My family raced top fuel cars during my teens in the 70's - 80's. Switching a few different drivers, we were mostly just regional racers (toured for points in divisions 5, 6, 7) and rarely raced east of the Mississippi.. but what a blast it all was. Always on the go to somewhere. There were so many top fuel cars in those years (some races qualified 32-car fields) and I see several old friends of ours featured in this video. People from virtually all walks of life came together in the top fuel ranks. Herm Petersen was an ocean fisherman, James Warren sold irrigation equipment, Tony Nancy was an upholsterer, John Wiebe raised hogs, and so on down the line. Hardly anyone raced for an actual living. Mostly just people enjoying themselves while being partners in sport and paying little mind to the glitz of it. I remember a night somewhere (Salt Lake, I think) sleeping on a house lawn under someone's funny car body to keep the wind off me while crews from several cars thrashed all night in the garage and driveway for the next day (they actually let us use downtown city streets and sidewalks for all-night thrashing in Amarillo). No one.. not even the elites.. had a friggin' semi trailer full of parts and money. Just a Chevy crew cab with a sleeper pulling a 36-foot Chaparral. I also recall one of my jobs being to locate the best Chinese restaurant in various cities for crews to descend upon after the last day of racing. My mom always picked up the whole tab. We were all family. That was drag racing to me-- the proverbial "gopher" kid who prayed and gave thanks for low ETs and a safe trip home. Today's top fuel story is mostly just a bunch of corporate billboards going down a track-- most operated by huge racing enterprises. Everyone so prim and proper. A fact of commercial evolution, I guess. Bound to happen. All I know is that I was so.. incredibly.. lucky to have lived those years as they were and to have built the friendships I did. Anyway.. thank you for allowing me to reminisce here on that era of life's adventures-- and thank you, Calvin Walker, for posting this really nice video. Be sure to tune in next week when we discuss fire burnouts and oil can spouts-- but I'll quiet down for now :-)
4:10 - That was a cool interview. Don knew EXACTLY why previous rear engine dragsters didn’t handle well and what he did to fix the issue (slowed down the steering ratio). But no way was he going to tell his secret here. He gave some BS answers to the interviewer. Love it! Racers are racers.
I also seem to recall Big Daddy stating that the rear differential approach before him had been incorrect, as well. I remember from the article (Car Craft ? Hot Rod ?) that an open-spool was mentioned. I am planning to go to his museum next week; if he is there, I'll have to remember to ask him.
Remember OCIR. Always will miss it. I was young but I wont forget the best of times with dear old dad he would say. Wish I could go back and touch a lttle bit of heaven again. Thanks dad.
growing up in Pomona hearing them practice from my grandmother house through the week and then watching drag on the weekend was awesome. Pomona, Long Beach and Bakersfield, i cant count how many races iv seen at those places. got to meet John Force at his house back in the late 80s. my uncle, dad and i put a fence up in Johns backyard. John his wife and girls, we all ate lunch together, i don't think the girls where 10 years old yet.
Nice story. I lived in La Puente as a teen in the 70s and remembered going to the drags at the near by Irwindale raceway, what great memories of a far better time in my life.
It is fascinating to see the development in just a few years, from the spindly, front-engined, "Sling-shots" in 1970 to the almost recognizable , rear-engined, cowled and winged cars in '74.
I grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and I am now going on 70. We could hear these cars from our house in Brownsburg sometimes. As a kid we loved to go to the Raceway Park. We were the local kids who snuck in the back fence for free. Sometimes if we had money we would pay to go in and also get a pit pass. I saw all the old greats of the days. I grew up going to Raceway Park mostly in the late 60's and early 70's. Those were great days of drag racing with Rat Finks, Nudenicks and custom T-shirt shops that were so cool. We made those silly hats stretched over coke bottles and had custom painted at the T-shirt booth. Those are some great memories. I had a great childhood growing up in Brownsburg.
Thank you for bringing back some great memories. I was at a few of these races when I was young. I always thought Don Garlits stopped driving a front engine dragster after his accident in 1969, but it shows him in one in 1970. I never know that.
Actually, that famous accident was in 1970... but close enough :-) I once heard Garlits speaking about an experience days later where he so deeply and in detail describes a religious convention with the Lord taking place in his hospital room, and how intensely it improved his recovery and overall outlook on life, as well as the conviction promises he made to God in that room. He has always been a religious man, but you will notice that every car he raced after that point has a large and beautifully painted cross and scripture on the cowling of the car directly above his body.
I saw all the greats in 1971 at Epping, NH's New England Drag way that summer. I was 22 years-young, and loved seeing, Garlits, Prudohmme, Sox & Martin, Shirley, 'Cha Cha' Muldowney, etc.
Ah! Baylands! We raced there a few times and I have clear and fond memories as well.. and brings warm thoughts of Bay Area racers like Steve and Rhonda Woods :-)
I am old school and fully agree with the "long live" part.. though I am also impressed by the electric evolution. Just check out Garlits' Swamp Rat 37 (videos online). If Don will support it then it ain't all bad. The thing that really catches my attention is the analytical sounds you can use for performance evaluation (especially tires) that you cannot hear with a fuel engine roaring over them. Another thing is heating up too hot (hence too much horsepower) if a closed-cooling motor like top fuel runs too long before launch. No problem with that in electric. You can walk up and have a long, quiet consultation with your driver during any point of the process. And finally, you can drive an electric dragster right back up to your pit. Stick around-- they will only get quicker and faster as the tech improves. Now, as for daily driver EV's on the road--- eeettt.. not impressed at all. Dismal at best.
