Departments - Missed Races

3/9/04

The Sport's First All-Star Race Invitational,

And Not Incidentally, The East Coast's

First Really Big Top Fuel Extravaganza

Long title, eh?

Fortunately, though, not a real long story.

As difficult as it is to believe for left coasters, up until 1966 Top Fuel was not really that big a deal. And I say that comparatively. There were tracks like Connecticut International Dragway in East Haddam, Ct., New England Dragway in Epping, N.H., and maybe, at the most a half-dozen tracks that ran Top Fuel shows on a bi-weekly to monthly basis. These programs overwhelmingly featured local cars which was not all that bad a deal. The Winward & Jacono, Red Lang & the Dead End Kids, King & Marshall, Phil Miller, the fabulous A&B Speed Shop injected dragsters, and others gave the shows a nice northeast tang, and, of course, down south, you had the Garlits Mafia, featuring "Big Daddy," Art Malone, Pete Robinson, and Connie Swingle. That was all well and good, but these shows paled in comparison when the Pacificos hosted the NHRA Winternationals, the huge Bakersfield extravaganza, the Northwest Nationals in Washington and the AHRA Winternationals in Arizona. These programs dwarfed in size and scope anything on the Atlantic side of the country.

The East Coast was A/FX country, Super Stock, and, of course, one of the two major breeding grounds for the up and coming Funny Cars (the upper Midwest being the other site.) And that was okay with the fans. The Tasca Ford Mustang, Tommy Grove's Ford, the Comets of Nicholson and Schartman, the Ramchargers, Arnie Beswick, and others were stars that for East Coasters that existed on the same level as the biggest Top Fuel stars. Still, when all was said and done, everybody knew that fuel dragsters were the baddest beasts in the barn when it came to brute speed and power.

In 1966, management at Cecil County Drag-O-Way in Rising Sun, Maryland, one of the very best (and busiest) facilities on the Atlantic seaboard, decided to make a bet ... namely that race fans would support a really top-rank Top Fuel show. It's one thing to a draw in 5,000 for a Garlits vs. Chris Karamesines best of three, but would a big dollar Top Fuel extravaganza float? There was some doubt it might not.

Cecil County, along with York U.S. 30, Capitol, and maybe two or three other tracks were runaway successes promoting Funny Cars shows. The fans were used to (then) eight-second Funny Cars and wheelstanding A/FXers. Hey, they might not want to see Top Fuelers. The team decided to give it a shot and in the summer of 1966, race newspaper and magazine ads announced they would hold the inaugural Mr. USA Fuel Eliminator all-star invitational Saturday night at 8 p.m., September 24. The Cecil County team (I think) would pay tow-money and a little boost at the gate, and eight selects (Top ranked cars)would run for a $2,000 to-win, $1,000 runner-up purse.

Historically, this represented not only the East Coast's first really big Top Fuel show, but also the inaugural Top Fuel, i.e., Invitational/All-Star program run on an annual basis.

The combatants?

Don Garlits - Even back then the Top Fuel king. In the recent past, he'd won Indy, Bakersfield, the Winternationals and various AHRA titles, and quite simply was the top guy. The only thing that would seem to work against him at this race was that 1966 was the year of his long, front-motored "red" car. Of all his "Swamp Rats," this was the least successful. He lost in the first rounds at the both AHRA and NHRA Winternationals and was shelled early at Bakersfield. He did win the 1966 AHRA National Championships at Gary, Indiana, so he was hardly out of it.

Chris Karamesines - Easily, the sport's wildest driver, "The Greek" was also on a bit of a role coming into this race. Two weeks prior to the Cecil County show, "The Greek" captured the AHRA Top Fuel World Championship at Green Valley Race City in Smithfield, Texas.

"T.V." Tommy Ivo - The sport's first touring pro, the one-man Top Fuel show had numerous honors to his credits. The first Top Fuel 7-second time on the West coast, a shared sport's best speed in mid-1966 at 216.34 mph, aayyaaandd, a runner-up in Top Fuel at the 1965 U.S. Nationals.

Don Prudhomme - Somewhat like Garlits; his flashy silver B&M Torkmaster was the first and likely the worst of his touring Top Fuelers. Again, though, he may have been shut out of the Hot Rod Association's winner's circles in 1966. He also scored two and three-day sweeps at that seasons UDRA Nationals/"Olympics" at Union Grove, Wisc., and the UDRA Nationals at Gary.

The Ramchargers - The sport's most famous club/team had made a gigantic impact with their Funny Cars and were starting to tear up in Top Fuel. Driver Don Westerdale set Top Speed at 218.98-mph three weeks earlier at the U.S. Nationals.

K&G Speed Shop/Ron Rivero - In the writer's opinion, this Pennsylvania-based car and its California-raised driver were the best runners in the Northeast having won over a half dozen titles. They were a truly competitive team and could be viewed as the local guys upholding neighborhood honor.

Connie Kalitta - Ford SOHC-power and years of experience made the Michigander a tough customer. In fact, if you erased Don Cook's (first 220-mph lap, 223.32) turned in April of '66, Kalitta's 221.12 in May at Capitol Raceway was the sport's second best speed and the first 220 ever turned on the East Coast.

and finally ...

Jimmy Nix - The smiling Oklahoman was a 1965 NHRA Winternationals Top Gas champion and had recently won Top Fuel at the 1966 NHRA Springnationals held then at Bristol International Dragway.

A formidable show to say the least. Virtually all areas of the country were represented, and represented by the very best the region had to offer. Stressing back at home in North Hollywood, Calif., I really wanted to see this, although I'll admit it was more for historic reasons. After all, I was fortunate to attend that year's NHRA and UDRA Winternationals, and the Bakersfield show, along with the St. Finbar school Easter Carnival, so I was squared away in the action department.

I won't hammer you with eliminations, although, I'll tell you who won. In the final, the sport's two most popular drivers, Garlits and "the Greek" collided with "Big Daddy" needing a low E.T. 7.37, 211.76 to trim Karamesines' 7.46, 209.78. Who set Top Speed? How about the local guys at K&G Speed Shop with a 220.58 mph.

As history developed, the race would last three more times before it was discontinued ... and as in last month's historical remembrance, where was I? Didn't have a job; didn't have plane fare. I was getting my teeth capped, my hair cut and penile enlargements.

Tahh, dahhh