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35 YEARS AGO ...
John Bradley, drag racing's premier flathead racer, showed why in the
month of May. At the UDRA Nationals on Memorial Day Weekend at Union
Grove, Wisc., his driver Dan Geiger ran an absolutely incredible 9.14/170-mph
shot in Jr. Fuel competition. ... He took a day off from the three-day
UDRA race and wheeled over to U.S. 30 in Gary, Indiana, and qualified
for the Drag News Invitational Top Fuel field with a 9.20/163.90. He
beat George Templin's unblown Chevy with a 9.17 to survive round one,
but fell in round two to Butch and Merrill Bryant's "Stinker," a blown
Chevy nitro burner. Still 9.1s at 170 from a flathead! ... The top three
drivers in Top Fuel according to the Drag News 1320 Mr. Eliminator were
(1.) Ed "the Ace" McCulloch in the Albrich-McCulloch dragster, (2.)
Doug Robinson in the Horsepower Engineering entry and (3.) Dick Lechien
and Lee Drake's "Santee Woody." ... Number 1. in Jr. Eliminator (Fuel
Altereds, blown modified coupes and roadsters) was Dick LaHaie in Noah
Canfield and Charlie Johnson's "Glass Chariot." ... New York National
Speedway in Center Moriches, L.I., N.Y. announced an upcoming first.
The inaugural Gas Coupe Nationals to be held July 23-24. Billed as the
"Bakersfield for Gassers," class competition would be based on weight
and cubic inches and restricted to gas coupes and sedans. The total
purse? How about $7,000!
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| Ed "the Ace" McCulloch |
25 YEARS AGO ...
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| photo by Jim Phillipson |
John Wiebe won Top Fuel at the Union Grove "Olympics of Drag Racing"
when he defeated Shirley Muldowney in the final, 6.16 to 6.18 ... Raymond
Beadle's "Blue Max" Mustang II (above photo) beat Don Prudhomme's virtually
unbeatable U.S. Army Monza to win Funny Car at the "Olympics." ... On
May 7, "Dyno Don" Nicholson ran what would be the lowest match-race
Pro Stock time all year when he ran an 8.07 to beat Wally Booth at Capitol
Raceway in Maryland….Young John Force tried to qualify his "Brute Force"
'76 Monza at the Orange County Winston Championship Series event on
May 7-8, but could not make a full run in three attempts at making the
Funny Car field. ... Winning Funny Car at the Indianapolis NHRA Division
3 race was none other than current race chassis builder Murf McKinney,
who ran a best of 6.67/216.86 in his "Freedom I" Vega. There was kind
of a catch, though - no one else showed up to race, but Murf. hey, you
take 'em anyway you can get 'em.
15 YEARS AGO …
The first all-streamliner Top Fuel final in hot rod association
history took place at the NHRA Cajun Nationals at State Capitol Dragway
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Don Garlits' Super Shops entry beat the late
Gary Ormsby's "Sudden Pleasure" Trans Am to win the first of what now
is a record 68 NHRA Alcohol Funny Car titles.
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