This is the best old school video I have seen on nitro. Those front engines didn't last very long after Garlits.. From the time I was 10 in 1966 I spent the next 5 years having my Dad take me and my buddies to the "run what you brung" drag races for my birthday. Been going on my own ever since. I ended up racing motorcycles instead of cars. A new dirt bike was less than what my drag racing friends were spending to rebuild a motor. LOL
My favorites were the old front motor cars that would smoke the tires the full length of the drag strip. It was a great day when they got a reverse gear so they didn't need a couple of linebacker types to shove the cars back after a burnout.
Thank you for the memories ,,,,,did a Super Shops clone Ford courier race truck…..all parts came eagle rock and van nuys shops….wow nice to hear the announcers…..
I was born in the mid 60's, I remember this era when I was a kid. The reason they went to rear engines in top fuel is dudes were getting their legs blown off when the engine exploded. I remember when they broke 7's and we never thought anyone could go faster then that. How wrong we were.
Was there in 71' to watch that historic win by Garlits...great race (except for losing Pete Robinson, of course 😔). Thanks for the video (any chance we might see AA/FA's of the 70's video??). ✌😎
Great info, Don. Good to know. The last front-motor I remember winning a top fuel national event was Art Marshall at the Grandnationals in a car that he had purchased from Tom McEwen... though I cannot recall what year that was. Obviously before you won the final one. We (my family) first started out with a front-engine top fuel car in 1970, then two more the next year while going cannibal on all three (though only racing one at a time), then switching to rear-engine in '72 and so on through 1985 after which we finally departed. The only national "record" I recall us ever holding in that regard was simply having the longest wheelbase of each style during our time-respective ownership of them. The front one was a 1969 Logghe, and the rear one was a 1983 Mark Williams. One of our drivers back then was Jack Harris who (as far as I know) still today runs the front-motor cars with his son on the nostalgia circuit (which are actually new-built cars). I don't remember ever meeting you in the olden days, but its nice to meet you here!
Interesting that reaction time was always so critical. The underdog still had to guess or be phychic to cut a good enough lite to make up for the power over there to have a chance to move on. Usually didnt work out well for them.
Fun memory.. we were at a race in Fresno, California during those "busting into the 5s" times, and I think we went out in an early round or something because I recall standing by the bleachers for the final. It was hot and the track was ripe. No one had ever made it into the 5s yet.. but really close. So James Warren had been in the 6.00s the whole weekend and tipped the can for the final. The pass was strong and straight.. and we all held our breath for the announcer. Six-0-one.. Damn it!! But he did end up in the Cragar 5 Second Club just a few weeks later, as did our good friends Dan Richins and Dwight Hughes. Sometimes Tom Ivo does not get fair credit for running the first five (5.97 in Pennsylvania) because it was at an AHRA event and everyone seemed to snub the AHRA back then, but it was definitely his to own forever. The first five in the NHRA was Mike Snively.
@@FromMyEyesToYours In the '60's my uncle raced. He would pick me up, to keep his son company. I spent countless weekends playing and hanging out in the pit area. I remember seeing Garlits and Ivo, Ivo really stood out with the glass sided rig he had.
@@raynic1173 I remember that rig, too... recalling the car was somewhat elevated in the trailer so it could be seen though the glass, and they would light it up at night on the highway. I was just a teen kid stuck on the road with family racing. Loved it dearly, but missed my friends in summer. What tracks did you and your uncle race at?? Did you race into the 70's and 80's?? We raced Ivo what seems like maybe 3 or 4 times in the 70's & 80's at random-one-day 8-car events, but I can't recall exactly where for sure. Back when people would say, "See you next week in [insert city here]" since there were usually half a dozen or more races every weekend across the USA that would book top fuel and funny cars. They paid just enough show money to cover 70/30 fuel to make noise and smoke and keep from hurting parts, and just enough prize money to cover hotels and tow gas to the next race ... though however made a great way to stay in practice and shape for divisional and national events. Tom is a tremendous person with a genuine spirit for hot rodding and race fans.. no doubt.. and at that time also no doubt got a bigger promoter check than we did since no one ever came to our pit seeking autographs from a TV and movie actor... and they always made sure the big names were pitted nearest the snack bar, restrooms and t-shirt stand. What a racket!!
Started crewing on funny cars in the seventies And owning and building Sent then and wouldn't Traded or anything but but I wish we wouldn't go back in time these new cars are way too expensive for spectator sport to For any spectator to be involved
Don Garlits-- "When I pulled through the gate at Bakersfield in 1959, everything I had with me was worth $1,500, including the truck." Of course, he's been known to stretch a tale or two.. but you get the picture.
Right foot throttle.. left foot clutch.. right hand brake. Chute release (small handle) typically mounted on the left side, and most drivers reach over with the right hand to deploy the chute. Many featured with the mag switch and fuel shutoff directly below steering-- though also somewhat common to have the chute release and the fuel shutoff handles aligned next to each other on the left side for simultaneous action (you shut off a top fuel engine by killing the fuel first, then switching off the mag once it stops). Today's cockpit, on the other hand, is far, far more complex and technologically advanced.
@@ate71622 I recall Bucher also experimenting with a small block Chevy a few times. And let's not forget the King Rat top fuel car based out of Seattle. They toggled between hemi and Chevy power, but mostly Rats (hence, the name). Mike Garrison also most often used Chevy power in his Valley Fever top fuel car out of Fresno.
