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From that point, the Texas-California Challenge Drags went the way of all non-hot rod association events: It slowly lapsed into just another match race. Beginning in 1964 through 1972, the match races involved nitro cars, Top Fuel and Funny Car, and naturally they proved to be a good draw. The good side of this was that, unlike previous races, it was very easy to pit California and Texas cars from the nitro ranks rather than carry this division through six eliminators and other states. Typical of these was the 1967 show where a California team, consisting of "T.V. Tommy" Ivo, the Leroy Goldstein-driven Crower & Blair dragsters, and Dave Babler's "California Woody" ran a Texas outfit composed of John Wilson in George Cox and Fred Rowsey's "Banzai II," Gary Bailey in the Anderson Bros. entry, Watus Simpson wheeling for Vance Hunt, and Richard Tharp backing up with a ride in the Carroll Bros. dragster. In addition, two Funny Car matches were booked: Gene Snow's "Rambunctious" Dart against Hayden Proffitt's Corvair, and Kelly Chadwick's Camaro (above photo) against Al Van Der Woude's "Flying Dutchman" Dart.
California won this get-together 7-6, as did they the whole series. After the 1972 event, which was an all-Funny Car joust between Californians Don Prudhomme, Tom McEwen, and Leroy Chadderton in Roland Leong's "Hawaiian" against Jake Johnston in the "Blue Max," (photo above by Tim Marshall) Gene Snow, and Kelly Chadwick (and won by Texas), the Californians held the series edge 8-5. Amarillo Dragway still runs today under the management of former AHRA World Champion Bill Heilscher. The track gave up the NHRA sanction at the end of the 1973 season because of losing the NHRA World Finals event, and switched over to International Hot Rod Association backing. From 1975 through 1977 Amarillo and Walker hosted the IHRA World Nationals, but they returned to NHRA in 1978, where they have remained bracketed tightly in the ever expanding drag racing history books.
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