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In 1973, Lyles stunned the world with the second eight-second
Pro Stock run in history, an 8.89 at New York National on
March 24 in a Ron Butler-built ‘73 Dodge. He would have
had the first eight, except that Nicholson ran an 8.93 a
day earlier in his Ford Pinto at Cecil County.
JOHN KIMBLE, TOP FUEL
The Compton, Calif., trucking company owner really rumbled
in Top Fuel on the West Coast. Kimble had no budget outside
of his wallet, but hauled ass regardless. Kimble’s big
claims to fame were semi-final appearances at the Winternationals
and Bakersfield races. His best elapsed time was a 5.79 with
a top speed approaching the 250-mph mark.
ERIC REED, FUEL COUPE
Reed came from Chino Hills, Calif., and looked like another
rich kid with dad’s money who fashioned himself as a
racer. That was not true. He got into Funny Car in 1988 and
in 1989 went out and ripped. Lance Larsen and later Larry
Meyer got his car competitive and Reed enjoyed his finest
moment at the 1989 NHRA Fram Nationals at Atlanta Dragway
where he runner-upped to Mike Dunn. A few months later, he
won National DRAGSTER’s Upset of the Year award
when he knocked off the heavily sponsored Budweiser King
of Kenny Bernstein in the first round of the Autolite Nationals
at Sears Point Int’l Raceway in July. Reed was out of
the picture by 1990.
TIM WOODS, AA/GS
Stone-Woods-Cook. Does that strike a familiar chord? The
late Tim Woods owned Woods Construction at the hard scrabble
corner of 43rd and Broadway in south central Los Angeles
and used his play money to field the sport’s greatest
match-race AA/Gas Supercharged Willys of all-time. "Ohio
George" Montgomery may have won more NHRA national events,
but Tim, Fred Stone, and driver Doug Cook ran the match race
world (with some gaps) between 1961 and 1966. Woods ran the
first 9-second time in A/GS competition at San Gabriel in
1962 and got the better of the great "Big John" Mazmanian’s
Willys in the Lions and Fontana races of the middle 1960s.
Woods and his partners were the first black-owned race team
to win an eliminator in any hot rod association competition,
when Doug Cook drove their blown Olds powered ‘41 Willys
to Middle Eliminator honors at the 1963 NHRA Winternationals.
The Stone-Woods-Cook team entered Funny Car in 1967 winning
Bakersfield and the AHRA Grand American in Detroit that year,
and match raced through 1973.
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