70s
Funny Cars: Round 46
Text by Danny White
Ronnie
Hunter was a Tennessee based racer who ran with KS Pittman and the S&S
Racing Team. KS and S&S were more famous for their series of gassers raced
by Pittman, Dave Hales, and others. The team got into funny cars like other
famed gasser teams through Ronnie Hunter. The Firebird was raced up and down the
East Coast in open events and in match races. Hunter did not achieve the same
success in the funny car as his other S&S teammates did. He ran a known best
of 7.40 at 200. The car was said to be stolen, ending Hunter’s funny car
career. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info from Draglist files)
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This had to
be the last Corvair nitro funny car in the United States. The Corvair was a very
popular funny car for a short period in the late-sixties. Racers like Doug
Thorley, Ronnie Runyan, the Pisano Bros., Tom Sturm, and others ran the unique
little body. The Corvairs were soon replaced by the newer Camaros and Novas. Jim
McIntyre got this Corvair from Tom Sturm in California. It was one of three
different Just 4 Chevy Lovers machines that Sturm built. McIntyre continued to
run the Chevrolet engine. The Mad Mac was raced in Northeastern match races for
a year or two. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info from Draglist files)
Ohio’s Bob Gunya
ran the Warrior Camaro in Midwest match races. The Camaro was originally built
as the Plains Journal Dealer with a unique Corvette nose. Gunya ran in the
sevens and was considered a middle of the road performer. The Warrior ran in
match races into the 1970 season. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info from
Draglist files)
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Huston Platt
and his brother Hubert were two of the early funny stars. Huston was famous for
his series of Dixie Twister Chevrolets, while brother Hubert chose to race
Fords. Huston Platt went through the early evolution of funny cars from A/FX to
match basher to flip-top space frame funny cars like the beauty in this shot.
The gold 1970 Chevrolet Camaro was built to replace the 1968 Camaro that was
involved in the tragic Yellow River accident, which resulted in fan fatalities.
Platt raced the 1970 Chevy Camaro from 1970 to 1971 in Southeastern match race
action, running best times in the sevens. Huston sold the car to Dee Simmons,
who raced it as the Mr. Soul machine. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info
from Draglist files)
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Before he
was the Chicago Kid, Cliff Brown raced the Speed Sport backed Bushwhacker
Barracuda. The Chicago based funny car was related to the Arizona based
Barracuda raced by Lyle Fisher and Red Greth. This was the first funny car for
Cliff Brown after driving Top Fuel Dragsters. The Speed Sport Bushwhacker is
most famous for the stint that Fred Goeske did in the car. Goeske used the
Barracuda to complete match race dates after a fire that destroyed his own funny
car. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info from Draglist files)
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Ever wonder
what ever happened to the Hayden Proffitt driven AMC Rambler? It ended up in the
hands of Pat Johnson and was driven by Hank Clark. Clark had driven dragsters in
the sixties and the Chapman Automotive Camaro in 1970. It was in the Chapman
Automotive car that Clark won the Bakersfield March Meet. Johnson and Clark
teamed in 1971 to race the Logghe built AMC in which Proffitt briefly held the
NHRA record in 1968. The team match raced the big AMC along the East Coast and
in Puerto Rico. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder; info from Draglist files)
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Roy Harris
became one of the biggest names in funny car racing by the end of the seventies.
At the beginning of decade Harris was racing the Rapid Roy Plymouth Valiant.
Only a few funny car racers chose the Valiant body style and in fact, this may
be the only fiberglass flip top Valiant. Harris had raced match bashers
locally before building the flopper. Roy got the little Mopar to run best times
in the sevens. Harris went on to run such popular machines as the Bat Car and
Brutus machines, and he drove for Jungle Jim Liberman as well. Roy finished the
decade in a series of Budweiser backed Bud Man machines that predated Kenny
Bernstein’s involvement with the brand. (Photo courtesy of Big Bog Snyder;
info from Draglist files)
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Norm Paddack
is best known for racing his series of Paddack’s Mini Brute supercharged
gassers and for being one of the Midwest’s best chassis builders. Norm and his
wife Vicki ran the chassis shop where they built complete cars plus their own
Opel GT body. Paddack built this beautiful Vega to run with the burgeoning UDRA
funny car circuit, after supercharged gassers started losing favor with the
racing fans. Paddack and his brother Dwight usually raced the car on gas or
alcohol with the UDRA circuit. But at one race at Indianapolis, they ran the car
in the AA/FC class (note the shoe polish). It is not known if Paddack was
running the car on nitro or alcohol. Norm did not race the Vega for long, as he
replaced the car with a new Pro Stock Mustang II. It was in the Pro Stocker that
Paddack finished his career. (Photo by L&M Photos, courtesy of Bob Plumer
and Drag Race Memories; info from Draglist files)
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Montana is
not the first place you think of for funny car racing, but the sparsely
populated state had its share of flopper teams with a few notable efforts racing
in the seventies. The first was the Beatty & Dabler team with this cast-iron
Chrysler Hemi powered Dodge Challenger. Bob Beatty drove the car into the high
sixes in Northwest match race action. The team raced from 1971 to 1973 before
selling the car. (Photo courtesy of Herman Marchetti; info from Draglist files)
Chuck Tiller’s
Charger may have run on alcohol, but that did not stop him from racing against
nitro funny cars. Phil Elliott noted that Chuck would race anyone, anytime,
anyplace. A late model Chrysler Hemi powered the boxy Charger/Cordoba, a unique
body that was used by a few teams in the mid-seventies. Tommy Ivo, Kenny
Safford, and Vic Cecilia also ran the big cars for a time. Tiller raced the
sanitary funny car in NHRA Division 6 and match race action. (Photo courtesy of
Big Bob Snyder; info from Draglist files)
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