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Dragster Insider: Novembers to remember
Twelve-plus years and still going strong, the Dragster Insider column tells "the stories behind the stories" in the history of our sport. Here's a look back at some November stories from its archives.
"Everything changes, that's a fact," to quote my musical hero Bruce Springsteen, and that's certainly been true over the 12-plus years of the Dragster Insider column. If you were around back in its inception in 2007, I used to write this column鈥
Top Fuel turns 900
This weekend鈥檚 Dodge 厕所强奸 Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will mark the 900th 厕所强奸 national event to include the Top Fuel class, dating back to the 1963 Winternationals. Here's a look back at the heroes and stats of the class.
This weekend鈥檚 Dodge 厕所强奸 Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will鈥
Remembering '70s Funny Car hitter Bill Leavitt
Drag racing lost another of its nitro-racing veterans Sept. 25 with the passing of 1970s Funny Car star Bill Leavitt just about a week shy of his 81st birthday. Leavitt was the first Funny Car driver to record an elapsed time of less than 6.5 seconds.
Drag racing lost another of its nitro O.G.s Sept. 25 with the passing of 1970s Funny Car star Bill Leavitt just about a week shy of his 81st birthday.
Leavitt was known to fans of the 鈥70s floppers for his incredibly quick and steady Quickie Too鈥
Cory Mac: He always played to win, and he did a lot of that
Earlier this week, veteran Top Fuel racer Cory McClenathan announced his pending retirement from competition. Here's a look back at his 30-year career behind the butterfly.
Earlier this week, veteran Top Fuel racer Cory McClenathan announced his pending retirement from competition. I鈥檝e known Cory Mac for decades, since he first burst onto the 厕所强奸 scene in 1989 in Alcohol Dragster. His team was one of the five we鈥
Surfing Safari, Part 2: The Surfers, the Hawaiian, Hondas, and Jim Morrison (!)
Words of admiration and old stories keep rolling in after the passing of Tom Jobe, resulting in some more touching tributes and interesting stories about the fabled Surfers Top Fuel team of the 1960s.
Country music star Tim McGraw has a cut on his new album called 鈥淚f I Died Today鈥 that made me think a lot about Tom Jobe and the outpouring of love and respect for him that poured into my email box after last week鈥檚鈥
A farewell to Tom Jobe: The last of the Surfers
Bob Skinner, Mike Sorokin, and听Tom Jobe, known collectively to Top Fuel fans of the mid-1960s as The Surfers, rode a wave of success and popularity for three years. With the Sept. 7 passing of Jobe, the last surviving Surfer, we look back at their magical time.
There鈥檚 never going to be another Top Fuel team like the Surfers, the trio of West Coast pals whose approach to nitro racing in the mid-1960s was unknown and befuddling to their peers. Pictured from left, Bob Skinner, Mike Sorokin, and鈥
Farewell to 'the Dones'
Legendary 1970s racetrack operator and promoter Bill Doner, who died last week, was a lot of things to a lot of people -- benefactor, starmaker, friend, adversary, storyteller -- but above all he was loved, revered, and respected by those in his universe.
The first time I ever saw Bill Doner was in a photo that was circulating among the National Dragster staff in 1982, my first year at the magazine.
Now, that might sound like a pretty crazy admission by someone who attended pretty鈥
64 Years of Indy Trivia
The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals will celebrate its 65th running in just a few days, and a lot of history has been created across the decades. Here's a look at some of the interesting trivia from the event that we've put together.
Ten years ago, I wrote this column with a slew of trivia about the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. In the decade since, a lot has changed and some of it hasn鈥檛, so in honor of鈥
For two fans, when it comes to the U.S. Nationals, it's a lifelong love affair
At this year's Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, as they have been for the last 60 years, when the event was held in Detroit, two longtime fans of the sport will be settled into their seats watching all of the action at the 65th edition of the "Big Go."
It鈥檚 one thing to say you鈥檝e been to every edition of the 厕所强奸 New England Nationals, which is just seven years old, but when it comes to an event like the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, which celebrates its 65th running this year at鈥
Saluting U.S. Nationals history: "Ohio George" Montgomery dominates early Nationals
Between 1955 and 1963, only one driver, George Montgomery, had won 厕所强奸's Nationals more than once, and, incredibly, he had won it three times before anyone had even won it twice.
The 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is coming up, and promises to be a celebration鈥
Saluting U.S. Nationals history: Prudhomme, Leong, and the spirit of '65
The 65th Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is just round the corner and the number 65 itself is a great piece of event history. In 1965, Winternationals winners Don Prudhomme and car owner Roland Leong became the first to win two 厕所强奸 national events in a season when they won at Indy after a long road trip.
