This is by far the best content I have ever watched in my entire life. I’m having a hard time with life right now and this might of just saved my life. Thanks so much Bobby
That’s what makes drag racing so amazing, I feel you there and I really hope you remember that this made you feel that good again. I hope things are STILL going better for you by the time you read this! You may just have to get out to a race- :) Much love for everybody all in the Drag Racing Community!
This is absolutely pure gold. Fantastic, I've never seen anything as good as this ever in my life except for when I used to watch it on TV Saturday afternoons, back in the mid 70s as a kid. Absolutely fantastic. Thanks so very very much for posting this and if you have more I implore you, post that as well.
My uncle's best friend raced funny cars from the beginning and built blowers too, he was sponsored by the Navy. Mert Littlefield was his name. Good times
When I was around 9 years old, Vega Funny Cars were my favorites! 🤗 🤗 🤗 I remember having lots of pics on my wall of, Wonder Wagon, Ken "Vinny's Vega" Vinny and Mert Littlefield. 😎 Not sure if it was your uncle's friend but if he race a Vega, he was on my wall! 💯
Thanks for taking the time and effort for getting us these videos. The history.. and just the memories alone are more powerful than you might realize. These were the days of Drag Racing. I grew up in Bowling Green Ky and was a track rat at Beach Bend. I remember seeing a lot of these guys and their cars running there back in the mid/late 80's on. I was in my early to mid teens then and I'm 48 now and I still can remember sitting under the roof of the stands at Beach Bend and watching them. Thanks for reminding me and all the rest of us.
Thanks for this video. We bought that Bruce Larson's Camaro funny car from him and raced it ourselves until we built a long nose Vega funny car. We sold that car to Jim Liberman in '74. It's now at Don Garlits drag racing museum in Ocala FL. Best run that I ever had, in that Vega, was 6.47 at 231 mph. We won against Prudhomme that race but lost the next round.
@@davidgeorge1294 Another time, we beat Liberman. He was impressed that he lost to a car identical to his other than the color. The company that made the body, made three of that body. Liberman had one, Custom Auto Body had one, and then ours. Liberman's caught fire later in another race and he heard that we were quitting running top fuel and he offered to buy ours. As I stated, it now is at Don Garlits Museum in Ocala FL. After he bought it, from us, he had it painted exactly like his car that burnt.
Seeing this video , I still remember when John Force in his Leo's stereo Corvette funny car did a smokey burnout on Hollywood Blvd for a tv commercial. In the mid 70's
34:24 Thanks for this compilation. That Tim Grose wreck, rolling along the guardrail, always makes me clench my seat! Thanks Tim for all the different bodied floppers you brought to competition, I was always cheering for you.
I was good friends with Emile Fullerton, Larry Fullerton's widow. She carried me to my first funny car race back in the eighties. I've been a huge fan ever since
I was a kid like 4 or 5 ,every weekend I was at a drag race, irwindale,Orange county, Lions ,Pomona ,but not so much ,and Bakersfield or Falmoso. I loved funny cars and altereds, Dragsters were ok,but the fire ,smoke ,dry hops ,man I miss 1/4 mile burnouts and Jungle Jim doing almost 100 mile an hour back ups! Today ,it's rolling billboards and racing millionaires. But thanks to This stupid presidency, all the big teams are going away. Personally, I would be happy watching real classic slingshot diggers and these 70s type funny cars . They would probably have a better turn out and bring the ridiculous ticket prices. I really miss this!
