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1975 BYRON CASH NATIONALS
Actually, I think Rockford (Ill.) Dragway promoter Ron Leek called
his all big dollar bracket race, the Bracket Nationals. Essentially,
it was not much to look at from the spectating standpoint. Bracket racing,
after all, is a participant activity firstly, and a viewfinder secondly.
The race drew a gigantic turnout of cars (in the neighborhood of 450-500
cars) with the events Top Eliminator winning a whopping (and it really
was) $5,000. That racer was trivia question answer supreme Harold Hodge,
and from that summer day forward big dollar bracket races captured the
racer's fancy. As most know, there are now extravaganzas like the current
million-dollar bracket races, and they can all trace their roots to
Mr. Leek's bold venture of 1975.
1975 NHRA SUPERNATIONALS/WORLD FINALS
Ontario Motor Speedway in Southern California had developed quite a
reputation for traction and, consequently, great times. In 1973, Don
Garlits did the unheard of by breaking into the 5.7- and 5.8-second
elapsed time zones at the event. Two years later, the biggest pound-for-pound,
inch-for-inch drag race time orgy transpired.
In 1975 there had been less than a dozen NHRA five-second runs at national
events. When qualifying ended for this one event, 24 cars had run in
the fives -- and more than once. The field extended from Garlits' all-time
record 5.637 to Stan Shiroma's 5.932 in the Lidtke-Zeller-Lidtke Chevy-powered
dragster. Eight other cars ran fives but failed to get in!
Garlits (who won the event) saw his 5.63 last as the lowest e.t. in
the sport until 1981, and Gary Beck's 5.69, the number two qualifying
elapsed time, was the first run in the 5.6s.
Don Prudhomme won Funny Car in his U.S. Army-backed Chevy Monza and
in so doing ran the first Funny Car "5", a 5.98 in a semi-final trouncing
of Raymond Beadle's "Blue Max" Mustang II.
Everybody ran his personal best at this event.
1982 U.S. NATIONALS
Like the 1975 Supernationals, the surf was really up at Indy in 1982,
meaning the times were ethereal. The race had super drama with Shirley
Muldowney beating former crew chief/boyfriend Connie Kalitta in a superior
Top Fuel finale. Frank Hawley drove the "Chi-Town Hustler" Dodge to
a $25,000 win at the first Big Bud Shootout over favored Don Prudhomme,
but not before Prudhomme had dynamited the all-time Funny Car elapsed
time record with a 5.63 in qualifying. Going into the event, a 5.82
had been low e.t. for the breed. Ken Veney established a new NHRA speed
mark for Funny Cars at 254.23 mph and Gary Beck ran the first 5.4-second
time for Top Fuel in Larry Minor's dragster. To these eyes, this race
was, for the most part, the last great Indy race. (Jeff Burk photo)
1984 COORS TOP FUEL CHALLENGE
In 1984, the Top Fuel class was in worse shape than it is now. F'r
instance, at the 1982 NHRA Summernationals, just 11 cars showed up to
qualify. In fact, 12th did show when a low buck racer named John Holcombe
(not Richard) called the track to see if 16 cars had shown on Thursday
of the race. When he heard there was just 11, he brought his "Cheap
Thrills" dragster up from South Carolina and "qualified" it.
But between then and October, things had changed. Don Garlits and partner
Art Malone had showed up at Indy with a four-year-old car and won the
race in spectacular style. In addition, Joe Hrudka had announced his
Mr. Gasket's Top Fuel Showdown to be run at the Pomona World Finals
based on qualifying efforts for calendar 1985.
It remained for Charlie Allen and co-promoter John Durbin, to really
test the waters and see if the Top Fuel dragsters were indeed back.
They hosted an 8-car eliminator-style show at Allen's Firebird Int'l
Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, featuring Garlits, Kalitta, Beck, Minor,
Gary Ormsby, Frank Bradley, and others trying to qualify for the show.
The race proved to be a staggering success with the crowd still backed
to the Maricopa Rd. off ramp of the Interstate (a half-mile from the
track) when time for the first-round began. Garlits won what this writer
thinks just may have been the most important eight-car Top Fuel show
ever.
1993 NHRA SEARS CRAFTSMAN NATIONALS
This, for me, was the last, great NHRA performance race. It was historic
for two reasons. It is the only NHRA national event where two very significant
elapsed time and mph barriers were broken; namely the first four-second
Funny Car run and the first 300-mph Funny Car run. Eventual race winner
Chuck Etchells' Kendall-backed Dodge logged a 4.987 to qualify No. 1,and
Jim Epler's Rug Doctor Olds ran a 300.40-mph pass to net the speed history.
A brief anecdote on the Epler run. After Friday's qualifying where
Epler ran 299-mph, National DRAGSTER office mate John Jodauga and I
went downstairs to the Topeka, Kansas Ramada Inn's food court and dined
at a fabulous New Orleans-style joint called Jimmy Cooper's Oyster Bar.
After a few get-acquainted Silver Thunder Malt 40s, Epler and his crew
chief Mike Kloeber sat down at the table next to ours and we began to
converse. We all yahooed the 299 and I, fueled by 5-plus percent alcohol,
said to the pair something along the lines of, "If you guys have it
within your budget and whether you win or not, you definitely, absolutely
should go after the 300-mph time. In terms of P.R., it will mean more
than winning the race. It would even be worth a few burned pistons.
I mean, look what mileage Chris Karamesines got out of his first 200-mph
pass in 1960."
They said, they'd think about it ... half in jest I thought at the
time. But, by God, the next day they went 300, and a round later they
went up in flames. The car blew the engine and burned to the ground.
I caught an early flight out of Topeka at that point.
Seriously though, folks, the above 10 are a rough attempt and open
to disagreement. I'd also rate the 1989 USCC Pro Modified race at Maryland
Int'l Raceway at Budd's Creek, Md. highly as I would the 1981 NHRA Gatornationals
or the 1966 Bakersfield Meet. But whatever, the damage has been done,
and I await your critiques.
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