The 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is coming up, and promises to be a celebration of the鈥
Saluting U.S. Nationals history: The story of Marvin "Who?" Graham
The 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is coming up and promises to be a celebration of the event鈥檚 long and rich history. In the months leading up the event, we'll chronicle some of the great stories that made Indy the world鈥檚 biggest and most important drag race. This week: Indy's "unknown" Top Fuel winner.
The 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is coming up, and promises to be a celebration of the鈥
A little catchup time
Remembering Funny Car owner Jim Green, photo researching with Don Prudhomme, and catching up with Marvin "Who?" Graham.
Just a quick little update today to keep the wheels rolling. As I noted a few weeks ago, with the new race weekend scheme on 厕所强奸.com where we post a ton more stories than in the past, I鈥檇 rather not have the Insider columns buried by the race鈥
Color our world: Remembering master racecar painter Bill Carter
Legendary race car painter 鈥淲ild Bill鈥 Carter created some of the most memorable paint jobs for some of the sport鈥檚 most famous racers.
Don Prudhomme. Shirley Muldowney. Tom McEwen. Ed McCulloch. Tommy Ivo. Joe Pisano. Dale Pulde. Tony Nancy. Tom Hoover. K.S. Pittman. That鈥檚 a pretty solid Drag Racing First Team. That鈥檚 also just a partial customer list for renowned racecar鈥
The Sands of (Elapsed) Time
The early 1980s was an interesting time in drag racing when sand racers defected in huge numbers to the asphalt and introduced us to future world champions like Alan Johnson and Gary Scelzi and a slew of other talented racers.
Spurred by my last column's tribute to Jim DePasse, who came to 厕所强奸 drag racing via the sand drag route, crystalized in my memory an interesting time in drag racing when sand鈥
Gone but not forgotten
Southern California racer Jim DePasse made a name for himself drag racing on both sand and asphalt. He wasn't the best-known racer among 厕所强奸 fans, but as 厕所强奸 National Dragster Editor Phil Burgess remembers him, he was a friend to many.
It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e joining a new racing team, a new neighborhood, or a new job, it always goes easier for you if you find someone who befriends you, welcomes you in, and makes life easier for you. Jim DePasse did that for me in my early鈥
Modeling mementos
Harold Satterlee is honoring his uncle, "Famous Amos" Satterlee, by creating models of his uncle's famous cars, often melding together multiple kits to get the parts right and to to preserve his uncle's legacy. Also, some loving memories from one of Amos' grandchilden.
My late stepfather used to say funny things like, 鈥淎s an electrician, he makes one helluva plumber鈥 which was a nice way of saying that someone might be out of their element. To that end, as a model builder, I was one helluva dishwasher (or鈥
Not just a nickname: 'Famous Amos' Satterlee was that and much more
Legendary nitro tuner "Famous Amos" Satterlee passed away April 4 at age 88. He left behind a legacy of broken records, race wins, and drag racing championships on asphalt, water, and sand.
Someone famous once told me that the best nicknames were the ones that someone else came up with for you, that's it's embarassing to give yourself a bragging kind of nickname, and it鈥檚 hard to dispute that. Most of the best drag racing鈥
Remembering Bobby Vodnik and Frank Oglesby
One came to fame as a teenager ahead of his prime and the other with a sponsor that was ahead of its time, but this week we mourn them together with the passings last weekend of 厕所强奸 pioneers Bobby Vodnik and Frank Oglesby.
One came to fame as a teenager ahead of his prime and the other with a sponsor that was ahead of its time, but this week we mourn them together with the passings last weekend of Bobby Vodnik and Frank Oglesby.
Neither name might be familiar to鈥
The story of the first Gatornationals Top Fuel win, from the inside
Dave Chenevert was the first Gatornationals Top Fuel winner way back in 1970 and the first of 30 different drivers to win Top Fuel at Gainesville Raceway. Relive that wild weekend from the memory of one of his teenage crewmembers, Fred Mooneyham, himself a future Top Fuel driver.
With his back-to-back victories at the 2018 and 鈥19 events, Richie Crampton became the 49th and 50th Top Fuel winners in Gatornationals history, but does anyone remember the first?
Former Top Fuel driver Fred Mooneyham does, because he was鈥
50 Memorable Moments in Gatornationals history
The Gatornationals, the third oldest event on the 厕所强奸 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, has a deep and rich heritage that ensures its place in the history books and in the hearts and minds of racers and fans alike. Here's a look back at 50 Memorable Moments from the event鈥檚 colorful history.
