Jason Rupert relishes the opportunity to pay tribute to those who have directly inspired him. The Nostalgia Funny Car class has given him a chance to do so over the past five years with homages to Funny Cars once fielded by former boss and friend Mert Littlefield and father Frank in partnership with Richard Bays. The latest creation on his 1969 Camaro body is his take on the car Mert Littlefield ran at West Coast tracks in 1974.

The red, white, and blue Camaro dubbed "Rolling Thunder" is based off the car Littlefield ran with U.S. Air Force sponsorship. At the time, the United States armed forces had a strong presence in Funny Car racing with nitro-burning coupes being sponsored by the Army (Don Prudhomme), Navy (Tom McEwen), Marines (Mickey Thompson), and Air Force (Littlefield). Memorably, Littlefield took part in a photo shoot at Nellis Air Force Base where he did burnouts next to an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Littlefield's car was originally painted by Kenny Youngblood with a mural of the Thunderbirds squadron on the rear window. It was recreated by Tim Sieger of Ultimate Design.

"We're excited about the new car," said Rupert. "I couldn't believe how well it turned out, and I can't wait until everyone gets to see it at the track. These are the kind of cars I grew up watching."

Rupert has been successful in his five full seasons of Nostalgia Funny Car racing since switching from the Top Alcohol ranks. He won the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series championships in 2011-2013 and is a two-time champion in the IHRA Nitro Jam Series in 2014 and 2015. He is the first driver in the category to run in excess of 260 mph, and he currently owns what are considered the best times in the category at 5.555 seconds and 262 mph.

A teaser of Rupert's new Rolling Thunder paint scheme is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6sJHBoTxJM&feature=youtu.be. He will debut the car on-track at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals in exhibition as part of NHRA's salute to 50 years of Funny Car racing.

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