When Gene Fulton last dumped the clutch in 1988, he figured he’d had enough of driving a race car.
Fulton, a five-time world champion, settled into a career of building fast engines in his Fulton Competition shop on Chesnee Highway.
Nothing lasts forever, even retirement.
“I kind of figured I might drive some just for fun or testing, but I wasn’t planning on racing again,” said Fulton, who took up flying ultralight aircraft and skydiving as a substitute for racing. “But you never know what tomorrow might bring.”
When Gene Fulton last dumped the clutch in 1988, he figured he’d had enough of driving a race car.
Fulton, a five-time world champion, settled into a career of building fast engines in his Fulton Competition shop on Chesnee Highway in Spartanburg, SC.
Nothing lasts forever, even retirement.
“I kind of figured I might drive some just for fun or testing, but I wasn’t planning on racing again,” said Fulton, who took up flying ultralight aircraft and skydiving as a substitute for racing. “But you never know what tomorrow might bring.”
Tomorrow for Fulton was a return to yesterday, when longtime customer and friend Quain Stott created a circuit featuring period-correct 1960s Gasser cars to race at Greer Dragway. He will participate in today’s South Eastern Gassers event at Greer Dragway.
“It was racing like we used to do,” Fulton said. “Four-speed, dumping the clutch and high-winding small block cars. No computers, no electronics, just hardcore racing … no, that’s racing like we used to do.”
Fulton was hooked the first time he watched the cars run. He eventually heard enough local race fans asking when he would build one and this was enough to lure him back.
With the help of Scott Leber at Scott Rods in Ohio, Fulton took delivery of a 1941 Willys body. A score of friends came by the shop starting in January and the group worked non-stop nearly every night, many times until midnight, to build the car from scratch in nearly three months.
The support of his local fans, many who just stopped by the shop to offer support, has served as inspiration for Fulton.
“I’ve gotten a lot of help on it, a lot of help from good people,” Fulton said. “I didn’t expect the help that I got like that. We’re calling the car Bad Attitude, because when I was growing up, the older folks used to tell me, ‘Boy, you’ve got a bad attitude.”
Fulton said he could have given the car another name.
“I really think Three Month Wonder might be more appropriate. Truth be known, we probably made the car more complicated than it needed to be,” he said. “But those who know me, know I like to march to the beat of my own drum.”
Fulton knows when he releases the clutch for today’s first run it won’t be so tough to keep his emotions in check.
“I think it will be fun,” Fulton said. “I do a lot of stuff. I don’t think it will be that different.”
The act of cutting and pasting articles from this publication to a message board is a clear copyright violation as is pulling photos to post on social media sites. All articles and photography published in CompetitionPlus.com are protected by United States of America and International copyright laws unless mentioned otherwise. The content on this website is intended for the private use of the reader and may not be published or reposted in any form without the prior written consent of CompetitionPlus.com.
