|
Round 26: Featuring
Larry Huff's Soapy
Sales Dart, Larry Christopherson's Arizona Wildcat Vega, Mike Cyr's Skipper’s Fish & Chips Mustang, Nathan Valdez's Mustang, Chuck Finders' High Speed Monza, Ron Fassl's Elephant Hunter Mustang, Tom Anderson's Vega, Pat Brinegar's Arkansas
Razorback Duster, Terry Capp's Wheeler Dealer Vega, and Mike Diedrich's Cuda.
In 1974, this funny car was as state of the art as you could get. The Soapy
Sales Dodge Dart featured full side windows, rear window louvers, a blower
cover, a low stance, and Moon wheel covers on occasion. The car was owned by
Larry Huff and tuned by Rick Guasco. Pat Foster drove the car at first, then was
replaced with Richard Tharp (as pictured). Tharp drove the car to times of 6.20,
235 in 1975. The car was sold when Huff's legal problems mounted. Tharp won the
NHRA Top Fuel World Championship the next year. Huff later returned with Guasco
in the ‘90s to race a rebuilt Pure Hell AA/FA (Dave Milcarek photo;
draglist.com info)
Larry Christopherson's last funny car ride was this 1973 Chevrolet Vega called
the Arizona Wildcat. He had previously driven his own ‘69 Nova, the leased
Dickie Harrell ’71 Vega, the Christopherson & Efros "Up in
Smoke" 1972 Vega, and the Arizona Wildcat AA/FA. This car was sponsored by
Cobra Tire in 1973, but picked up the Arizona Wildcat name in 1974. It had all
the latest go-fast parts to run times of 6.61, 225. Mike Hamby tuned the car.
Christopherson retired from driving at the end of 1974. He hired Dale Pulde to
drive a new 1975 Vega, but retired altogether by 1975. Hamby and Pulde later
teamed up to build the War Eagle Trans Am. (Drag Racing Memories photo;
draglist.com info)
Mike Cyr had one of the first non-automotive sponsorships in funny car racing.
The Skipper’s Fish & Chips restaurant chain sponsored Cyr’s Don Long
built Mustang. The car featured a late model Hemi for power and ran best times
of 6.52, 225 in 1973 before being sold in 1974. Before this car, Cyr had an A/FC
Vega that he converted to full AA/FC status. Cyr later returned to race the
former Green Elephant Vega by the end of the decade. He ran it under the Coast
Crane & Equipment banner. (Skipper’s Fish & Chips handout from the Jim
White collection, draglist.com info)
The Nathan Valdez Mustang was one of many Southern California match racers in
the early ‘70s. Valdez had a 392 Chrysler for power in the space frame
chassised car. The car was driven by Wendal Shipman, who had raced his own car,
Shipman's Cuda, along with "Big John" Mazmanian’s Cuda. The Mustang
ran low sevens by 1971. Valdez sold the car in early 1972 and it is believed to
have become the Stone Free injected funny car. Valdez turned his attention to
street rods afterwards. (Drag Racing Memories photo; info sources Bill Duke and
draglist.com)
A famed chassis builder and gasser driver, Chuck Finders was well known in drag
racing before racing funny cars. From an Ohio base, Finders drove the Warlord
Cuda, Nick Varough's Satellite, and the Rollins & Finders Cuda. He formed a
partnership with Ken Thornburg on the High Speed Vega. The High Speed Monza
(pictured) came next. The car was raced in NHRA Division III events and in match
races. It was in this car that Finders suffered a terrible crash. He was racing
at the PRO National Challenge held at Union Grove, Wisconsin. Chuck hit the
guardrail, severely injuring his legs. Finders was out of racing for a couple of
years, but returned to racing in 1980 in a Pro Comp AA/A. He has raced off and
on for the last 25 years. Thornburg later owned the Centurion line of funny
cars. (Gary Newgard photo; draglist.com info)
Arizona-based funny car racer Ron Fassl raced this Mustang in 1970 and 1971. The
car had an iron-block Chevrolet for power. Famed tuner Jim Pierce was Fassl’s
partner and crewchief. By the end of 1971, the chassis and engine combination
was outdated. The car’s low seven-second performances were no longer enough to
win. The team built a new Mustang (which was damaged in a fire) in 1972 and a
Cuda in 1973. Fassl retired from racing in 1974 and did not return for ten
years. He is now a premier AA/FA pilot. Pierce teamed with Chris Lane on the
Phoenix series of funny cars. Pierce then returned with Fassl for while in the
‘80s with a new line of Phoenix funny cars. (Drag Racing Memories photo; info
sources Bill Duke and draglist.com)
Tom Anderson began his funny car career in this low-riding Vega. The young racer
was based out of Kansas at the time. Tom mainly raced this car on the local
match race scene. A new Mustang II called the Wild Thing replaced the Vega.
Anderson toured nationwide until 1984, running his own car and cars for owners
such as Mike Kase, Jim Wemett, the Castronovo Bros., and Chuck Etchells. He
retired from driving and became a famed funny car and Pro Mod tuner. Anderson
now owns his own TA/FC with a hired driver. (Mike Crieder photo; draglist.com
info)
This funny car was rare indeed -- one of the only funny cars to be based out of
the state of Arkansas. Pat Brinegar bought the Hot Wheels Duster from Tom McEwen
and had Russell Long shake the car down. Dale Pederson and Billy Grooms
(pictured) also drove the car. Grooms later took the car to his Fulton,
Tennessee home. Grooms won an 8-car show at Beech Bend in 1973 running a best of
6.87. The car was later sold. Grooms lost his life in the Super Duster in a
crash at U.S. 30 the next year. (Drag Racing Memories photo; info sources Bruce
Grooms and draglist.com)
Terry Capp is best remembered as a first class Top Fuel racer of the ‘70s.
Capp followed the lead of fellow Division 6 racers Jerry Ruth, Hank Johnson, and
Richard Rogers to field an AA/FC as well as a Top Fueler. The Canadian racer
debuted this Vega in 1975. It was built by Al Swindahl and used a Keith Black
hemi for power. Seen in match races for the most part, the Vega was not raced as
much as his Top Fueler. According to Draglist files, Capp ran a decent 6.47 in
the car in 1975. Capp raced the Wheeler Dealer Vega for two years and then
replaced it with a Mustang II in 1977. Capp has raced in both fuel classes off
and on for the past 25 years. (Bruce Biegler/Drag Race Canada photo;
draglist.com info)
Mike Diedrich had a short but memorable funny car career. In 1972, he purchased
Jim Dunn's first funny car to join the West Coast funny car scene. Mike can be
seen in Dunn's movie Funny Car Summer. On one of his early runs, "Super
Mike" had a bad fire that was caught on film and photographed for many
magazines. The car is shown bearing the scars of that fire in this shot.
Diedrich retired by the end of 1972. (Drag Racing Memories photo; draglist.com
info)
[ Back ] [ Home ] [ Next ]
|
