InnerView: CHRIS
"the Golden Greek" KARAMESINES

by Chris Martin
Photos by Jeff Burk

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word "legend" partly as "any story coming down from the past, especially one popularly taken as historical though not verifiable." Top Fuel legend Chris "the Golden Greek" Karamesines has had so many stories told about him and his 48-year drag racing career that it seems someone like him could not exist; he's got to be the product of a very wild imagination. Wild wheelstands in the lights, sideways in the lights, riding through fireballs, forests, and fences, "the Greek" more than any drag racer is truly legendary.

However, it should be noted that extraordinary wheelman prowess aside, he has been one of the sport's great drivers. He did win the big Drag News Invitational at Union Grove, Wisc., in 1959; he did win AHRA Top Fuel World Championships in 1959 and 1966; he did hold the Drag News Top Fuel No. 1 spot on two occasions (1961 and 1963); he did run the first major event seven-second time at Bakersfield in 1963; he did do tire tests driving Indy 500 cars for Firestone; and he did run the sport's first ever 200-mph time, a 204.54 at Alton Dragway on April 24, 1960.

Three years ago, he was inducted into the Don Garlits Museum Motorsports Hall of Fame, and this year at the 33rd annual Car Craft Magazine All-Star Racing Team Banquet, run the weekend of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, he received a Special Commendation trophy from Dave McClelland for his many contributions to the sport (photo below).

Karamesines, reportedly 72 years old, is the oldest active professional driver in a major autosport as he was one of 22 Top Fuel drivers trying to qualify for this year's Nationals field. He didn't make it, but he has no plans of sitting out any dances in the foreseeable future.

DRO: When did you first drag race? I heard it was at Half Day, Ill., but what do you remember about it?

Well, actually, I didn't drag race at first. I was into stock cars, running at tracks like the 87th St. stadium and Raceway Park in Chicago. I was a circle track racer and raced this 1949 Olds and I did that, oh, I'd guess between 1949 and 1951, somewhere in there. You get a real education in seat of the pants driving, because you're sliding into turns and all that, and you learn quickly what the limits are. I won a few races, Rockford (Ill.) and I think at the 87th street spot, but you'd always wind up crashing the cars. Maybe not crashing them, but banging them up pretty good. Pretty soon, I just got tired of spending three days a week fixing up the car.

Half Day came later in 1952. I had a Ford model A roadster and raced at Half Day, which was like so many of the drag race tracks then, an old military landing strip. I don't remember a whole lot about my first actual drag race other than that it occurred in 1952 and Andy Granatelli was racing, too. I guess I ran Half Day for a year and then I put an Olds in it and won some trophies.

DRO: The first car I remember seeing you associated with was a black '36 Ford phaeton. What about that car?

I had a '36 Ford and I dropped an Olds into that. I had run [Oldsmobiles] in circle tracks and with the Model A, so I knew them pretty well. The car did well we won at Lawrenceville in Illinois [the first site of the World Series of Drag Racing]. I was in a car club at that time, and we're talking 1953, 1954, called the Schlitzers and we'd run all the Illinois tracks, Lake Geneva, Alton, Oswego, and we did pretty good. Guys like Bud Roche, Don Mattison (of "Guzler" Top Fuel fame), Gabby Bleeker (Fuel Altered great) and a bunch of other guys made up a good group of racers. I ran the '36 Ford, Bud and Don had an old Olds; those were good times.

DRO: Of course, your name is associated with dragsters more than any other type of car, when did you go with the slingshots?

In 1955, I had a 92-inch gas dragster built and I put an Olds into it. A little later, I decided that a Chrysler would be the better way to go, so I dropped a Hemi into it.

DRO: The racer you're most associated with in this period was the late Don Maynard. When and how did you hook up with him?

Maynard originally came from Arizona; he was tied up with Lyle Fisher and "Red" Greth's Speed Sport roadster. He moved to Chicago and got in with Joe Bush, who had the Speed Sport name on his Chicago speed shop. I was well acquainted with the Speed Sport team at the time, and I got together with Maynard and talked to him about running a fuel dragster. He was a really bright guy, real sharp. At the time he was working as a machinist at Bush's shop and he decided to go racing with me. We put eight Stromberg two-barrel carburetors on a Chrysler in 1956 and went fuel racing.

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