@@bengelman2600 Way before that son. I know why your life is a mess, and I am absolutely sure I am correct, just from 6 words from you. You life is a mess because schools today sabotage your brains ability to rationally reason, and figure out reality. It has been getting worse for generations, (and I am not exempt at 58 years old), and they actually call it "progress". Your life is a mess because you can't figure out reality,---and you will blame trump,---when you should be getting all your brain dead friends together to redefine "class action law suit", and sue your schools. Today, not only do you know the cube root of 64, you don't know what bathroom to go into. It is reality kicking your but. It does that when we ignore it, can't figure it out, or believe the BS you learned in school. Here is how it works in a nutshell. They tell you something that we all know is reality---then they start telling you what reality is. It is a commie tactic to make it so you can't figure out reality. You are prime supporters for any dictator to guide your life,---because we are nothing but children before we could talk if we can't figure out reality,---and you will beg for the baby sitter. Glad I am old. You watch for that,---and figure out reality,--or you will retire under communism. That is reality son, and it is nothing new to me,---just new to you. Let me give you the foundational clue to start your brain with. Free people created the free enterprise system in the USA, and we got ourselves out of poverty better than any dictatorship, and we became friends by trading money instead of blood. communism hates it when the citizenry can make money,---and they do not want people with individual liberty, (which communism does not recognize), to be able to do that, (as it needs little to no government controls,---what will these non-productive people we elect do?). The goal of communism is to destroy your individual liberty, (your right to use your mind in a free enterprise system), and your free enterprise system. But there is a twist, (like always). communism is actually taking our free enterprise system from the free people who created it,--and is funding itself with it. It was 1978 when china decided to give "semi private business a try". Trump did not give it away to communism. Regan did!! What have you been taught to attack? Your own opportunity. Your own free market. You need to demand your individual liberty back, (protected by law, which is color and sex blind), and you have to demand your free enterprise system back,---(left and right is a shell game. The sides are communism and individual liberty), or you will retire under communism---in poverty, scared for you life, instead of thinking and prospering like mankind should. Wheeew. Can you understand that?
@@dawnmclees yep,I know ! My son is one. I send him to collage and it wasn't immediately, but he had changed. I thought ,well ,maybe he is growing and will find his way. But ,he has completely changed, and I want to find the professor, the Solar engineering idiot that actually got go him . I 'll still try and talk sense to him,but I won't fight him,it isn't worth loosing a son over! I will take him healthy ,politically incorrect, and happy,I guess . I wish he would get married ,but that is also the left and there upside down view of the world !
@@EarthSurferUSA of course i can! I'm 57 ,and a Reagan Republican! And Trump too,but you are right, from the little I read ,I know what is right and what isnt,I teach Sunday school, I'm as far right ,without being too far ,as I need to be. Funny how I haven't seen these posts. I was just hit by a illegal alien, again! That is why I need to get out of California again ! And back to A state that hasn't been too messed up by fleeing liberal idiots ! Which is every state in the West!
To my knowledge a Canadian, 240 Gordy ( Gordon Bonin ) was the first on the planet to reach 240 mph in the 1/4 mile dragstrip at Edmonton, Alberta, 🇨🇦 sometime before Prudhoe pulled 241.
This brings back many memories with The Snake Prudhomme as the worlds first Black racing champion along with the best announcers in racing; the late Steve Evans and Dave Mclelland. Drag racing was the only equal opportunity racing option back then. Funny car fan since New Orleans in 1967.
I hate to sound like a millennial, cauz I'll be 60yrs old in a couple 2-3 days, but Don or "The Snake" as the world knows him, does not identify as being Black. He is actually half Louisiana Creole, which was his Father's race, & his Mother was White. Don Prudhomme is half Cajun, half White & 100% All Baddass 💪😉👍!!
I love the old stuff in the golden age of drag racing. Most of the drivers then are now team owners you got Don Schumacher, Connie Kalitta and others still ion the racing business but I just love the early stuff
You can't beat it I think it goes for most forms of motorsport there golden ages have come and gone but none the less we are blessed to be able to enjoy it 🙏🏽🎉🎄
I watched Ken Miles go 0 to 100 to 0 at OCIR and then got a ride in the cobra that did it, It KILLS me to drive past the site nowdays and see a massive mini-storage instead.
AWESOME!! Thank you for this!! So amazing that at first when they started or at least when the announcer was doing the film the cars were only running what our best regular fuel cars that can even be run on the street are running now. 7.5 second 1/4 mile etc.
HEY!!. The Mt St Helens of the Quarter Mile. After or right around 1980 on this,, or really close, Steve always thew the zingers with current stuff. My backyard. About 20 min from the mountain.
