Showing posts with label Funny car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funny car. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2026
Monday, May 18, 2026
Thursday, May 07, 2026
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Monday, July 14, 2025
When your tow car matches the funny car? Maxxed out the wow/cool factor. BB/FC campaigner Royce Taylor's 72 Mach 1 that he's owned since high school. At Spokane's Thunder Nights, 2025.
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the race doesn't even start til the two minute mark
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Saturday, January 25, 2025
originally campaigned by Bill “Maverick” Golden in '64-'65, then it turning into "The Prosecutor" for the next two years, from 1965-66, never losing a race. It was found in a sad state of disrepair, this straight-axle match racer was painstakingly restored in 2011
this car started life as a 426ci lightweight Super Stocker quarter-mile race car in California, with owner Bill Golden campaigning in the Southwest as "The Maverick" in '64 and only losing one race.
Then, it changed hands, moving to the Southeast and turning into "The Prosecutor." It campaigned for two years, from 1965-66, never losing a race
The original car was found in 2010 in very rough condition in the woods of Louisiana with not much left. Using that car with many other parts and pieces, Dr. Terry Winkler brought it back to life.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Ever heard of Della Woods, or seen this S/F Dart? (Thank you John S!)
Della Woods and her brother Bernie Woods were from Lake Orion, Michigan. Her racing career began during the 1960s. Woods was the first female driver in the five-second bracket in the funny car class, and the first female driver to compete in the semifinals at the NHRA National event.
During the 1990s, Woods began to run out of funding, and her racing career came to an end. She had beaten all the odds against her to express her passion in the field of auto racing.
Monday, May 13, 2024
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
drag racing legend Don Schumacher, died yesterday from lung cancer. He was 79.
As a Funny Car pilot and match racer in the 1960s and ‘70s, “The Shoe” won the 1972 Coca-Cola Cavalcade of Stars, 1973 AHRA world championship, five NHRA national events, nine IHRA events and about 70% of his 560 match races. Records he set in his “Stardust” Barracuda Funny Car include a 6.18 sec at 241.95 MPH in 1974.
During his own racing career, he contributed cutting-edge safety innovations for the new Funny Car category including a roof-mounted escape hatch that allowed drivers to quickly exit when all-too-frequent fires occurred. He was also the first to mount the lever that activated a fire suppression system on his Funny Car’s brake handle so the driver could apply both while keeping one hand on the steering wheel.
If he could simply claim to be the only team owner to have wins from each of NHRA’s four professional categories, doubly so, but those marks barely scratch the surface. 367 team victories and 19 world championships are the true measured numbers here and they may never be touched again.
A fierce Funny Car match racer in the 1960s and ‘70s who fielded multiple entries with top-notch drivers to fulfill the demand for bookings of his Stardust Funny Cars, Schumacher took a departure from motorsports in the early 70’s to grow the family business, Schumacher Electric.
While operating Schumacher Electric, he grew the family business into a global corporation. Schumacher increased the company value more than ten-fold
As a team owner, he funded and spearheaded a project to develop a protective, enclosed canopy for Top Fuel dragsters, which has since been adopted by multiple NHRA teams.
Schumacher was also intent on utilizing his team’s fleet of race cars to raise money and awareness for various charities. Each year ahead of the U.S. Nationals, DSR hosts a pre-race event at its Brownsburg, Ind. headquarters to benefit Riley Hospital for Children, and for seven seasons, Schumacher, along with Terry and Doug Chandler, campaigned ‘giving cars.’ The program enabled non-profits, such as the Infinite Hero Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and MD Anderson Cancer Center to be recognized through a dedicated tribute livery at no cost to the organization.
Schumacher was also intent on utilizing his team’s fleet of race cars to raise money and awareness for various charities. Each year ahead of the U.S. Nationals, DSR hosts a pre-race event at its Brownsburg, Ind. headquarters to benefit Riley Hospital for Children, and for seven seasons, Schumacher, along with Terry and Doug Chandler, campaigned ‘giving cars.’ The program enabled non-profits, such as the Infinite Hero Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and MD Anderson Cancer Center to be recognized through a dedicated tribute livery at no cost to the organization.
He was invited into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.
in May 2013, he was enshrined into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
In 2019, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and
In November 2022, Schumacher was presented with the NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Saturday, December 09, 2023
Thursday, December 07, 2023
Tom McEwen's 1957 Nitro Funny Car
Kenny Youngblood painted the detail work and the fake grill, but the hood rockets and bumper bullets are aftermarket
funnWednesday, October 18, 2023
Monday, September 04, 2023
Antron Brown and Ron Capps swept U.S. Nationals for the second straight year, winning in Top Fuel and Funny Car
Capps, who drove for the legendary Prudhomme early in his career, reveled in the magical moment as Prudhomme was in attendance all weekend to witness the victory.
Friday, May 12, 2023
On May 24, Paula Murphy will be celebrated at the Petersen, 1st with a film, then with a panel discussion with her.
Paula Murphy: Undaunted, a film from the Left Behind documentary series created by Pam Miller and Cindy Sisson. The series about women in the automobile and motorsports world, who didn't create the household names that Petty, Knievel, and Breedlove did.
Her family came to Southern California in the 1950s, where she soon won her class in an Alfa Romeo in 1959. Shortly after, she went on to teach at Dan Gurney’s racing school, and caught the attention of marketing genius Andy Granatelli.
She soon became known as “Miss STP”, and driving for Granatelli’s then ubiquitous STP oil-additive brand, she set 365 new stock-car records for Granatelli and Studebaker at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963.
She soon became known as “Miss STP”, and driving for Granatelli’s then ubiquitous STP oil-additive brand, she set 365 new stock-car records for Granatelli and Studebaker at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963.
Her success made her the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500, behind the wheel of the Novi, Granatelli’s challenging Studebaker Indy race car. Back to Bonneville in 1965, she piloted Avenger, the STP jet car—despite four inches of water on the ground—to 243.33 mph.
She drove a Studebaker Avanti coast-to-coast for the Ford Transcontinental Speed record and set four transcontinental speed records.
Her first drag racing was in 1965 driving an Olds 4-4-2 prepared by Dick Landy. Her competitive best was 12.46 at 110 mph.
She was licensed in a Funny Car when Tom ‘The Mongoose’ McEwen, then president of the United Drag Racers Association, welcomed her and presided over her licensing at Lions and Don ‘Big Daddy’ Garlits signed off. The NHRA nixed her license, and Grantelli didn't like that, and got it reinstated. The following year saw her dip into the sevens and break 200 mph.
For the 1969 season, Paula purchased a Barracuda Funny Car built by Don Hardy and spent most of the year match racing around the Midwest—where the money was.
She went to England in 1973, along with Don Schumacher, as part of a three-weekend trip organized by Tony Nancy.
Murphy went on to Grand Prix racing, where she was the only American selected to represent the United States in the first Women’s Grand Prix Race in 1974.
https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/petersen-automotive-museum-honors-racer-paula-murphy-1234842078
Tuesday, June 07, 2022
The Tennessee State Library and Archives have photos from Bristol Dragway back in the black and white photography days, here's the link
I'll guess they can't pull a crowd like this for an NHRA event unless they bring back these exact race cars, at the same admission price, and the same price of refreshments, as this June 1969 photo
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