The one and only "Broadway Freddy" DeName, New York Funny Car match racer frequently competing at the AHRA Nationals in New York and in court as an alledged soldier in the late Roy Demeo's Brooklyn hit crew. Photo by Steve Reyes.

Given the heavy losses of 1973, AHRA needed re-financing and went for it in 1974. Since 1970 the younger Tice had headed his father's Motorsports Cuisine, a concessions business that he operated at most of the AHRA national event sites and at other venues. The senior Tice sold his company for a million dollars and with that money and some other financing, he and his son got the organization in running order again. And the organization needed the infusion, because NHRA and IHRA were starting to distance themselves from AHRA with the big financial assists they got from Winston. Television and major corporate backing truly changed the drag racing landscape and it upped the ante for everybody.

AHRA's method for staying afloat in its last 10 years of existence was its continued practice of buying in the race stars. They knew that a Garlits, Prudhomme, Bill Jenkins or some similar talent meant, as Tice Jr., put it, "butts on the boards." They may not have been able to match the dollars that were being pumped into the NHRA / IHRA coffers at the time, but they did have tools at their disposal to insure some profits.

"That's the way we negotiated with the racers," said Tice. "If you were a local pro racer without much national exposure, we couldn't give you as much as a Garlits or Prudhomme. In the late 1970's, we downsized our pro shows to eight-car fields and of those eight, we'd buy in probably half the cars."

The inimitable Don Garlits does a burnout at the 1983 AHRA Grand American at Tulsa.

The formula worked well enough. The AHRA shows of the late 1970's held up well at the gate. As one example, the 1978 Grand American at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio featured an eight-car Top Fuel field that consisted of Don Garlits, Frank Bradley, Jerry Ruth, Jeb Allen, Gary Beck, Clayton Harris, Paul Longenecker, and Mark Howick. The Funny Car clan was represented by Don Prudhomme, Tom McEwen, Tom Hoover, Gene Snow, Johnny Loper's "Little Hoss" Arrow with Tripp Shumake up, Stan Bowman's "Ohio State Patrol" Camaro, John Collins' Pioneer Stereo Pontiac, and "Poncho" Rendon's "Detroit Tiger" Monza with Tom Prock driving. That was quality entertainment and on a par with NHRA and IHRA. The big difference, though, was that NHRA and IHRA gave the fans 16 cars per pro field, better venues, and better exposure, both in the electronic and print mediums.

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