A 6.17 at the GG finals was an eye opener,
but was it under the rules for 2004? If it was,
then the rest of the class is in for quite a
beatdown this season! Godfrey And Close '63
Corvette (BBC) - Their best E.T. 6.88. Painter
extraordinaire, Bob Godfrey, is stabbin' 'n'
steerin'. Wes Close is the voice that got a
lot of the dialogue going to get the class up
and running with GG/VRA. Working off of his
"Knights of Nitro" blueprint, he was the catalyst
to bring this group of outsiders together.
Nathan Bugg's Lil' Nate '71 Charger (426) -
Their best E.T. 6.40. These GG/ VRA veterans
have been running this car for years in NE-1
with light loads of "pop." After a chassis update
at Bobby Hansen's shop, they are ready to make
some noise in the fuel Funny Car class.
Richard Stannard '73 Vega (426) - Rumored to
be one of the Hawaiian cars of old. Stannard,
along with long time partner and driver Ed Schwartz,
are known as the Estrus Dick/Ed racing team
on the GG/VRA circuit running in NE-1 with their
altered and, as of late, running A/Fuel with
their Bruce Dyda-built Don Long repli-car. This
team plays as hard as they race, Mai Tai not
included. Others who are eager to cause trouble
for the above mentioned include: Randy Walls
'70 Nova (BBC) Mike Adams '74 Corvette (426)
Steve Tryon '59 Corvette (426) Larry Petitt
'71 Mustang (426) Jim Broom (BBC)
This is in no way a complete list, but just
a primer for what west coast cars hope to show
in March. As we watch this exciting new class
unfold, I'll bring you updates on the cars mentioned
and be the first to let you know about the new
ones.
So am I wrong in thinking this class can eclipse
top fuel in spectator appeal? I know it will
put more butts in the seats and that makes everyone
from the bean-counters to the beer counter happy.
We'll find out if the magic is there when the
2004 season opens. Will it in some small way
bring back the days of hearing Steve Evans or
Bill Doner on your radio spouting "64 Funny
Cars" and rattling off the names?
Where is a Fox Hunt when we really need one?!
I'll tell you where, The March Meet at Famoso
Raceway, that's where!
As Steve Evans once said, "The pits are going
to look like a fiberglass forest!" And I, for
one, am looking forward to it.
Special thanks to Jeff Gaynor for supplying
me with lots of the info for this piece and
Pammy Utterback for proofreading, editing, and
basically re-writing this.
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