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Round 40: Featuring
Bruce Neff and the Stroker Camaro, the Powers & Riley Mustang, Bob
Steele's Flintstone Charger, Jim Beattie's Black Stang, the Glenn, Glenn &
Schultz Charger, the Fontanini and Nannini Charger, Ken Poffenberger's Cuda,
Arnie Behling and the Mickey Thompson Maverick, Chris Karamesines' Mustang, and
Don Kirby's Beach City Corvette.
Bruce
Neff was one of the last persons to race a match bash AA/FC. Neff raced
the former 1967 Camaro that Don Hardy had built for Dickie Harrell. The
Camaro featured steel rear quarter panels and roof. The functioning doors
and front end were made of fiberglass. Bruce bought the car from Harrell
after a sale with another customer fell through. Neff took the car back to
Michigan and renamed it the "Stroker.” Bruce match raced the
"Stroker" up and down the East Coast. He ran the car into the
1971 season running known best of 7.40. It was said that Neff blew the
supercharger on the last run with the car, then turned around and sold the
outdated car. (Photo courtesy of Ted Pappacena and Drag Racing Imagery;
info courtesy of www.draglist.com)
David
Powers is now known as the owner of the Rod Fuller driven Valvoline Top
Fueler that finished in the NHRA Top Ten in 2005. But flash back 35 years
to 1970 and you’ll find the team of Powers and Riley, a two time UDRA
Top Fuel Champion. Powers and Riley had added a Mustang AA/FC to their
racing team. The team had raced altereds and dragsters in the sixties. The
new Powers and Riley funny car was state of the art with a dragster style
frame. Powers and Riley were also known for the manufacturing of a
reverser. The device met with some disdain by NHRA when the team did long
burnouts with the dragster. A 392 Chrysler Hemi was chosen for power and
it was set way back in the chassis. The team did not have the same success
with the super clean Mustang as they had with their dragster. They split
up at the end of 1970 going into personal business and leaving drag
racing. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Racing Memories; info
courtesy of www.draglist.com)
Bob
Steele was a funny car veteran of several years before going nitro racing.
Steele had raced gas funny cars when NASCAR sanctioned drag races. Steele
switched to injected alcohol and nitro to race with Tom "Smoker"
Smith’s East Coast Funny Car Circuit. By 1975, Steele went blown nitro
racing with the "Flintstone Flyer" Cuda. The car featured the
venerable 392 Chrysler Hemi for power. The car’s striking paint design
made it stick out from the crowd. The Chrysler engine seemed to be made
for nitro racing from the factory. By the end of 1975, Bob Steele retired
from drag racing. (Photo courtesy of Kevin at Ultragraphic; info from www.draglist.com)
The
"Black Stang" Mustang II is remembered for several reasons. It
was good looking, tough to beat, and belonged to a winning team. ATI owner
Jim Beattie built the "Black Stang" Mustang II as a team car to
the "Black Magic" Vega. S&W Race Cars built the "Black
Stang.” A 426 Chrysler Hemi was used for power along with a 2 speed
planetary transmission. Beattie hired famed funny car shoe Pee Wee Wallace
to drive the sleek ride. Wallace was the defending NHRA Div 1 champion
driving the "Alabamian.” Wallace continued that success with the
"Black Stang," winning the Division One title again and
finishing in the top ten national points. Due to the high costs of running
two cars, Beattie sold the "Black Stang." Willie Borsch bought
the car and ran it sparingly in 1976. (Handout courtesy of the Jim White
Collection; info from www.draglist.com)
The
"Glenn, Glenn & Schultz" Charger was the jump into nitro
funny cars for a well- known dragster team. The team of Gerry Glenn and
Bill Schultz had been one of the last great slingshot teams. The Don
Tuttle built dragster featured a chassis design with the engine way out.
