In the 1960s funny cars captured the fans with tremendous smoky burnouts and gigantic wheelstands, they were so unpredictable that you never knew what to expect - they might go straight or end up glancing off the guard rail. Heroes were born and idolized with their driving talents and their showmanship. Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick, "Mr. Pontiac" Jess Tyree, The "Kings of Smoke" - Farkonas, Coil and Minick's "Chi-Town Hustler", Don Schumacher, "Big John" Mazmanian, and "Jungle Jim" Liberman drew standing room only crowds each and every Saturday night under the lights! It was an era of development, of success and of failure. Many raced for Saturday night bragging rights, but many raced for a living - today they are legends of the sport, several of which have contributed information to this book.

Drag Racing Funny Cars of the 1960s Photo Archive: From Super Stockers to Floppers

Engineering & Transportation

Hart, Lou

Automotive

Iconografix

In the early 60s, front-engine dragsters, or slingshots, featured tubular built chassis powered by a variety of power plants, consisting of small-block Chevrolets, Chrysler Hemi's, Ford, Pontiac, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Lincoln motors either fueled on Nitro Methane or pump gas. Wheelbases varied from 110 inches in 1962 to over 200 inches in 1969. During the early sixties, racing legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits ran a series of "Swamp Rat" dragsters which not only dominated the quarter-mile, but many of his creations were made by using experimental aerodynamic parts to give better traction and faster speeds. During a fuel ban from the late 50s to the early 60s, many chassis builders utilized a two-engine power plant to gain more power that was lost due to running pump gas instead of fuel. One of the most popular twin-engine dragsters was the "Fright Train", powered by twin small-block Chevrolets. The dragster was driven by 16-year-old Bob Muraviez who used the alias name of Floyd Lippencott, Jr. to fool his parents who did not approve of his racing. Near the end of the 60s, the Chrysler Hemi came to dominate Top-fuel racing, as it produced tremendous torque and horsepower. These dragsters were the quickest accelerating vehicles in motorsports. Elapsed times in the quarter-mile were ranging from the 8-second bracket in the early 60s to the low 7's late in the decade with speeds over 200 mph.In 1970 at the AHRA Nationals at Lion's Dragstrip (Long Beach, CA), Don Garlits experienced a violent clutch explosion that cut his dragster in two and severed a portion of Don's right foot. After being sidelined for several months, Don returned to racing with an innovative rear-engine, top-fuel dragster, which would eventually spell demise for the front-engine dragsters. Relive the 60s era of the front-engine dragster, nicknamed the slingshot for it's aerodynamic design in crisp high quality color and black and white photos. Enjoy memorable moments from some of the famed drivers that are highlighted throughout this book.

Slingshot Dragsters of the 1960s Photo Archive

Ertel Publishing, Inc.

The Fuel Altered, one of the most brutal and exciting cars that ever covered the quarter mile, consisted of a wheelbase average less than 100 inches that was fitted with a blown-supercharged 1500-horsepower engine running on Nitro! With a low center of gravity, the Altered was often compared to a 4,000-pound raging bull, as the driver had all he could handle keeping these beasts on the track! From flatheads to Nitro-burning monsters, see daredevils Mooneyham & Sharp, Gabby Bleeker, John Forska, Willie Borsch, Dale Emery, Leon Fitzgerald, "Big" Glenn Way, Don Green, Sush Matsubara, Leroy Chadderton, and many more blaze the quarter mile to standing-room-only crowds!

Drag Racing Fuel Altereds Photo Archive: From Flatheads to Outlaws

Sports & Outdoors

Miscellaneous

One of drag racings very popular classes formed was the Gassers. During the `50s, Model A and 1932-`34 Fords were considered the hot set-up for these gas classes. Using Ford V-8 "flatheads" and later overhead valve engines, Gas Coupe and Sedan classes had to maintain stock wheelbases and the engine relocation was limited. By the mid-60s, it was rare to find an upper classed gasser with any other body make than Willys, Studebaker, Austin or Anglia. They were the stoutest full-bodied cars on strips nationwide. Touring teams ran four to six times every week, often traveling several hundred miles day and night to make their next dates. This was old school racing! However, interest waned as fliptop funny cars took over in popularity. The battles in A/GS (later AA/GS) ranks created many heroes and villains who etched their marks into drag racing history. Gassers shared with fans of the quarter mile one the most thrilling overall racecar types, and for an era that was all too short, they were literally the Kings of the Sport. Enjoy this photo book that takes you back to that time.

Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive

History

This book showcases photographically the wide variety of cars and drivers that fit into the exhibition theme: the jets, wheelstanders, rockets and other exhibition vehicles which have thrilled millions of spectators. Their entire basis was who had the fastest vehicle. But in 1959 complaints from other competitors and Detroit automakers got all aircraft-powered dragsters banned, so they became the sideshow attached to the legitimate circus that is drag racing. The Green Monster became the first exhibition car exceeding 200 mph everywhere it ran. Wanting even more, Walt Arfons debuted the first jet-powered dragster which became the desire of every fan and promoter throughout the country. At virtually the same instant, Tom Ivo had Kent Fuller build a four-engine dragster and although it was too heavy to be competitive, the tire-smoke show became arguably the most famous exhibition car in history. See Bill “Maverick” Golden and the Little Red Wagon, “Wild Bill” Shrewsberry’s and the Hurst Hemi Under Glass, LA Dart and Knott’s Berry Wagon, Chuck Poole and his Chuckwagon, Doug Rose and The Green Mamba, plus many more.

