During this month's Olympic Games at Rio de Janiero, American television viewers will hear "USA!" and "No. 1!" chanted countless times.
 
But in the heyday of Funny Cars, even in the class' beginning half a decade ago, drag-racing fans used to scream for "USA-1." That was Bruce Larson's Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car, a big-block beauty that is immortalized in the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing at Ocala, Fla.
 
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of his USA-1 Chevrolet Funny Cars, Bruce Larson' Racing has been competing this year behind the wheel of the replica of his 1972 USA-1 Mini-Camaro.
 
Part of what makes this unique is that unlike many of the nostalgia cars campaigned today, this genuine reproduction sports its original driver, 1989 NHRA Funny Car champion and International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member Bruce Larson.
 
He doesn't compete on the NHRA's Hot Rod Heritage Series tour.
 
"I'm kind of a step down from that," he said by telephone from his Eastern Pennsylvania farm. "We've been trying on the East Coast to get something more affordable for the promoters, more show-business-type than competition like the Heritage guys are doing. We don’t run as fast or as quick, but we make more smoky burnouts and dry hops and we still run 200 miles an hour in the sixes. And the fans really like it."

They also appreciate the fact this facsimile remains true to the period in which Larson raced it. He indicated that from the blown big-block Chevy engine down to every detail, it's a tribute to his loyalty to Chevy fans and a rare glimpse of the bow-tie brand's glory days on the dragstrip – extra-special in an era of Chrysler Hemi-powered cars.
 
Larson's original USA-1 car was destroyed in a racing fire at Budd’s Creek Dragway in Maryland, but this new version is true to form. It has no computer, no aero skirting modifications to the body, a single mag, wet sump, and no side windows. Only a few sensible safety updates keep it from being technically a perfect model. Worm Inc., of the Harrisburg, Pa., area built the car with a Bob Rosetti body, the same as Larson's popular '68 Camaro USA-1 tribute car.
 
Larson said he didn't choose to make a name in the Funny Car division.
 
"It kind of picked me back in 1966. That was the way to go," he said. "The cars went from FXs to Funny Cars. I had the distinction of having the first all-fiberglass Funny Car to race on an NHRA track. It was early in 1966. The Chevelle that's named USA-1 [and is in] Don Garlits' Museum is that car. I raced at the Winternationals in 1966, and maybe I'm the only driver that's still racing after being at that first race in '66." 

He has seen the trends come and go – and come back.

Being in the Funny Car class, he said, "was always a thrill back then because of the challenge of tuning the car and driving it. Then when I got into the heyday of my career in the late '80s, it was different. I had the talents of Maynard Yingst and Tim Richards tuning the car, and my job was to go out there and win races and rack up Winston points. I was able to do that, and that was the thrill at that time.

"And things came full circle," Larson said. "I'm back into the '70s-style nostalgia Funny Cars and tuning them myself. It's probably more of a thrill now to be able to tune the car to win than actually driving it. I'm back to doing both."

Larson is a modest man, but he indicated he rather enjoyed being in the sport's spotlight as the Funny Car class grew in popularity and status.

"It started out we had the altered-wheelbase cars with the fancy names on them. The fans loved it, and we were putting on a show for the fans, and that was cool. We were popular. Sometimes we put on a 16-car show, sometimes a 32-car show. We were the heroes, and I guess that made us feel good," he said.
 
What makes him feel good today, in part, is racing within his means and delivering performances respectful of the budgets of both the racers and promoters. He said current nostalgia Funny Car rules have stretched too far, driving up costs all the way around.
 
A master at match racing, Larson has been trying to orchestrate the revival of the drag-racing standard, regrettably with little luck.
 
"That's what we've been trying to do, a few of us on the East Coast, but it just doesn’t seem to catch on. We're running nitro cars, and they make the flames and they make more noise, and we think that's what the spectators want," Larson said. "But the promoters don't want to spend the money for 'em, and they book alcohol Funny Cars. So what we’re doing really isn't growing. But I don’t want to be a part of the Heritage stuff because those guys are tearing the engines apart and tearing the clutches apart every run and spending probably about as much money as the pros are and complaining they're not making any money. And that doesn’t make sense."
 
 
With his USA-1 reproduction, as well as others in his collection such as the Time Bomb Vega, Larson will continue his mission, hopeful that he can rekindle fans' demand for the ground-pounding, long, smoky burnouts and the dry hops and nitromethane-fueled header flames that lick ferociously through the night.
 
 
He said he and his Funny Cars will be available to track operators and show promoters at affordable pricing. It's a way to give back. Larson and his 200-mph Mini-Camaro, he said, "will leave young and old fans with an experience they will never forget. Bruce Larson and the USA-1 name will bring spectators to your drag racing event.
 
"This opportunity will take race fans back to the glory days," Larson said, adding he and USA-1 make a desirable tandem for promoters who want to draw a crowd of fans seeking autographs from an NHRA Funny Car champion.
 
Bruce Larson was in the mix of winners when match racing ruled the dragstrips across America, and anyone wanting to help him resurrect match racing and hear grandstands chanting "USA-1!" can reach him through his office phone number: 717-921-3336.