7. GARY BECK

One of the very few Top Fuel racers who were able to handle Don Garlits for at least awhile. Beck began his Top Fuel career in 1972 winning the 1972 NHRA U.S. Nationals in just his second Top Fuel race, although it must be stated that Garlits was running his own race in Tulsa, Okla., at the time, and did not attend. Garlits attended the 1973 U.S. Nationals, but got beat by Beck, who went on to his second Indy title. Beck won three Indy titles in his 19-win NHRA career, and two world titles. He also was the first Top Fuel driver in the 5.6s, 5.5s, 5.4s, and 5.3s, ending the 1983 season with 17 of the quickest 18 elapsed times ever. His accomplishments are almost too numerous to mention.

8. WILLIE BORSCH

The bald yet hairy Southern California driver was the most popular driver ever to get behind the wheel of the sport’s most difficult-to-drive race car, the AA/Fuel Altered. In many respects, he was to the blown fuel-burning roadster what “Jungle Jim” Liberman” was to the Funny Car. Driving with one hand on the wheel, Borsch scored many match race wins in his 20-year altered career and was generally recognized as the first AA/FA driver over 200 mph. In 1968, he ran almost a half-second quicker than any other AA/FA when he clocked a 7.29/202.70 in Comp qualifying at the Winternationals. In addition, Borsch also drove Funny Cars including his own Revell-backed Dodge Charger, Jim Beattie’s “Black 'Stang,” and “Walt’s Puffer Too” Monza.

9. JOHN BRADLEY

The most successful "Flathead" racer in history was Rialto, California’s John Bradley. How successful? How about 28 Top Eliminator titles in 1956 with the Gene’s Brake Shop dragster. And the competition was not just local guys who raced once a month. In August of 1957 at a Colton Dragstrip Top Eliminator final, Bradley’s Mercury Flathead ran a 10.56/139.10 to knock over the racer who created the cry for a nitro ban, Emory Cook in the Cook & Bedwell dragster. Bradley won class titles at the NHRA Winternationals and Bakersfield and was Top Eliminator runner-up at the Cordova World Series to “Setto” Postoian. In 1959, he won the then prestigious PVTA Southern California Championships. Sometime in the mid-1960s, Bradley hung it up, but not before winning maybe as many as 100 trophies.

10. GARY CAGLE

Cagle was a Southern California police officer who became one of the very best Top Fuel racers on the West Coast during the very late 1950s and early 1960s. In the period from 1962 through 1965, Cagle had one of the two or three best running fuel-burning AA/Modified roadsters with his bright yellow Newhouse Automotive entry winning NHRA Winternationals and (Martin thinks) Bakersfield class wins. His greatest accomplishment was winning Middle Eliminator at the 1962 Winternationals and also becoming the second Top Fuel driver on the West Coast to run 180-mph, doing so at the 1959 Bakersfield race.

11. CANDIES & HUGHES

Paul Candies and Leonard Hughes were THE great two-man Funny Car and Top Fuel team, and one of the more difficult duos to categorize. Leonard Hughes was the driver and tuner from 1966 up through the 1972 season, setting Funny Car national records like their

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7.32 in 1969, and driving to NHRA wins like the inaugural Gatornationals Funny Car title in 1970. He also won the Super Stock Nationals Funny Car title at York, Pa., in 1970, and a slew of other prestigious match race titles. The team hired Leroy Goldstein to drive their car in 1972 and he won the AHRA Funny Car World Championship. Richard Tharp drove their Top Fuel dragster to the 1976 NHRA World Championship and the 1981 IHRA World Championship, and Mark Oswald followed in 1983 driving the team’s Funny Car to the IHRA World titles in 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1987. In 1984, he won the NHRA Funny Car World Championship, giving him an extremely rare double association World Championship. Every car that Candies & Hughes was associated with was a massive success.

12. DON CARLTON

An all-around great Sportsman and Pro driver of doorslammers. The Lenoir, North Carolina native had great years in 1971-1972 with his own and the “Motown Missile” Pro Stockers, taking two IHRA titles in ’71 and three IHRA crowns. In NHRA competition, he was a winning Pro Stock driver and a great Comp. Eliminator competitor, taking (among others) the 1974 Molson-Grandnational championship and wheeling a radical altered Dodge Colt to the 1976 U.S. Nationals Comp title. He was killed in 1977 in a testing accident.