Definitely drag racing’s Chevrolet king and a good bet for auto racing’s overall small-block boss. A star as a driver, team owner, tuner and engine builder, the charismatic Jenkins is

ADVERTISEMENT

truly one of the most important figures ever, winning two NHRA Pro Stock world titles (one with Larry Lombardo driving) and three AHRA titles (all three with Ken Dondero driving0. As for himself, Jenkins was a 13-time NHRA winner, winning the 1972 association world championship with a radical, sport-changing tube chassied, small-block-powered ’72 Vega. In addition to the world title, Jenkins also won the richest Pro Stock purse to that time when he won Don Garlits’ Tulsa race and $25,000. He still is a major contemporary figure, tuning Larry Kopp to the first NHRA Pro Stock World Championship in 2000 and most recently wrenching Dave Connolly’s Pro Stocker.

32. CONNIE KALITTA

A member of the Michigan state Motorsports Hall of Fame, Kalitta has done nearly all of it. He won his first major race at the 1964 Bakersfield Top Fuel Meet, following up in 1980 with another win. He won the first of his seven NHRA national event titles in 1967 at the Winternationals with a Ford-powered fueler. His biggest win, though, probably was his 1994 NHRA U.S. Nationals win. In addition, Kalitta was the 1979 IHRA Top Fuel World Champion.

33. CHRIS “THE GREEK” KARAMESINES

Easily the most macho of all Top Fuel drivers, and an amazing study in longevity, the 76-year-old Karamesines is still racing and occasionally qualifying in Top Fuel. In 1959 and 1966 he was the AHRA Top Fuel World Champ. In 1960 he ran the sport’s first 200-mph time with a 204.54 in Alton, Illinois. “The Greek” also won the 1972 IHRA Empire Nationals and a special NHRA National event at Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1990, at age 62, he took runner-up at both the NHRA Le Grandnational Molson and Northwest Nationals races. He was “Jungle Jim” Liberman before there was a “Jungle Jim” Liberman. Sideways at speed, on fire, off-the-track, in a towering wheelstand, there was no better wheelman in drag racing than the “the Golden Greek” from Chicago.

34. KING & MARSHALL

Jimmy King drove his and Don Marshall’s Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars between 1965 and 1978, and were considered for a long time as the most formidable team in the New England area. King of Warren, Rhode Island, probably enjoyed his greatest days when he won the 1971 NHRA Gatornationals Top Fuel title. In the late 1970s, he won the New England Dragway AHRA Grand American in Top Fuel, and a year later was the winner at the 32-car (tournament-style eliminations) New England Funny Car Nationals. After he and Marshall split up, King campaigned the “America” Top Fuel dragster in the mid-1980s.

35. DICK LaHAIE

Ron Lewis Photo

If nothing else, Dick LaHaie is the most successful UDRA Top Fuel circuit winner with five season championships. The Lansing, Michigan, driver was so good in UDRA competition that the circuit was called the “Dick LaHaie Retirement Fund.” He also was a winner on the NHRA circuit, taking his first title at the 1980 Summernationals and going on to win 14 more national events. In 1987, LaHaie won the NHRA Top Fuel world championship. LaHaie’s career dates back to the late 1950s. In 1964 he was the Drag News No. 1 seed in their Middle Eliminator category with his and Noah Canfield and Charlie Johnson’s blown nitro-burning “Glass Slipper” AA/Modified Coupe. He has many National Championships as a driver and tuner.