|
70s
Funny Cars: Round 55
Text
by
Danny White
By the start of the decade the funny car was quickly evolving into the form we
know today. Other cars were throwbacks to the match bash cars of the early funny
cars. The Banshee was one of them. The John Slicker & John Swooger team ran
out of
Detroit
,
Michigan
. The Banshee began as an injected nitro car and had a 428
Pontiac
in it for power. It was converted to an AA/FC match racer in 1970. John Slicker
drove the Poncho powered flopper. We have no elapsed times for the team, but
they traveled as far as the
New England
area to match race the Banshee. The team seemed to disappear after the 1970
season; we’ve found no further evidence of them racing. Photo and information
courtesy of Dennis Doubleday; additional information from Draglist.com files)
 |
Bob Papirnick was one of a handful of nitro funny car racers that hailed from
Canada
in the seventies. Papirnick got his start in funny cars when he imported the
Diamond Jim Annin Challenger from
California
. Bob changed the car’s name to the Crosstown Challenger while keeping the
car’s original paint. Papirnick soon replaced the Challenger with a Vega, and
then later got his most famous car, a clean looking Plymouth Cuda that ran
mid-sixes. Bob ended the decade as a hired gun in Geoff Goodwin’s former
Pacemaker Vega. The car was featured in the movie Fast Company and Papirnick did
the stunt driving for the movie. Most recently, Bob has been crewing on the
nostalgia cars of Gordon Jenner. (Photo by Jerry Lucky from Blair Alderton at http://www.pbase.com/nitroimage; information from Draglist.com files)
 |
Something missing in the current drag racing world of corporations, vinyl wraps,
and like lettering is a good mural on a hand lettered paint job. The
Michigan
based Pony Express Pinto owned by Mike Bennett and driven by Bob Pacitto had
the custom looks. Pacitto was the best known member of the team as he also drove
for the Logghe Brothers, Connie Kalitta, and Pancho Rendon. The Pony Express was
standard fare for the seventies with a Chrysler Hemi in a Logghe Bros. chassis.
Pacitto ran as quick as 6.59, 213.27 in the 1976 season. (Photo from Thomas
Nagy; information from Draglist.com files)
 |
Jim Harrison bought the Banzai Charger (see Round 18) in 1974 from Sconci and
Angell.
Harrison
got sponsorship from the local U.S. Marines recruiter and went on tour after
hiring Bruce Burkhart to drive the Don Hardy built car. The team raced on the
national scene with limited success, running a known best of 6.88, 212.
Harrison
ran into a problem with the sponsorship when Mickey Thompson’s U.S. Marines
deal stated that he was the only person allowed to run the U.S. Marines banner.
Harrison and Burkhart left the national tour and the car was sold to the
Buccaneer team of Carpenter & Hodges. (Photo by Al Tracy; information from
Jim Harrison and Bill Pratt; additional Information from Draglist.com files)
 |
Of the handful of rear engine funny cars that ran in the seventies, most were
from the West Coast.
West Virginia
’s Don Casto was one few East Coast racers to run the unique machines. The
problems of the rear engine funny car were plenty, including handling,
wheelstanding, and driver perception while in the car. But this photo shows Don
benefiting from the rear engine design as he rides out a fire at
Bristol
. Casto rebuilt the car with a Pontiac Grand Am body that ran as quick as 7.11.
Don never had much success with his rear engine cars, but was a regular on the
IHRA circuit and in match races. Casto teamed with Joe Boggs and Roger Hamrick
on a Donovan powered Trans Am to end his career. (Photo and information courtesy
of Art Suiter; additional Information from Bret Kepner and Draglist.com files)
 |
After the demise of his low slung Vega (see round 26) due to a fire, Tom
Anderson built a new Mustang II AA/FC called the Wild Thing. Tom ran the car in
match races and in the occasional national event.
Anderson
ran a best of 6.58 at 212 with the Mustang II in 1976. Tom parked his own funny
car to drive the Speed Racer of Mike Kase along with other funny cars before
finding fame as a tuner. (Photo by Al Tracy; information from Draglist.com
files)
 |
Rick Chavez got into the funny car game when he bought Vern Hicks’ West Coast
Gambler Cuda (see Round 43) and ran it as a BB/FC under the same name. Chavez
stepped up with the purchase of the former “Wild Wilfred” Boutiler Vega, the
first BB/FC to run a six-second time. Rick joined Dave Benjamin as the only
other AA/FC from the state of
New Mexico
. Chavez said he had Dave Hough build him a couple of 392 Chrysler Hemis for the
Vega and noted he was one of the last to run that setup. Rick ran match
races and the occasional national event plus some Coke Circuit races.
Chavez said he was going to step up to a late model iron Keith Black Hemi
but a severe fire ended his career. Rick’s biggest success in drag
racing was setting top speed at a
Tulsa
event. (Photo courtesy of Lyle Greenberg: information from Rick Chavez)
 |
The team of Dean Rowley and Gordon Fabeck is best remembered for their Top Fuel
car and for reaching the finals of the Winternationals in 1978. Team owner Dean
Rowley was from
Estacada
,
Oregon
, and driver was Gordon Fabeck was from Bush Prairie, Washington. The Rowley and
Fabeck team also forayed into the funny car wars with this Al Swindahl Monza.
Other drivers for the car included Gary Saindon and Frank Hall. The team did not
race the Keith Black powered Monza AA/FC much, and Rowley got out of racing in
1979. This photo was taken in the pits of Portland International Raceway, home
of the famed 32 Funny Cars race held each year. The
Monza
was sold to fellow Northwest racer Nick Harmon who relettered the car and kept
racing it into the 1980 season. The team’s Top Fueler was sold to the team of
Cork & Miller. (Photo courtesy of Rick Bailey and www.capracing.com; information from Phil Elliott, Larry Nail,
and Draglist.com files)
 |
The focus of this entry is not the very familiar car in the near lane, but the
lesser known car in the far lane. The Golden Nugget name had been used by
Ron Potter earlier in the decade, but Bob Horn brought it back with this
Monza
. The Golden Nugget was a line of travel trailers, as was Hop Cap, which also
appears on the car. The Golden Nugget Monza was a Romeo Palamides built piece
that had current nitro chassis wiz Murf McKinney behind the wheel. The
Monza
had a known best of 6.66 in 1978 and raced into the 1979 season. Horn later
raced a Top Alcohol Funny Car and
McKinney
continued as a hired gun for other owners before his chassis business really
took off. (Photo courtesy of Mike Beach; information from Bret Kepner and
Draglist.com files)
 |
Dave Robinson was the owner of the low buck funny car called the Shake &
Bake. There are stories about the lengths Robinson had to go to field a nitro
car. Dave, who raced both dragsters and this funny car, had to scrounge to
race with discarded and mismatched parts, and even filtering old unburned nitro
to use. Robinson debuted this car in 1979 with his name on the side. A year
later, he renamed it the Shake & Bake, a very apt funny car name. Former
NHRA Springnationals national event champion Jeff Rapp drove the Arrow for
Robinson, as did George Johnson in 1981. Robinson raced the car for the next
couple of years until he retired from racing. Former Robinson crew member Kevin
Lennon debuted a Shake & Bake replica in 2009 and continues to race in the
Midwest
. (Photo courtesy of Al Tracy; information from David Hapgood and Draglist.com
files)
[ Back ] [ Home ] [ Next ]
|
