Description

The era features historic mounts from Arnie “the Farmer” Beswick, Al “the Flying Dutchman” Vanderwoude, “Jungle” Jim Liberman, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and many more!

The metamorphosis from door slammers to fiberglass flip-top dragsters wasn’t ever a cut and dry plan. As drag racers pushed the envelope for more speed, a series of innovations quickly evolved and refined the genre.

Funny Cars cut their teeth in the A/Factory Experimental (A/FX) and Experimental Stock (X/S) classes in 1964 with the 2-percent Mopars that looked funny with their axles moved forward. However, it was Jack Chrisman’s supercharged, nitro-fueled 427 Supercharged Factory Experimental (S/FX) Comet Caliente that trailblazed the class on which the NHRA turned its back and the AHRA fully accepted. Showmanship became the draw in the dawn of Funny Car with half-track burnouts and flame-throwing headers that packed fans five deep at the fence.

By 1969, the NHRA had no choice but to create a class for these nitro-breathing, flip-top-sporting rail bruisers, indoctrinating the Funny Car (F/C) class at the Winternationals with 40 cars vying for 16 places in the field. The rest, as they say, is history!

• This is the most comprehensive book ever on the early
years of Funny Car
• Funny Cars are the most popular variation of drag cars
• Tens of millions of fans have seen Funny Cars race

 

Author: Lou Hart

Author Bio: Lou Hart has always been a devoted “car nut,” growing up with the first sights and sounds of the muscle car conception. Attending his first drag race at Lions Drag Strip at the age of 9 with his trusty Kodak “Brownie” camera in hand, he loved to document his visits to the strip. Although he is not a professional writer, his views are seen through the eyes of the fan, and he strives to give back, reliving the times and history of drag racing’s golden era.