Storytellers, the popular drag racing videos telling of days gone by, returns with another episode; this one told by Ed "The Ace" McCulloch.
In this video, Ace tells the story of some describe as the greatest promoter in Drag Racing, the late Bill Doner. McCulloch tells the story of how the Dones could talk him into almost anything, except beating up John Force. At one point, Doner's "enforcer" became. peacemaker. Yeah you gotta hear this one.
The 1975 season brought forth more than its share of oddities. It also featured some awesome competition. It was so eloquently presented in this ABC Wide World of Sports broadcast hosted by the legendary Chris Economacki.
Starting with Top Fuel, Big Daddy Don Garlits set the stage for what would be a season of dominance in Pomona. If you showed up this season, more times than not you were racing for second place.
Over in the Funny Car division, there was the transition in the Funny Car divisions, as new body styles were coming in, and the utter dominance of Don Prudhomme.
Pro Stock was the oddest of them all with five-year-old Mustangs as the norm, and even a four-door Maverick. They were working the NHRA's system of weight breaks for the most favorable matchups.
A couple of months later, the face of championship drag racing would change forever with Winston/RJ Reynolds coming aboard as the first series sponsor.
The Plans For Project RONNIE! Engine, Chassis, Suspension, Interior, Power Adder, Purpose, etc. In Episode 3, Stevie Fast discloses the long-awaited plans for his beloved Pickup Truck.
With the VCR as cutting edge technology even back in 1980, it was not rare for drag racing fans to record their favorite national events. The 1980 NHRA Gatornationals had plenty to love about the traditional east coast season opener.
You'll see the legends of the sport from Don "The Snake" Prudhomme to Big Daddy and Shirley doing battle on the quarter-mile in Gainesville, Fla. There's lots to love about this broadcast including racers pushing their machines over the edge, to one significant crash.
There's even a Pro Stock final which set in motion one of the greatest rivalries ever.
Travel back to the mid-1980s when the show Hidden Heroes followed some of drag racing's iconic names. The show, broadcast on the Nashville Network was a Diamond P production and took the cameras behind-the-scenes to introduce race fans to some of the sport's more dynamic individuals.
This episode spends time with veteran driver Joe Amato and his successful transition from Top Alcohol Dragster driver to professional world champion.
About the only thing predictable about the National Hot Rod Association's 8th Annual World Finals was the fantastic hospitality the citizens of Amarillo showed World Finals contestants and spectators. Everything else ran the gamut, providing the fine crowd of hearty spectators with a most exciting weekend of drag racing action at its finest.
"Unpredictable" was the byword, and Mother Nature lent herself to the occasion by going berserk. One minute the drivers were seating in their firesuits, and the next hour saw qualifying prematurely ended when a hail storm hit the strip! Overall, inclement weather caused cancellation of Thursday's downtown festivities, Friday's qualifying session, and shortened Saturday's qualifying efforts. But, lo and behold, Sunday the sun shone brightly, and it then became the competition, which took over the unpredictability of the event.
Winners ranged from the "sure bet" category like the Pro Stock win of Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, who annexed his first-ever World Finals title, to the Top Fuel win of Jim Walther, who overcame terrific odds to score the upset of the meet.
Such was not the case in Funny Car Eliminator, however, as Larry Fullerton and Kevin Doheny saved their best for last, clicking off a superb 6.58, 222.32 mph effort to upend Jake Johnston's valiant 6.69 bid. For Jake, it marked the second straight World Finals runner-up, and for Larry Fullerton, it marked the highlight in a long and varied career, which has seen more than its share of disappointments.
The 1987 season-opener for the Bristol, Tenn.-based IHRA was one which brought a lot of enthusiasm on many fronts.
After benching the Top Fuel dragsters in 1984, the IHRA welcomed back the kings of the sport. Then there was a the race to 200 miles per hour for the doorslammers which was the first major battle between the then top of the food chain for full bodied racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock and the up and coming Top Sportsman cars.
Check out all the action because this episode is chock full of it.
This documentary is the perfect way to spend your time, thinking back to the days of yesteryear when drag racing had the wow power because it was still a virtually unknown commodity.
The legends were very much involved in 1979, from Don Prudhomme to Don Garlits to Shirley Muldowney. Drag racing was still wide enough open to command an audience for such a documentary which would usually air in the afternoons on weekend when three channel, black and white television were still in the majority.
This video has a little bit of everything from NHRA to AHRA, Top Fuel to Funny Car to Pro Stock. If you can excuse the audio sounds of big block automatic cars on obvious four-speed Modifieds, you will enjoy this class.
Travel back to the mid-1980s when the show Hidden Heroes followed some of drag racing's iconic names. The show, broadcast on the Nashville Network was a Diamond P production and took the cameras behind-the-scenes to introduce race fans to some of the sport's more dynamic individuals.
This episode spends time with veteran driver Dick LaHaie and his family, during their run-up to an NHRA Top Fuel championship.
The NHRA's annual visit to the Bayou in Louisiana was one always race fans could count on for entertainment. Whether it was its colorful promoter Norman "Moose" Pearah or Funny Cars staging a boycott, the 1983 edition didn't disappoint nor did it keep folks from starting a ruckus.
One of the sport's more prominent two-car teams had a plan. One team was to be a part-time effort, and the other would be a championship-chasing monster. However, the "extra" car outperformed its role and when the two met in the final; well, things didn't go as planned. We won't spoil it for you.
You'll see the legends of the day including defending Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney, Gary Beck, and an up-and-coming Mark Oswald.
In this video, Ace tells the story of some describe as the greatest promoter in Drag Racing, the late Bill Doner. McCulloch tells the story of how the Dones could talk him into almost anything, except beating up John Force. At one point, Doner's "enforcer" became. peacemaker. Yeah you gotta hear this one.
The 1975 season brought forth more than its share of oddities. It also featured some awesome competition. It was so eloquently presented in this ABC Wide World of Sports broadcast hosted by the legendary Chris Economacki.
The Plans For Project RONNIE! Engine, Chassis, Suspension, Interior, Power Adder, Purpose, etc. In Episode 3, Stevie Fast discloses the long-awaited plans for his beloved Pickup Truck.
With the VCR as cutting edge technology even back in 1980, it was not rare for drag racing fans to record their favorite national events. The 1980 NHRA Gatornationals had plenty to love about the traditional east coast season opener.
Travel back to the mid-1980s when the show Hidden Heroes followed some of drag racing's iconic names. The show, broadcast on the Nashville Network was a Diamond P production and took the cameras behind-the-scenes to introduce race fans to some of the sport's more dynamic individuals.
About the only thing predictable about the National Hot Rod Association's 8th Annual World Finals was the fantastic hospitality the citizens of Amarillo showed World Finals contestants and spectators. Everything else ran the gamut, providing the fine crowd of hearty spectators with a most exciting weekend of drag racing action at its finest.
The 1987 season-opener for the Bristol, Tenn.-based IHRA was one which brought a lot of enthusiasm on many fronts.
This documentary is the perfect way to spend your time, thinking back to the days of yesteryear when drag racing had the wow power because it was still a virtually unknown commodity.
Travel back to the mid-1980s when the show Hidden Heroes followed some of drag racing's iconic names. The show, broadcast on the Nashville Network was a Diamond P production and took the cameras behind-the-scenes to introduce race fans to some of the sport's more dynamic individuals.
The NHRA's annual visit to the Bayou in Louisiana was one always race fans could count on for entertainment. Whether it was its colorful promoter Norman "Moose" Pearah or Funny Cars staging a boycott, the 1983 edition didn't disappoint nor did it keep folks from starting a ruckus.
