... for a 1968 cover of Super Stock and Drag Illustrated at Capital Dragway in early 1968. This is one of the outtakes from that session. There is another shot of Chrisman in the Sachs and Sons Comet and of course a shot of Gas Rhonda who also shoed a few successful Fords.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Chrysler and to a lesser degree Chevrolet became the way to go with a blower and nitromethane. Save for a 1959 NHRA Top Eliminator win by Rodney Singer, a 7.98 by Marvin Schwartz's old "wedge"-Ford-powered fueler and a few 1964 West Coast wins by Earl Canavan's "President Lincoln" Lincoln-powered fueler, Ford was pretty much shut out of nitro competition.

This all changed in 1966 when Ford introduced its 427-cid Ford single overhead cam engine. Pete Robinson (above) won the NHRA World Finals with one in Top Fuel and "Dyno Don" Nicholson and "Fast Eddie" Schartman (right) enjoyed 85-percent win ratios in their revolutionary "flip-top" Mercury Comet Funny Cars.

In 1967, Connie Kalitta stormed Top Fuel with consecutive wins at the AHRA, NHRA, and NASCAR Winternationals. Hot on his heels was Don "the Snake" Prudhomme with a win in Lou Baney's Ford SOHC Top Fuel dragster at the NHRA Springnationals in Bristol, Tenn.

Ford hung in there during the late 1960s and 1970. Danny Ongais (below) at the wheel of the Mickey Thompson "Mach-1" Mustang totalled up a 58-2 win-loss record during the first six months of 1969, and won the NHRA Springnationals and NHRA Nationals that season.

Way before there was a lot of anxiety and anguish over John Force’s three cars team of Ford Mustang Fuel Flops Mickey Thompson had already done that. Here are just a few of the nitro burning Mustangs that a variety of drivers drove for the legendary Thompson. Included here is of course Danny Ongias “Mighty Mike” Van Sant, Larry Fullerton and the legendary Johnny Wright.

The '70 season was the last hurrah for the Ford SOHC when Pete Robinson won the inaugural NHRA Summernationals at York, Pa., and, in the final win ever for a Ford SOHC, the 1970 AHRA All-American at Bristol, Tenn.

Since then Ford has done very well in the naturally aspirated ranks, as noted with Glidden's accomplishments and those of Pro Stock racers Nicholson, Rickie Smith, and Roy Hill.

In the 2000s ... well, Fred Bach and Larry Gould ran the best numbers ever for a Ford SOHC in their front-motor nostalgia dragster. Not really a big explosion on the drag racing grid, but certainly a solid echo from the past.