13. ART CHRISMAN

Chrisman (at right) in 1953 at Santa Ana, Calif.

If nothing else, Art Chrisman will forever be known as the first Top Eliminator winner at Bakersfield in 1959, but he did more than that. He was the first driver over 140 mph, the first runner of a single digit e.t. (a 9.40 in 1953) and in 1956 won a NASCAR Speed Week drag race (on the sand) at Daytona Beach, copping three Top Eliminator titles and running 118.42 mph. In 1960 and 1962, he also was the Top Fuel winner at the Pomona Valley Timing Association Southern California Championships. In 1959, he ran the first 180-mph West Coast Top Fuel speed.

14. JACK CHRISMAN

Jack Chrisman in 1966. (Tim Marshall photo)

The Compton, Calif., driver was one of the all-time greats. Just a few “fer-instances”. He won the first Pomona NHRA Winternationals Top Eliminator title in 1961; he won the 1962 NHRA Nationals; and was the driver/tuner of the sport’s first blown nitro-burning Funny Car. He was the NHRA World overall points champ in either 1961 or 1962 (can’t remember), and the first non-Garlits (how else can I say this) driver over 190-mph, doing this in Pat Akins and Howard Johansen’s entry at Henderson, Nevada in 1960.

15. DON COOK

From 1965 to roughly 1978 Don “Mad Dog” Cook was one of the better Top Fuel drivers, certainly with AHRA. He started out from his Northern California base and initially gained fame in 1966 by running the sport’s first 220-mph (223.32) at Fremont Raceway during an AHRA regional meet. He relocated to Kirksville, Mo., a year later, winning a number of AHRA national events aboard his “Southwind Too” and later Jim Nicoll’s "Der Weinerschnitzel" dragster. He never won an NHRA national event, although he was the first fuel driver in the 6.8s when he qualified with a 6.89 at the 1968 Winternationals.

16. EMERY COOK

Don Garlits said that when he entered into the Top Fuel class, Cook was the top banana. His 166.97-mph aboard the Cook & Bedwell dragster, all-timer at Lions in Feb. 1957 was so far ahead of its time that it led to a fuel ban, at least for NHRA, for six years. He was the first driver in the 8's with an 8.89 in 1957. He had nine of the best 17 speeds that year (in his Red Henslee’s rear-motored roadster) and capped it all with winning the AHRA Nationals at Great Bend, Kansas. Cook wasn’t done there. In 1966, he drove Don Garlits’ topless Dodge Dart roadster to a 200.44-mph speed, the first Funny Car over 200 mph.

17. TED CYR

Ted Cyr and original partner Bill Hopper were one of the most successful teams in the country during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Escondido, California-based Cyr got his name in lights when he won the Top Eliminator title at the 1958 NHRA Nationals with a blown gas dragster, and really cemented his reputation by winning Top Fuel at the Bakersfield March Meet in 1960. As testimony to his prowess, the first Drag News Top Fuel top 10 list (May 1960) had the Cyr & Hopper dragster No. 2 trailing only Don Garlits. Cyr stayed in the sport as an owner from roughly 1962 through 1976.