If Part 1 proved anything, it was that Chevrolet’s little Vega sure got popular in a hurry with the Funny Car crowd. By the early 1970s, you could travel from California to the East Coast and just about everywhere in between and find somebody racing a Vega-bodied Funny Car.
And there were plenty more than the first 12 I showed you.
Some of the biggest names in Funny Car racing climbed into Vegas during that era. “Jungle Jim” Liberman had them. Gene Snow had one. Don Schumacher switched from his familiar Mopars to a Vega when the Wonder Bread sponsorship came along. Mike Burkhart seemed to have enough Vegas running around the country to start his own invasion.
That was part of what made the Funny Car scene so much fun to photograph back then. Two racers could have the same body style, but when they rolled through the gate, there was usually no mistaking one from the other. The paint, lettering and personalities made these cars their own.
I spent a lot of time standing alongside drag strips photographing them, and looking back through my files today reminds me just how many great Vega Funny Cars there were.
So here are the remaining 13 from my top 25. And like I said the first time around, if I missed your favorite, don’t worry. I’ve probably got a photograph of it somewhere.
AL SEGRINI’S ATI “BLACK MAGIC” VEGA – Black wasn’t exactly the color of choice for Funny Cars in the early 1970s. Most teams went with bright colors and wild paint schemes, but the East Coast-based ATI “Black Magic” Chevrolet Vega proved that black could look just as good.
With Al Segrini behind the wheel and Jim Beattie as the owner, this Vega was a real beauty. It caught plenty of attention, appearing in several automotive magazines and even on a poster produced by the Newport Productions folks back in the early 1970s. Not bad for a black Funny Car in a world full of brightly painted Vegas.
MERT “SPARKY” LITTLEFIELD – SoCal blower builder and longtime Funny Car racer Mert “Sparky” Littlefield had raced in the Funny Car class with Dodge bodies, including a Dart and Charger. But at the beginning of the 1970s, he and partner Marty Sublett went with a Vega on their AA/FC.
DOUG THORLEY – Doug Thorley had already made a name in the Funny Car class with his Chevrolet Corvair Funny Car. He also ventured into the class with a rear-engine, AMC Javelin-bodied Funny Car.
Then his name appeared on the side of the Vega driven by Dick Bourgeois in the early 1970s. I only saw this car a few times because it was mainly a touring Vega that saw limited time in SoCal but plenty of racetracks all over the USA during that period.
“JUNGLE JIM” LIBERMAN – The Wildman of the Funny Car class is the only way to describe “Jungle Jim” Liberman.
Liberman started with his own Chevrolet Nova in the fall of 1966. At that time, he did double duty driving Lew Arrington’s “Brutus” GTO Funny Car. That changed in late 1967 as Lew started driving his own Funny Car.
Jim went with an all-new Nova in 1968, and more Novas would follow. In 1971, he could be found in a Camaro-bodied Funny Car. Then came the Vega in 1972, and he had at least two Vegas, red and blue, on tour in 1973 and 1974.
His last AA/FC was a Monza after Chevrolet discontinued the Vega.
JIM GREEN – The Great Northwest produced some great racers, and Jim Green was one of them.
His “Green Elephant” Vega was a fan favorite in the Northwest with either Mike Miller or Frank Hall at the controls. Green and his “Elephant” toured the USA, racing at major NHRA events and match racing throughout the Midwest.
AL BERGLER – In 1971, Michigan’s Al Bergler teamed with Tom Prock in an all-new Vega AA/FC. Then, in 1972, Al was on his own with his “Motown Shaker” Vega AA/FC.
Bergler ran the Vega body for a few seasons before switching to a Mustang body, which he burned off while racing. Al continued racing his line of “Motown Shaker” Funny Cars into the 1980s.
JOKERST BROS. – Another fan favorite on the match-race circuit in 1972 was the Jokerst Bros. and their “Snidely Whiplash” Vega AA/FC.
The brothers had been racing a Camaro-bodied Funny Car in 1971, but after seeing how popular the Vega had become, they made the big switch for the 1972 racing season.
GENE SNOW – Texas-based Gene Snow had been a longtime Mopar-bodied Funny Car racer going back to 1967, but in 1973 that changed for the Revell “Snowman.”
Snow always went first class with his Funny Cars, and his Vega was no different. The beauty was painted bright red, and the graphics were very eye-catching for fans of the class.
“BIG MIKE” BURKHART – Also based in Texas was longtime Funny Car owner/driver “Big Mike” Burkhart.
I first saw Mike in a Camaro Funny Car that he shared with Harry Schmidt. The next time I saw Mike, he was on his own but still in a Camaro AA/FC.
Then, all of a sudden, there were multiple Burkhart Vegas touring the USA. He drove one, while David Ray and Charlie Therwhanger could be found in the others. It was truly “Team Burkhart” in the 1970s.
DON SCHUMACHER – Chicago’s Don Schumacher also had been a longtime Mopar-bodied guy, with his first Funny Car in 1967 being a Dodge Charger. Then came a string of “Stardust” Barracuda-bodied AA/FCs.
In 1973, when he obtained the Wonder Bread deal, that changed. He first ran a regular Vega body and then a Vega panel, which he blew off while racing in the Midwest.
This Vega pictured made its debut in 1973, a very slick piece built by the legendary John Buttera.
WONDER WAGON – No, you’re not seeing double. It’s the Wonder Wagon Vega Panel AA/FCs.
One was driven by Glen Way and the other by Kelly Brown. At the time, it was one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the world of drag racing in the early 1970s.
Sadly, after testing, there was only one Wonder Wagon left standing. Kelly Brown’s panel was still there, but Glen Way had crashed and destroyed his. Way’s Vega was not rebuilt, so Brown’s panel was the only one left for the Wonder Bread folks.
“FEARLESS” FRED GOESKE – “Fearless” Fred Goeske started his Funny Car adventure in 1967 when he purchased the rear-engine “Hemi Cuda” from Mopar.
Fred raced the rear-engine ’Cuda for a year, then debuted an all-new front-engine Hemi Cuda in 1968. He followed that with a Plymouth Road Runner body and then a Duster-bodied AA/FC.
After burning the Duster to the ground in 1971, he returned with this Vega-bodied AA/FC.
SHORES & PHILLIPS “FIREBALL VEGA” – Beautiful is the only way to describe the Shores and Phillips “Fireball Vega” AA/FC. Either the white or red version really stood out in the 1970s.
Paul Smith or Tom Crevasse could be found behind the wheel of the Vega. Lou Azar also drove the car once, with disastrous results, running into the all-new “Tennessee Bo Weevil” AA/FC at Lakeland, Florida, in 1973. Nobody was hurt; just their wallets were injured.
Then, in 1974 at Center Moriches, New York, Barry “Machine Gun” Kelly ran his Vega AA/FC into the “Fireball” Vega in the shutdown area.
Those “Fireball” guys couldn’t catch a break back in the day.
NHRA’S COUNTDOWN PROBLEM DIDN’T START WITH SHAWN REED, BUT HIS CASE EXPOSED IT