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Independent. Informative. Outrageous. To quote ourselves, "Drag
racing from a different perspective." And so what do we do? A year
in review!!!! Juss like everybody else. Well, this time it is a big
deal. I mean the end of a century, and more importantly, the end of
a millennium. That's big stuff and deserves a crack or two. This here's
50 years in review, focusing in on the big power players of the last
half century and who I think contributed the most.
Let me say in advance that, I absolutely abhor a "one great hero"
approach. No sport, no political exercise, no religion, has one great
anything or anybody that stands head and shoulders above everything
and everybody else. History doesn't work that way. All human advances,
whether in sports or whatever, are people borrowing from the past, applying
it to current times, understanding the results, and trying it on future
problems, allowing all of us to move forward and slice through the fog
of the future. You may not buy that sociologically, but I think that
hat fits drag racing fairly well.
I saw recently that CBS Sports was going to honor an Athlete of the
Century. Puhleez! There is no such thing. Certainly Muhammad Ali was
a major figure on both the sporting and social fronts, but was he as
important as say a psychotic Ty Cobb, a drunken Babe Ruth, or a multi-skilled
Jim Thorpe? All three played gigantic roles in launching sports, the
whole enchilada of sports, into the public consciousness at the beginning
of the century.
No, ya gotta have categories and qualifications.
And I'm not gonna rate them, 1, 2, 3, either. For example, how do you
differentiate between the fabulous multi-year performances of the Reher-Morrison-Shepherd
Pro Stockers (1981-1984) and Gary Beck's clocking 17 of the quickest
Top Fuel elapsed times in 1983 and 1984? Great running Pro Stockers
are far more consistent than their nitro brethren because they're not
as volatile, and as a result, Shepherd won a lot more races than Beck.
However, to utterly dominate the sport's quickest class in performance
as did Beck in the Larry Minor car, is on a par with the Pro Stock Texans.
Below are my selections in a number of categories (some borderline
ridiculous) of the best of drag racing's first 50. They are listed alphabetically
or chronologically and are included because I felt they made historical,
sport-changing, consciousness expanding contributions to drag racing.
And now for drag racing from a long-winded perspective. Let the controversy
begin!
NOTE: This for me is not a popularity contest, but (I hope)
a better-than-feeble attempt to highlight those that made, again, sport-changing,
earth-rotating contributions to the sport ... at least, in most cases.
Also, the pros are far more represented than the sportsman because that's
what the people pay to see.
And given how incredibly sensitive I am, I will admit beforehand that
there's a decent chance I've overlooked someone. (Hmmm ... let me think
here for just a second.) Okay, tough shit. This isn't the Academy Awards,
this isn't a congressional Medal of Honor deal, you need to realize
that writing a list like this under the influence of lysergic acid diathylamide
and salvia divonorum, might cause some ... aw to hell with it ... enjoy
or wretch, I leave it to you, amigos.
MOST SPECTACULAR
(non-lethal) INCIDENTS
- Arnie Beswick (1966 - Center Moriches, L.I., N.Y.)
- Arnold Birky-Bob Neal (1989? - Pomona)
- Larry Bowers (1972 or '73 - Orange County)
- Jerry Caminito (1994? - Memphis)
- Mike Dunn (1983 - Orange County)
- John Force (1996? - Memphis)
- Force (1991? - Pomona "noseover")
- Force (1992 - Pomona World Finals)
- Don Garlits (1970 - Lions)
- Garlits (1986 - Englishtown)
- Tim Grose (1980 - Columbus, Ohio)
- Doug Herbert (1999 - Pomona)
- Ray Higley (1997 - Texas Motorplex)
- Eddie Hill (1989 - Pomona)
Photo by John Drummond
- Tommy Ivo (1974 - Pomona)
- Chris Karamesines (1961 - Yellow River, Ga. went into woods, full
speed, no car damage)
- Karamesines (1963 - Wilmington, Calif. - sideways at full speed
at Lions)
- Karamesines (1963 - Pomona, Calif. - sideways against Weekly for
D.N. #1 spot.)
- Karamesines (1968 - Cecil County, Md. 360d car at midtrack drove
through)
- Karamesines (197? - Gainesville, Fla.)
- Karamesines (1980 - Bakersfield)
- Dick LaHaie (1975 - Gainesville, Fla.)
- "Jungle Jim" Liberman (1974 - Englishtown, N.J.)
- Liberman (1967 - Wilmington, Calif.)
- Pete Miner/Bob Talent (1971 - West Palm Beach, Fla.)
- Jack Ostrander (Gainesville)
Photo by Dave DeAngelis
- Don Prudhomme (1970 - Seattle)
- Joe Schubeck (Hurst Hairy Olds - 1966 - Detroit)
- Paul Smith/Barry "Machine Gun" Kelly (1973 - Center Moriches, N.Y)
- John Smyser (1966 - Terrible Toronado - Irwindale)
- Dave Uyehara/Ron Correnti (1986 - Pomona)
- John Wiebe/Jeb Allen (1973 - Tulsa)
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