The team held on as long as they could, but they too built a largely
forgotten rear engine dragster. This was the dragster featured in a low
budget movie about drag racing. In late 1972, Glenn and Schultz built an
AA/FC along with Jim Glenn. The car featured a Bill Schultz built Hemi
with a Mr. Ed Dodge Charger body. The "Glenn, Glenn, and
Schultz" funny car is best remembered for the 1973 Orange County
Manufacturer’s Funny Car Race. There have been several stories about
what really happened. The team apparently tried to qualify after the set
time. While the car was running, Don Schumacher pulled their parachute
pins, ending their last minute bid to qualify for the race. The team spilt
up with Jim Glenn taking over the car. The car was repainted as the
"Shady Glenn.” Gary Burgin won the 1974 Division 7 title at the
wheel of the car. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Racing Memories;
info from www.draglist.com)
Al
Fontanini could have been one of the biggest names in funny car racing. A
bad crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at a tollbooth cut Al’s life
short. Fontanini had raced the class from A/FX to injected funny cars with
his partner Reno Nannini. The injected Fontanini and Nannini A/FC Charger
could run with most blown AA/FC cars of the day. The team was the quickest
A/FC in the country, running 7.80s at 180 plus in 1969. Fontanini and his
partner split with Al going onto blown fuel funny cars. Al Fontanini’s
fuel funny car career lasted barely two races of note. The car ran 7.29 at
195 in Pennsylvania. Fontanini and crewmember Jim Christenson died in the
turnpike crash. Many people think he could have been one of the best funny
car racers ever had he lived. Nannini went on to field another A/FC with a
new partner. (Info from Danny Miller and www.draglist.com)
Ken
Poffenberger bought this famed Cuda as a used car from Don Prudhomme. The
Cuda ended Poffenberger’s string of Chevrolet powered funny cars that
began with a match bash Chevelle. Woody Gilmore the Cuda for Don Prudhomme
as his first funny car. By 1971, the face of funny cars was changing
quickly and Prudhomme built a new, lighter funny car. Poffenberger bought
the year old funny car and took it back east to match race with the best
the Northeast had to offer. Sammy Miller, Tom Hall, and Poffenberger all
drove the Hemi powered funny car. The car ran low sevens at 200 MPH plus.
Poffenberger parked the car when the costs got too high. He and Miller
teamed up on the "Spirit of 76" Rocket funny car, but
Poffenberger retired once again. (Photo courtesy of Ted Pappacena and Drag
Racing Imagery; info from www.draglist.com)
Some
cars are ill fated from the beginning and Mickey Thompson’s Maverick
seems to be one of them. Mickey Thompson had Lil’ John Buttera build the
state of the art Maverick in 1970. M/T was fresh off the great year he
enjoyed with Danny Ongais. The success was expected to last but 1970 was a
bust for Thompson. Mickey picked Arnie Behling to drive his new Maverick
funny car. Behling had worked as a mechanic and back up driver for Arnie
Beswick and Eddie Schartman, but the job for M/T was a full time ride. The
major problem with the Maverick was its engine. Ford had developed the new
Boss 429 to replace the SOHC 427, but the Boss 429 proved to be incapable
of nitro racing. Behling also crashed the Maverick soon after debuting the
car. To add insult to injury, Behling crashed another M/T funny car two
weeks later. That put Behling out of a job. Arnie then got a ride in John
Mazmanian’s Cuda, but that lasted for only one run. In 1971, Behling
found redemption by winning an NHRA National Event in the
"Spirit" Top Fueler. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag
Racing Memories; info from www.draglist.com)
Chris
Karamesines made a short foray into funny car racing in the late sixties
with a Barracuda. Karamesines hired other drivers like Pat Foster, Norm
Weekly, Ron O’Donnell, and Cliff Zink to shoe that car. In 1971, the
"Greek" built a new funny car, this sleek Woody Gilmore built
Mustang Mach I. The car was state of the art for early 1971. It had the
new style lightweight chassis and a late model Hemi. Unlike the previous
Barracuda, Karamesines drove this car himself. But the Greek did not race
the funny car often; instead, he usually raced his dragster. In 1973,
Karamesines sold the car to John Loukas. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and
Drag Racing Memories; info from www.draglist.com)
Don
Kirby was a famed builder and painter of funny car bodies in the early
seventies. Kirby also raced funny cars on the side including the Corvette
Auto Parts Corvette and the Nickey Chevrolet Corvette. In the late sixties
with the backing of Beach City Corvette, Kirby fielded his most famous
funny car, the Beach City Corvette. The series of "Beach City
Corvettes" are best remembered for all the bad things that happened
to them. The car crashed several times, burned to the ground on the
interstate outside Irwindale, and broke many too many parts to remember.
Ron Goodsell, Mike Snively, Gary Gabelich, and Pat Foster all took their
turns fighting the beast. The Beach City machine met its final demise in
1970. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Racing Memories; info from www.draglist.com)
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