Words by Darr Hawthorne
Photos by Tim Marshall, James Drew, Mike Bumbeck and Darr Hawthorne
8/12/05

oming into Pomona the Goodguys 8th Nitro Nationals looked to be a turning point in the Nostalgia Funny Car division. VRA points leader Dan Horan Jr. in his ’66 Mustang-bodied car was looking to knock off fill-in celebrity NHRA driver Ron Capps.

Capps drove Jeff Gaynor’s 'Cuda and his desire to pilot a nostalgia nitro flopper succeeded in bringing tremendous media coverage of the class with multiple mentions in the LA Times, local TV, San Gabriel Valley papers and numerous Internet sites as well as radio commercials. The word also spread to AutoWeek editors who sent one of their reporters to cover Capps’ involvement.

Through three sessions, qualifying was led by Horan’s 6.149 at 229.35 MPH followed closely by Larry Pettit’s 6.162 and Mike Savage in Jim Broome’s beautiful new Barracuda-bodied entry at 6.234 in the third spot.

Rounding out the field was DRO's own Jeff Utterback in the 8th qualifying spot driving the “three-week wonder” Plymouth Arrow owned by former alky dragster owner Gary Turner.

Turner’s Arrow was completed in a mere three weeks to give DRO columnist Utterback a ride after Capps got the deal to drive Gaynor’s ‘Cuda. Funny Car back-up artist Pammy Utterback dressed for the part.