smalldrobanner.gif (3353 bytes)

 

37. EDMOND RICHARDSON
We're going to give Edmond the same treatment we did his brother Scotty a few pegs back. As hard as it is to conceive, and I tried my best going through the IHRA Summit Drag Racing Media Guide, Edmond has never won an IHRA national event. Scotty won just one. Now on the other hand, IHRA's version of an Edmond Richardson, one Anthony Bertozzi, has won something like 36 IHRA titles ... aw, we're gettin' off the subject. Next case.

38. JAMES WARREN
On April 16, 1967, Warren guided the Warren-Coburn-Miller to a 230.17-mph blast and backed it up with a 226.70-mph hit. That's generally regarded as the first such 230 ... Warren ran San Fernando Raceway's first seven-second Top Fuel run with a 7.91 on Aug. 1, 1963 ... The Bakersfield, California great also logged a somewhat controversial 7.41 and a later legit 7.44 in his Roger Coburn and Chuck Halloway's 364-cid Chevy Top Fueler in 1965 at Lions, the quickest for such a combination. ... Warren-Coburn-Halloway also held down the No. 2 spot in the national Drag News Top 10 Top Fuel standings in mid-1964 ... One of Warren's more spectacular efforts was a 6.41/229.00 to 6.43/229.00 final-round win over Don Garlits at the 1973 Orange County PDA meet ... Warren was one of the few racers who did pretty well against the fabled Garlits. He beat "Big Daddy" at the 1968 and 1972 NHRA Winternationals, the above PDA race, and the 1976 and 1977 Bakersfield March Meets. ... Certainly in Western annals, an argument can be made that Warren was one of the best nitro leavers and backpedalers in Top Fuel history.

39. DANNY ONGAIS

Danny "On the Gas"' rise to the top in Top Fuel was amazingly quick. In his first full year as a Top Fuel pilot, 1965, he became the first NHRA Division 7 Top Fuel champ and also set the association elapsed time record for midyear at 7.59. In April of '65, he also ran the sport's then best speed on NHRA clocks, a 207.36 at Carlsbad, Calif. ... He runner-upped with the Honda of Wilmington fueler at the 1966 NHRA Indy Nationals to Mike Snively in "the Hawaiian" after winning the Monday Top Fuel show for the right to race the sitting out Snively ... Ongais did go to Funny Car and in the first part of 1969, racked up an incredible 55-2 won-loss mark with the Mickey Thompson Mach-1 Mustang ... From February to July 19, Ongais lost to just Candies & Hughes and Dave Beebe in the "Big John" Mazmanian Barracuda. In that skein, Ongais won the Bakersfield March Meet, the Las Vegas Stardust National Open, the Detroit AHRA Grand American Nationals, the AHRA Springnationals at Bristol, Tenn., the NHRA Springnationals at Dallas, the Lions AHRA Grand American Nationals, and the Orange County Nitro Championships. …While greatly disputed, Ongais received the first six-second Funny Car time slip on September 14, 1969 when he ran a 6.96 in Thompson's Mustang at Kansas City International Raceway.

40. FRANK MANZO
Manzo’s first of six NHRA Winston Alcohol Funny Car championships featured one of the closest points battles in class history. Manzo went into the last event of the 1981 season, the NHRA Winston Finals at Orange County, with a very narrow points lead over No. 2 man, Gary Southern in Bill Dunlap’s "Capt. Crazy" Dodge Omni. As eliminations progressed, Southern set low e.t of the meet at a 6.51 and then defeated Manzo in the semifinals. All Southern had to do was beat Brad Anderson in the final and the Winston championship was his. He took a slight lead off the line in that, but the Dodge got loose a few hundred feet off the line and Anderson was able to pass him and preserve Manzo’s title. Manzo would probably be the first to tell you that world title number one was the toughest of his career.

Buy
This
Stuff!!!

Go to the place to by cool junk from DRO and CRO. We've got all sorts of cool trash and trinkets for your purchasing pleasure on our secure e-commerce platform.

Most of the stuff you'll find here is unique to us and it is only sold here.

Show everybody that you've got a different perspective.

T-Shirts

Books

Caps

Diecast Cars

 

Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source