As a youngster in the 1970s, I grew up with three female siblings and a father who wasn’t much of a gearhead, so I was the lone car enthusiast in my family. Fortunately, even though my dad had no interest in auto racing, he was willing to spend a few summer Sunday afternoons taking me out to the drags at Lancaster Dragway, about a half-hour from our house. As a result, my initial interests in cars was almost completely drag-racing-centric, and at the time, nobody was bigger in drag racing than Don Prudhomme. He would win the NHRA funny car championship four consecutive years, 1975–78.
My seventh-grade teacher, inspired by the 1976 Montreal Olympics, invited us all to bring in pictures of our favorite sports for a bulletin board collage. When the display was completed, my contribution was right in the center: a full-page color photo The Snake, doing a fiery nighttime burnout in his Army funny car.
Image: hotrod.com
Last Call indicates the end of the Hooniverse broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.
By Peter Tanshanomi
Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for "motorcycle(s) only." Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.
Jeff Glucker
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cc73c65812ae62d95ab947f7e77a20ffdb6772a9d13fecae096dfb6db91e308e.jpg
Snake!
I thought he was dead.
Somewhere I still have one of these. https://goo.gl/images/kUc8q4
“He would win the NHRA funny car championship four consecutive years, 1978–78.”
Err, may want to proof read that…
That’s how fast he was.
Thanks for catching that. Edited.
A top fuel run witnessed in person is a forceful experience. I highly recommend it.