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70s Funny Cars - Round 1
70s Funny Cars - Round 2
70s Funny Cars - Round 3
70s Funny Cars - Round 4
70s Funny Cars - Round 5
70s Funny Cars - Round 6
70s Funny Cars - Round 7
70s Funny Cars - Round 8
70s Funny Cars - Round 9
70s Funny Cars - Round 10
70s Funny Cars - Round 11
70s Funny Cars - Round 12
70s Funny Cars - Round 13
70s Funny Cars - Round 14
70s Funny Cars - Round 15
70s Funny Cars - Round 16
70s Funny Cars - Round 17
70s Funny Cars - Round 18
70s Funny Cars - Round 19
70s Funny Cars - Round 20
70s Funny Cars - Round 21
70s Funny Cars - Round 22
70s Funny Cars - Round 23
70s Funny Cars - Round 24
70s Funny Cars - Round 25
70s Funny Cars - Round 26
70s Funny Cars - Round 27
70s Funny Cars - Round 28
70s Funny Cars - Round 29
70s Funny Cars - Round 30
70s Funny Cars - Round 31
70s Funny Cars - Round 32
70s Funny Cars - Round 33
70s Funny Cars - Round 34
70s Funny Cars - Round 35
70s Funny Cars - Round 36
70s Funny Cars - Round 37
70s Funny Cars - Round 38
70s Funny Cars - Round 39
70s Funny Cars - Round 40
70s Funny Cars - Round 41
70s Funny Cars - Round 42
70s Funny Cars - Round 43
70s Funny Cars - Round 44
70s Funny Cars - Round 45
70s Funny Cars - Round 46
70s Funny Cars - Round 47
70s Funny Cars - Round 48
70s Funny Cars - Round 49
70s Funny Cars - Round 50
70s Funny Cars - Round 51
70s Funny Cars - Round 52
70s Funny Cars - Round 53
70s Funny Cars - Round 54
70s Funny Cars - Round 55
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70s Funny Cars: Round 50

Text by Danny White

What a difference a year makes in drag racing. In 1969 this was the top funny car in drag racing when Danny Ongais drove the Mustang for Mickey Thompson. In 69 Ongais won to many races to list and had one of the first if not the first six-second times. In 1970 Ongais was gone and now Johnny Wright was the driver of choice for Thompson. Along with a new driver and new paint, the team was forced to run a new engine, the Boss 429 Hemi. The 429 Hemi proved not to be up to the standards that the fragile SOHC had proven in the last couple of years. On top of all that the car that was state the art in 69 was now heavier than new cars built at the start of the new decade. The Thompson and Wright did not last for long and Wright left to drive the Hell Fire Corvette. Another driver of Thompson later crashed the famed 69 Mustang. (Photo by L&M photo, courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories; info from Draglist files)

The Pennsylvania based Stoner Brothers got into funny car racing in 1971 with this outdated Pontiac Firebird.  The car was the former New Breed out of California that was raced by famed engine builder Steve Montrelli with different hired drivers.  The Stoner Brothers put a Chevy in the car and put Buzzy Pastor in the driver seat. The team did not race for long and by 1972 the car was sold to Carl Hegge and Rick Stambaugh to be run as the Norseman. (Photo courtesy of Bill Truby; info from Bill Duke and Draglist files)

Ray Aniacia had one of the last Corvair AA/FC’s in the country. The car was the former Poff's Super Puffer that Ray had bought the car from Ken Poffenberger. Aniacia raced the candy apple red Corvair with a blown and unblown setup. The Showdown was mainly raced in Northeastern match races and was a regular at Englishtown races before Ray retired from racing. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder, used under license of Vintage Drag Club; info from Dennis Doubleday, Ted Pappacena, and Draglist files)

The Evan Brothers raced out of the Buckeye state of Ohio, the pair raced match bash in 60's with a Barracuda that brother Bob drove. The pair resurfaced a few years later with the former Mr. Pickett Cuda Bob Pickett had raced in 1971 and 72 on the West Coast. This extremely rare shot came from New York International on Long Island, a scene of many funny match races under the guidance of Ed Eaton. The Evan Bros did not race this funny car very long and faded from the scene very quickly. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder, used under license of Vintage Drag Club; info from Dennis Doubleday and Draglist files)    

Bob Norwood is probably best known for his unique racecars such as a blown Ferrari doorslammer and nitro-fueled import powered funny car. Norwood has had allot of success in road racing and at Bonneville, but this Cuda funny car has to be his best known drag racing car. The Cuda was state of the art when Portier Speed built it in 1972 and very lightweight for the time. Though the Hahn Motors car was an injected nitro funny car that did not stop Norwood from racing against AA/FC's in local races. The Cuda ran a best of 7.24 190 before being parked. (Photo courtesy of Tom West/Replicas West, info Draglist files)  

The Icemaker was a funny car out of New York State; it was owned by Dennis Voduris and drove by Bob Barry. Marino’s Italian Ices, makers of frozen deserts, sponsored the team. The Charger was built by former funny car racer Rollie Lindblad and had a late model Chrysler hemi for power. The Icemaker was raced mainly at Northeastern match races in 1974 and 1975 before the team split up. Voduris retired from funny car racing and driver Barry later went out on his own with the Rolling Thunder Monza.  (Photo courtesy of Tom West/Replicas West, info Draglist files)

Fred Forkner was famed engine builder that was better known for his series of TF cars. Forkner like many other dragster drivers got into funny car racing and bought from this Charger from Nichols & Oxner. Forkner did not race the funny car for long and let Lew Arrington lease the car to fulfill his match race dates after the demise of the Brutus. Forkner went back to racing dragsters. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder, used under license of Vintage Drag Club; info from Dennis Doubleday and Draglist files)  

Billy Bunch raced the Chevy powered Vega out of Galveston, Texas in the mid-seventies thus the Islander name. This is very obscure funny car that raced mainly in local funny car action by Bunch. The best that Bunch did in the Vega funny car was a runner up finish once to Gene Snow. Bunch still lives in the Galveston area to this day and is said to be local legend. (Photo courtesy of Hector Leal and www.roddingandracing.com; info from John Bockelman and Draglist files)

The Jungle Fever Cuda of Gene Goethe was a long, running funny car that was raced for nearly twenty years. Goethe debuted the Hemi-powered Cuda around 1972 in local Colorado match race action. Goethe ran this car with many updates and later converted the car to the cheaper alcohol. Goethe and his hired driver raced the Jungle Fever as late as 1989!  (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder, used under license of Vintage Drag Club; info from Dennis Doubleday and Draglist files)  

Jim Robbins was the former driver of the Banzai Charger when he debuted the Bayou Shaker in 1974. Robbins was coming off a successful 1973 year on the local Division Four scene when he and partner Bobby Bradshaw built the Hemi-powered Vette. The Bayou Shaker would be raced in match races mostly with the occasional national event thrown in.  Robbins was based out of the Channelview, Texas the same town as Johnny White, there he would run the series of Bayou Shaker Corvette funny cars off and on with minimal success into the nineties when he retired from racing. (Photo courtesy of Hector Leal and www.roddingandracing.com; info from Draglist files)
 

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