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The pit compounds of Garlits and "the Greek."
(Jeff Burk photos)
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Admittedly, the Garlits/Karamesines race was the big prod
to go to Cordova this year, but as is so often the case, the rest of
the competition was outrageously entertaining.
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If nothing else, the World Series presents variety at
overdose levels, and it presents it within a very conservative backdrop.
Technically speaking, an NHRA G/SA car is not an SS/AA, and certainly
that allows the use of the word "variety." But at Cordova, sandwiched
between the two aforementioned nostalgia cars and the Garlits/Karamesines
match were Fuel Altereds, UDRA Outlaw Pro Mods, six NHRA nitro Funny
Cars, UDRA Alcohol Funny Cars, a nostalgia fuel eliminator featuring
everything from the Paris Bros.' Twin-engine, rear-engined (!) fuel
dragster to Carl "Cannonball" Johnson's Sterling Engines, a kinda Willie
Borsch lookalike Fuel Altered, eight jets, the DragRacingOnline.com
Quick 8, and Danny O'Day and Richard Hutchins' wheelstander. To this
way of thinking, that is extreme variety.
And to be perfectly frank, there are all levels of ability
and backing in the above ranks. There are some drivers who (to be nice)
are still developing their chops and when they go down track in a blown
anything, you really suck wind. Boring they are not. But then you have
Randy Adler (below), the event's UDRA Outlaw Pro Modified winner, who
fought a hard-charging and at times ill-handling blown '57 Chevy to
e.t.s as quick as a 6.42 and a speed as high as 211 mph.
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