 new england hot rod. Every race tech dragster meets or exceeds sfi spec.
Watch all the wild nhra and ihra sanctioned saves and near misses, and thrills and spills action featured below. Inducted into the bardahl corporation hall of fame at an event held at americas car museum in 2015. Drag week allows multiple drivers for the same car provided that all drivers meet the. The rest will match it cue the screaming tires and overrevving engine, precrash. At nhra lucas oil drag racing series races and select nhra full throttle drag racing series events, super street racers compete on a fixed 10. In her prime, she was a threat to many of the greatest names in drag racing. Shirley muldowney 1 1940 american race car driver professional drag racing. Not partner names, not driver names not owner names and not sponsor names. Showcased there were drag cars from the early days to the present from lions, ocir. At the time, he was the third driver to win in his professional class debut. Cool homebuilt hemipowered dragster running youtube. Drag racing encompasses many types of amateur and professional specialty racing vehicles including door cars, funny cars, motorcycles, dragsters, and pro. Manuel was known for always having great looking cars, check out his modified roadster called the californian 2 in the roadster section of this site. Clay sponsored a string of cars, among them the hordemann brothers midengine t and even the kelly automotive dragster.
Dragster names in the day, especially the 60s and 70s, before the bodies were covered with sponsor signage, dragsters had names. Most race teams get by with a daily driver chevy pickup to tow their race cars on the weekend. Top fuel, funny car, pro stock, pro stock motorcycle, top alcohol dragster, top alcohol funny. First driver to break the 320 mph barrier in national hot rod association nhra first driver to break the sub 4. We dig a hemipowered front engine dragster out of the woods and reassemble it using parts that have been stashed away for more than 50 years. Liberman was known for driving backwards at 100 miles per hour 160 kmh after doing his burnout. He continued racing in dragsters and in 1969 was the first driver in the country to run an elapsed time of 6. If vintage, nitroburning dragsters, funny cars, and altereds are your thing, nitro revival is your event. Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two.
Jr todd named driver of optima batteries top fuel dragster. Three ways a nostalgia top fuel dragster improves on the past. The wally parks nhra motorsports museum, presented by the automobile club of southern california, long a dream of nhra founder wally parks, opened to the public april 4, 1998, after years of planning and months of hard work cataloging and arranging the exhibit. The drawbacks of frontengine designs including fatalities led to several attempts at rearengined cars. The car is tom fraziers foxy lady and this is the only time i saw it. Doug kalitta, 02, august 20, 1964, ann arbor, michigan, mac tools dragster. Alfred john young born april 28, 1946 is a former world champion drag racer and national hot rod association hall of famer who competed in professional bracket racing, and the headsup categories from super street and super gas to super comp. All vehicles must be fullbodied cars and weigh no less than 2,800 pounds except for 6cylinder cars, which may have a minimum weight of 2,000 pounds, and 4cylinder and rotarypowered. Originally an engineering student at the university of. Todd will assume the duties of fulltime driver of the optima batteries top fuel dragster beginning at.
The geico top fuel dragster performs a smoky burnout with driver richie crampton. The final top fuel driver to win a national hot rod association national event in a front. The driver sits angled backward, over the top of the differential in a cockpit situated between the two rear tires, a design originating with mickey thompson in 1954, as a way of improving traction. Testing an early sps system on his daily driver inspired 10,000 rpm speed equipment founder ron hammel to famously start offering diy kits in 1964. Before becoming a driver in nhras professional class of top fuel dragster, he competed for several years in nhras sportsman amateur class of top alcohol. Russell james liberman september 12, 1945 september 9, 1977 was an american funny car drag racer, nicknamed jungle jim. In 2018, al was the subject of a documentary film by rick quan race. Wild rides 14 mile drag racing compilation youtube. Larry dixon dragster driver ed donovan engine builder scott geoffrion. During its heyday, specifically the mid1960s through the early 1970s, the national hot rod association incorporated the use of gorgeous womenmodels to help appeal to the fanboys. Three pioneer drag racers, a beloved track official and famed track announcer are among those named honorees for the 11th annualholley nhra national hot rod reunion presented by aaa insurance, fathers day weekend, june 15, at the glorious beech bend raceway park in bowling green, ky. In drag racing, that person is donald glenn garlits, also known as big daddy. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1.
