 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
|||||
 |
||||||
|
His family and close friends might tell you that the smartest thing Jerry Toliver ever did was get out of fuel boats, which make fuel cars seem safe and sane. Many of Toliver's fans might be expected to say that the smartest thing he ever did was hook up with the World Wrestling Federation, whose financial backing and widespread public appeal assured this relative newcomer a shortcut to super-stardom. Nobody's asked me, but if somebody should, my "smartest thing ever" would be none of the above. No, the smartest thing that Jerry Toliver has ever done - and possibly ever will do in his entire life - was handing Dale Armstrong another Funny Car.
Armstrong went to Top Fuel for the first time in his career only because his boss as the time wanted to make the switch. For sure, that decade spent toiling on Kenny Bernstein's open-wheelers produced considerable success, but not the domination associated with King Kenny's long reign in Funny Car Eliminator. The duo did win a Winston world championship in 1996, but only after season-long points leader Blaine Johnson was killed at Indy. Along with the points title and the wins and the records, Armstrong and his driver achieved immortality as the guys who put a piston-powered vehicle through the 300-mph barrier. Nevertheless, when Don Prudhomme dangled the crew chief job for his fuel coupe, the supposedly semi-retired Armstrong snapped at the bait like a captive shark that's spent 10 years swimming in a glass-side tank for tourists, then is suddenly returned to the ocean. On paper, this particular combination, enhanced by the piloting skills of a hungry Ron Capps, sounded so unbeatable that NHRA could've been forgiven for inventing yet another "Armstrong Rule" that banned all black Camaros (or something), just as they'd previously outlawed or severely restricted topless bodies, two-speed superchargers, the 1987 Buick "Batmobile" and nitrous oxide. (Sorry, Dale!)
Of course, that double threat dissolved in no time, to the relief of Prudhomme's competitors and to the amazement of every one else. Suddenly, this crew chief who'd toiled for one employer long enough to draw a pension couldn't seem to keep a job. Then Jerry Toliver called. My, how the sport has changed since that initial conversation. At the time, it seemed inconceivable that the names Toliver and Force would ever appear in the same sentence, let alone in any serious talk of a championship chase. Now, you can't thrust a microphone into either face without hearing about the other guy. Toliver, as both a driver and owner, certainly deserves credit for accomplishing so much so quickly in drag racing's most challenging class. Let's not forget that John Force needed most of his career and nine NHRA final rounds before he won for the first time, nor forget all those guys who spent decades chasing Prudhomme and Beadle and Bernstein and Force, never to score a single golden statue. In fact, Toliver has accomplished more than any newcomer in recent memory, and undoubtedly would have seen some degree of success with any competent crew chief.
|
|||||
|
Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source |
||||||
"Double-A
Dale" was born to build and tune and, yes, drive nitro-burning Funny
Cars with singular skill. He's been racing them since they still had
door handles and genuine GM parts. In the 1960s and '70s and '80s, Armstrong-driven
and/or -tuned Funny Cars dominated on both nitromethane and pure methanol
(not to mention nitrous oxide, which Dale always wishes we wouldn't.)
