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Round 23: Featuring
Rich McMichaels, the Pink Chablis Vega, Rick Williamson's Hairy
Canary, Jr. Monza, Ron Williams' Mustang II, Bill Hoge's Willie and
the Poor Boys Vega, Leon Cain's Mustang, Larry Van Zandt's Monza,
Rodney Flournoy's Mustang, Gary Southern in John Lindsay's Impulse
Vega, Ray Romund in the Romund's Chariot Astre, and Dave
Uyehara's Kamikaze Monza.
One of the most finished funny cars of the seventies was the Pink Chablis. Owned
by Rich McMichaels, the Pink Chablis was chromed, polished, and anodized from
top to bottom. The Donovan-powered Vega had three drivers in its career:
McMichaels, Jake Johnston, and JoAnn Reynolds. The owner was driving in this
shot at Ontario. The car was seen mostly at Western match races through the late
seventies. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Rick Williamson is more famous as the son of Don Williamson and brother of Bret
Williamson. Rick was an up-and-coming racer when the Hairy Canary, Jr. Monza hit
the track. Rick had driven an AA/DA in Pro Comp and for a while, drove both cars
in some races. The Hairy Canary, Jr. was a return to funny cars for Don
Williamson after a three-year hiatus. In a 1985 National Dragster article, Rick
said the car was a "leaker" and that it ran a best of 6.33 at 233 mph.
The Hairy Canary, Jr. later switched to alcohol. Rick and Bret Williamson both
drove the car in TA/FC. Rick Williamson retired form driving in the
mid-eighties. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Ron Williams' funny car career lasted over a decade. All of Williams' funny cars
were immaculate. Ron's first funny car was the Shakey Pinto in 1972. The
Williams & Schirmer Dodge Charger came next. The Mustang II in the photo is
his least known ride. Being very appealing in appearance did not make it a winner, however. This
car was mostly a bottom of the ladder runner in the incredibly tough Division 7
wars. Before retiring, Williams again raced versions of the Williams & Schirmer
and Shakey funny cars. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Willie and the Poor Boys racing team was comprised of the Hoge Brothers
and friends. Bill Hoge did the driving and brother Larry did the tuning.
Before going funny car racing, the team had raced gassers, Junior Fuelers,
and Pro Comp. The Hoge Bros. were the third owners of this Vega after Gary
Ormsby and Jack Holsey. This car raced on "nitro" or
"alky," depending on the race. A cast-iron Hemi backed by a
three-speed transmission powered the Vega. The Hoge Bros. raced it in 1977
and 1978. It was repainted with the Polyglycoat logo but the sponsorship
deal fell through. The Hoge Bros. raced two more funny cars and a
transformer AA/Fuel Altered before retiring. Bill Hoge's stunt driving can
be seen in movies such as Hot Rod, American Graffiti II, and Heart Like A
Wheel. (JW Last Photo)
Leon Cain was one of several
African American funny car drivers in
California during the seventies. Leon Cain began racing this Mustang with
the help of Eddie Flournoy. Cain raced the Mustang from 1976 to 1979. Leon's
best performance in the car had to be at the 1977 March Meet, where he ran
a 6.44 to qualify near the top of the field. While Cain was usually not a
contender for low E.T. of the race, he got it down the track more often
than not. That's what made Leon Cain a good match racer. Cain raced one
more funny car after this one, the seldom seen "Ebony Prince"
Omni. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Larry Van Zandt's Monza was a regular at West Coast races during the late
seventies and early eighties. It is seen here towing back from another run
at Orange County. The Monza was good for mid sixes at best. The Northern
California based racer shows the scars of an accident in this shot. Just
fix it and keep racing! (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Gary Southern has driven just about everything, an impressive list of cars
spanning several classes (and much too long to list here). Gary Southern's
longest ride had to be John Lindsay's Impulse. Gary drove for John from
1976 to 1979. Lindsay started building this Impulse in 1973 and finished
it by 1976. Lindsay was in fact the first driver of this car but decided
that driving was not for him. The cast-iron Hemi was an underdog favorite
to win, running times in the mid-sixes for the most part. In 1977, Lindsay
bought a new Vega body for the car along with a ‘27 Ford T body. Lindsay
continued racing through 2003 with other hired drivers in AA/FC and AA/FA.
The year 2003 was scheduled to be the Impulse's final tour, but don't be
surprised to see the independent funny car team pop up at one of the
Western races. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Rodney Flournoy was only 17 years old when he began driving this Mustang
in 1977. The car was owned by tuned by Rodney's dad Eddie Flournoy, who
bought the car from Jerry Ruth. The team's sparse finances did not allow
for a new paint job. They began racing with a cast-iron Hemi, good enough
for match racing. The young African American racer enjoyed amazing
popularity in So-Cal, so much so that he was simply known as Rodney. The
Flournoy family raced this car until 1985, picking up a new Omni body in
1981. Flournoy also raced the alcohol classes in the 1980s. At one event,
he raced in three classes! Flournoy raced AA/FCs until 1993, when rising
costs and a lack of match racing began to decimate independent funny car
teams. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
This was low buck racer Ray Romund's first AA/FC. Ray had just switched
over to nitro from alcohol, but the car still retained its BB/FC class
lettering. The Romund's Chariot was the Pontiac version of the Vega called
the Astre. Romund still used the aging 392 Chrysler Hemi for power. Romund's
Chariot ran in the sixes with the 392, but later got a Donovan. Ray Romund
was a regular at Orange County from 1977 to 1982. The final Romund's
Chariot had a severe fire in 1982. Romund never rebuilt the car and
retired from racing. It has been said that Ray Romund still has the final
car in his garage. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Dave Uyehara is a famed chassis builder by trade and fuel racer on the
side. Dave made a short foray into the fuel funny car wars in 1976 with
the Kamikaze Chevy Monza. The car ran big numbers right out of the gate,
including a great 6.15 at the 1976 Fremont points race. This was Uyehara's
shining moment in funny cars and was immortalized in the film American
Nitro. The Kamikaze, like many other cars Uyehara drove, was destroyed in
a crash in 1977. Uyehara went back to Top Fuelers in 1978. (Photo courtesy
of Mike Ditty)
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