The 3rd annual racing memorabilia auction hotrod hotline. Drag racing appeals to both drivers who want to challenge the powertrain in a daily driver, and those who want to build and race custom vehicles that only thrive by the light of the strip. The front engine dragster came about due to engines initially being located in the cars frame in front of the driver. I started with the one that has to clear the most stuff, tim said. Expand your options of fun home activities with the largest online selection at. Feb 17, 2018 wild cars rides crashes and mishaps in hd. Note that nitrous oxide is never identified by name. On the hood was painted a rat having enthusiastic carnal relations with a big piece of swiss cheese, and the caption when youve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
Drag racing is controlled by motorsport south africa and all drivers are required to hold a valid motorsport south africa license. Drag racing list jacono, 70, comes out of retirement to. Hes even started an exclusive club for likeminded racers, called the famoso mob. A car designer, driver, mechanic, legendary automotive journalist and. She was the first woman to receive a license from the national hot rod association nhra to drive a top fuel dragster. Will named driver of blackkalitta top fuel dragster. Shirley muldowney born june 19, 1940, also known professionally as cha cha and the first lady of drag racing, is an american auto racer. The final top fuel driver to win a national hot rod association national event in a front engine dragster was art marshall on august 6, 1972 at the le grandnational outside of montreal, canada. Drive a dragster on one of our incredible drag car racing experiences or ride along in a real drag racing car as it accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in mere seconds. Often called factory hot rods because of their resemblance to. Apr 03, 2014 6 thoughts on jr todd named driver of optima batteries top fuel dragster for remainder of nhra season guitarslinger april 3, 2014 at 11. In fact, you can see a photo of the shop on the june 2012 hot rod cover.
Three ways a nostalgia top fuel dragster improves on the. But drag racings sanctioning bodies, including the nhra and american hot rod. Custom dragsters are also available with a higher specification if needed. Liberman was a flamboyant showman who primarily toured the. On the right, conder uses a length of welding rod to mock up the shape and length of header tube. While usually thought of as an american and canadian pastime, drag racing is also very popular in australia, new zealand, japan, the caribbean in particular aruba, mexico, greece, malta, south africa, the united kingdom, and scandinavian countries especially finland and sweden.
In just one year, nitro revival has gone from an experiment to a mustsee happening for. Drag racing is an established sport in south africa, with a number of strips around the country including tarlton international raceway and odi raceway. Jul 02, 2018 if vintage, nitroburning dragsters, funny cars, and altereds are your thing, nitro revival is your event. This position led to many drivers being maimed when catastrophic clutch. The first drag racers to ever use nitrous oxide hot rod. Currently and still a sponsored race car driver and ambassador for the bardahl corporation. Cant read the name painted on the roof over the window, and the driver number on the car doesnt match any in the drag racing list site.
Drag racing is a sport in which cars or motorcycles race down a track with a set distance as fast as possible. Mar 14, 2019 the field of gassers, vintage funny cars, and frontengine top fuel dragsters competing in the national hot rod associations hot rod heritage racing series is as close as you can get to going back to the early 1970s to see some of the legends of drag racing compete on the quarter mile. Pro mod drivers compete at 12 nhra mello yello drag racing series events. In the late 1940s, the national hot rod association nhra helped legitimize the. By 1965, mccourry had decided that showboat could have a second life if he replaced the dragster body with something both recognizable and outrageous. Sep 10, 2018 in the mid 1950s it was a battle to break the next record, as the cars progressively got faster.
Brittany force, 03, july 08, 1986, yorba linda, california, monster energy top fuel. The pics are not great due to the suns position and my. However, to the folks who ran them, these floppers were anything but obscure. After burnouts, cars would be pushed back by crews. Division 3 director keith ferrell, a former dragster pilot, gets some pointers from bill thornberry, owner of the golddigger top fuel dragster, at carl caspers louisville show. A dragster is a specialized competition automobile used in drag racing. She won the nhra top fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three top fuel titles.
See more ideas about drag cars, drag racing and vintage racing. Western fuel altereds nitro cars alky cars plus a nice sized show. Before becoming a driver in nhras professional class of top fuel dragster, he competed for several years. He taught high school in seattle, washington, for 37 years, and is involved with the preparation of classic high performance race cars. Fords new compact pickup could be named maverick look, anything is possible, but a leaked engineering drawing of a tailgate offers clues. The starting light, popularly known as the christmas tree, flashes a series of amber. Dragsters, also commonly called diggers, can be broadly placed in three. Md anderson cancer center dodge charger srt hellcat. A very substantial dragster was the cookbedwell dragster, which broke all the records in 1957. A comprehensive 2016 article in hot rod traced development of the chemical, aptly named second wind, to 1958 and a couple of spokane drag racers.
They are powered by a version of the 500cu in chrysler hemi engines, and can cover the foot strip in 3. Clay sponsored a string of cars, among them the hordemann brothers mid. Aug 17, 2005 will named driver of blackkalitta top fuel dragster ypsilanti, mich. Teaming with bill winward in the brief encounter fuel dragster with a chrysler engine, he won seven meets in a row and was named the nascar fuel champion driver of the year. Nhra museum news legendary tennessee bo weevil driver. King was inducted into the international drag racing hall of fame in 2003 and the new england hot rod hall of fame in 2006.
529 1303 1102 394 1427 564 131 522 984 80 423 38 671 1378 5 1545 983 251 344 1565 244 936 585 1223 1380 1312 616 1526 1547 1454 975 1408 296 950 293 331 101 287 42 1374