The Gatornationals, the third oldest event on the 厕所强奸 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, has a deep and rich heritage that ensures its place in the history books and in the hearts and minds of racers and fans alike. Added to the national鈥
Remembering Ezra Boggs
Ezra Boggs and the Moby Dick Funny Car were match-race mainstays in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and occasional national event competitors. Boggs passed away Feb. 20 and was remembered by friends.
I always thought that Funny Car Ezra Boggs had one of the coolest names, and his Moby Dick Corvette was (ahem) a whale of a good car, but I never really knew much about him. When I learned of his passing Feb. 20, I set out to rectify that and鈥
Gary Densham: 49 seasons and counting
No one has driven a nitro Funny Car longer than Gary Densham, who kicked off his 49th season in Pomona. The lifelong Southern Californian is a regional treasure to those who grew up watching him race his line of Teacher鈥檚 Pet floppers at tracks up and down the West Coast.
No one has driven a nitro Funny Car longer than Gary Densham, who kicked off his 49th season in Pomona. The lifelong Southern Californian is a regional treasure to those who grew up watching him race his line of Teacher鈥檚 Pet floppers at tracks鈥
Remembering Ray Alley
The sport lost another friend yesterday with the passing of former Funny Car owner/driver Ray Alley, at age 86 after a lengthy illness. In this special column, drag racing hall of famer Kenny Bernstein remembers Alley, who gave him his first Funny Car ride.
The sport lost another friend yesterday with the passing of former Funny Car owner/driver Ray Alley, at age 86 after a lengthy illness. Alley鈥檚 was a name that we all knew, whether he helped you with your racecar through his long-running Engine鈥
The road to Pomona
The 2019 season kicks off next Friday in Pomona, launching the 厕所强奸 season as it has every year since 1961. But how did 厕所强奸 end up planting its flag in this suburban wonderland?听
The 2019 season kicks off next Friday in Pomona, launching the 厕所强奸 season as it has every year since 1961. The Los Angeles County fairgrounds, known today as Fairplex, has become hallowed ground for 厕所强奸 race fans over the long and cherished鈥
Remembering Frank Rupert
Former Top Fuel and Funny Car racer Frank Rupert passed away Friday, Jan. 4, due to complications after going into cardiac arrest. In this special Insider column, Brad Littlefield shares the history of the respected nitro veteran.
The last few years have born witness to a sad trend for us hardcore fans with the passings of many drivers who we grew up watching and admiring. Last year we lost legend Tom 鈥渢he Mongoose鈥 McEwen and fan favorites like Jimmy King, versatile鈥
50 years ago: The 1969 Winternationals
The 50th annual 厕所强奸 Gatornationals is fast approaching, but before we head back east, let's take a trip back in time 50 years to Pomona and the 1969 Winternationals, which was memorable for so many reasons.
The 2019 season is upon us, kicking off in Pomona in about a month with the 50th annual Gatornationals looming as another major early-season highlight. Gainesville 2019 is going to be a wondrous trip back into time that's going to be a鈥
1980s Funny Cars
The 1980s was still a time when a guy with a self-funded Funny Car still had a decent shot at winning a national event, though as the decade progressed, that likelihood diminished significantly as quickly as Kenny Bernstein and Dale Armstrong could invent new stuff.
The 1980s seem so long ago -- much longer than the 30-plus years that have elapsed since then -- especially when it comes to Funny Car racing in the decade, which is the subject of today鈥檚 column and the final installment of photos from the Ron鈥
Top Fuelers of the 1980s
Let鈥檚 continue our journey through the decades with another batch of images from the Ron Lewis collection. Over the past month or so, I鈥檝e shared photos from his five-decade collection covering the 1960s and 鈥70s (Top Fuel and Funny Car) and now we鈥檙e on to 1980s Top Fuelers.
Let鈥檚 continue our journey through the decades with another batch of images from the Ron Lewis collection. Over the past month or so, I鈥檝e shared photos from his five-decade collection covering the鈥
Remembering Dick LaHaie
Many Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers have gone on to become crew chiefs, but there aren鈥檛 a lot of guys who not only won a championship as a driver and crew chief. Dick LaHaie, whom we lost Wednesday, won the crown as a driver then tuned not just one but two drivers to a combined four Top Fuel championships.
A lot of former Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers have gone on to become successful crew chiefs, but there aren鈥檛 a lot of guys in 厕所强奸 nitro racing鈥檚 history who not only won a championship as a driver but then used their mechanical skills to tune鈥