Damn poor Revell car at 22:01 the supercharger shot out like a rocket. I guess those were the days before they strapped the blowers down so they don't blast out of the car like a rocket LOL
David George, do you remember Bruce Larson's USA #1 Camaro funny car that had a driver's door? We bought that car and raced it for a while until building a long nose Vega funny car. We sold that Vega funny car to Jim Liberman in '74. It's now at Don Garlits drag racing museum in Ocala FL. We sold the Camaro to a guy in GA. He ran it as an alcohol funny car for awhile until it caught fire and was destroyed.
The first twenty years of Funny Cars and no mention of the 427 SOHC Ford Mercury Comet Flip Top Funny Cars? The first authentic Flip Top Funny Cars ever? Incomplete history. lol.
Thanks Frank that was a very good ride you had me putting the brakes on those hills I never been to the west coast loved the music did you know where you were going or just riding for the video.
"The Plastic Fantastics" thats wicked lol and also 5:00 Dunno if that was intentional but the way the engine lope times with the lights was a cool touch. And man 30k barely get ya an entry level engine these days lol...Damn inflation. 12:08 a 6.94 at only 178mph? thats one hell of a launch....
From other RU-vid videos and maybe a (gasp!) magazine or two, I offer that the first "Funny Cars" were named because the wheelbase had been tucked up under the drivers ass to help with weight distribution.
That change in the quality of video about 1985....wow. Talk about a change. They actually had video editing and graphics and names on the screen. Like you can tell exactly when they started putting money into the brodcasting
Once the snake broke into the 5’s they stayed there for quite a while. In other words from 1975 to 1993…one second has very difficult to get until Etchells did it.
I know there's always been a mix bag of thoughts and opinions about John Force but you have to give it to him. 16X Champaign and almost 150 wins. He didn't get all of them by not caring or being passionate about the sport. I'm not a big fan of his but you have to give credit where it's due.
This is so great. I love looking back at history and reminiscing, which is why deleting our history on anything is fu*king stupid. NHRA all the way! When ESPN lost the rights and FOX picked it up, I was disappointed because I liked the way ESPN did it. I liked Paul Page and Mike Dunn. But I am now a fan of Brian Lohnes and Tony Pedregon. Brian is very good on play by play.
Three tradtional ingredients in authentic NHRA: 1 - 1/4 mile 2 - Smoky burnouts 3 - Track personalities Unfortunately, what they have to offer for race fans are these days are almost unwatchable,in my point of view. Rest in peace, Joe Pisano.
22:30 I wonder how much pressure was in that block to eject the blower like that? If it were not for the blower belt, after snapping all the bolts, that blower may have shot 20 feet in the air or more. The pressure under the hood, (right after blower separation, unless it also blew the block, which I doubt with the blower being the weaker link.), even blew out the side fiberglass body to stay stuck over the header ends on the camera side of the car. I don't know how much danger the driver was in, but that guy standing between the lanes,---was not fast enough if something shot his way. I doubt they let people stand there anymore, and pretty sure he never stood there again. :)
these days the rule is 500 cubic inches, all the block are based on MOPARs and from one company or maybe a few others but it has to pass tech,, the heads are solid (no water jacket ). The car body can be from Dodge Toyota, GM, what ever, but, the basic engines are the same, these days the cars slip the clutch down almost the whole way and the plates weld up at 325 mph with 8,000 plus HP and the plugs burn off the tip and its hard to dyno those motors at 11,000 rpm
Great video as always. One note do you think any sportsman racer or unknown racer could rant like that to NHRA? I don't remember the outcome of that one of the decision stood or not? But as a racer I do believe in standing up for a wrong.
35:52 Convertible funny car 38:57 Tim grose early parachute deploy 41:48 Bernstein and Oswald has broken 250 MPH Barrier, Oswald did 257 44:07 260 MPH by Bernstein 47:34 Austin Coil/JF partnership 56:08 John Force first ever victory 1:02:15 Larson's 5.27 ET 275 MPH