Drag Racing's Exhibition Attractions: From Rockets to Ramp-Jumps

Lee, Cory

Since the early 1960s, dealer-sponsored Super Stockers battled for supremacy on the quarter-mile and in the dealer showrooms. Evolving into the Factory Experimental class, these wild steel bodied, altered–wheelbase monsters were stuffed with massive fuel injected and supercharged engines that attracted crowds to the dragstrip! Legendary pioneers “Dyno” Don Nicholson, Jack Chrisman, Bill Shrewsberry, Butch Leal, Dick Landy, Arnie Beswick, Phil Bonner, Gas Ronda, Don Gay, Sox &amp; Martin, Richard Petty, and many other A/FX stars were instrumental in the development of the funny car as it morphed from a heavy production car into seven-second 250mph aerodynamic fiberglass, tubular chassis missile. The popularity of funny cars led “Jungle Jim” Lieberman, Bill Lawton, Lew Arrington, Bill Flynn, Norm Kraus, and “Big” John Mazmanian to become household names. Tom ”Mongoose” McEwen, Don “Snake” Prudhomme, Tom Hoover, Kenny Safford, Terry Capp, John Force, Kenny Bernstein, Jake Johnston, Larry Reyes, Richard Tharp, Roland Leong, Randy Walls, Jess Tyree, Rich Siroonian and others who achieved success racing funny cars are all featured in over 300 incredible color and black and white photos.

Drag Racing Funny Cars: Factory Flyers to Flip-top Fuelers (A Photo Gallery)

When our young heroes began returning from World War II, they applied the knowledge gained from Uncle Sam towards the fledgling hot rod movement. While speeds increased, rodders learned the hard way just how dangerous it was to “drag it out” on the city streets. In the mid ‘50s, organized drag racing gave hot rodders a safe place to race. Cars evolved from pre-war coupes and sedans to crude “rail jobs,” which were stripped and narrowed frame rails with nothing more than an engine, driveline, seat, and steering gear. As hot rodders were the true Mothers of Invention, the cars later became hand-made, finely crafted “Slingshot Dragsters.” Dubbed the “Kings of the Sport,” these supercharged, fuel-injected Slingshots burned exotic fuels and captured the attention of every young enthusiast from coast to coast. The cars dazzled with gleaming chrome, Candy Apple, Pearlescent, and Metalflake® paint jobs, while the nitromethane fuel produced an unforgettable thunderous sound. This new volume contains all the stars that waged war on quarter-mile strips of asphalt from California to Maine. It’s a vivid pictorial display that captures the true essence of extreme acceleration in all its glory.

Kings of the Quarter-Mile: Rail-Jobs, Slingshots & Mid-Engine Dragsters (A Photo Gallery)

For more than half a century, Chevrolet has served noticed down the quarter-mile with dominating record-setting performances from nitro-fed Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars to heavy-metal door slammers. The list of Chevrolet's quarter-mile legends include the likes of Harold Ramsey in his Chevy-powered dragster that earned him the first NHRA Top Eliminator title at the 1959 U.S. Nationals, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Dick Harrell, "Dyno" Don Nicholson, Jim Bucher, Lee Shepherd, "Jungle" Jim Liberman, Warren Johnson, John Peter's "Freight Train," Clare Sanders, Dave Stickler, Wally Booth, Paul Bevins and legions of others!

Chevy-Powered Drag Racing (A Photo Gallery)

“What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday” pushed Detroit's Big Four (GM, Ford, Chrysler and AMC) to produce selected factory-built production cars with gutted trim, lightweight frames stuffed with high cubic-inch powerful engines with modified fuel systems. Rivalries quickly flourished as Detroit's finest teams battled out across the country for supremacy. Factory-backed legends Dick Landy, “Dyno” Don Nicholson, Sox &amp; Martin, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Bob Glidden, Wally Booth, Paul Blevins, Richie Zul, Warren Johnson, “Akron” Arlen Vanke, Billy Stepp, Gapp and Roush, Bill Carlton, Butch Leal, and many others from Jr. Stock to the giants of Pro Stock, come alive in this photo gallery of Pro Stock Drag Racing.

Pro Stock Drag Racing: A Photo Gallery

<div> From OCIR to Englishtown, the top performers in this book include Gene Berg, Mark and Paul Schley's "Lightning Bug" and the "Lightning Bug" rear engine dragster, Dean and Ken "the Lowery Brothers", "Deano Dyno-saurs Inc.", "Tar Babe." The "Stutt Bee", Billy Mitchell's "Thunder Bug", Darrell Vittone's "Inch Pincher Two!", "Race Shop", Anderson Brothers, Don Burn's "Super Bug", "Buzzin Bee", "Iguana", The "Jouster:", "Mouse Trap", The "NED Bug", "White Lightning", Colt Preston, Tom Lieb, Bruce Myer, Diego Zebler, and Wyatt Radke. Many other Volkswagen greats and legends are profiled in this book dedicated to one of the most popular-marqued car in drag racing. </div>

Volkswagen Drag Racing (Photo Archive)

Schley Brothers

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