Kenny Bernstein (near lane) and John Force.  (Ron Lewis photo)

As Bernstein’s crew chief, he won four straight NHRA Funny Car titles (1985-1988) before adding a Top Fuel championship in 1996. Nevertheless, his biggest career moment came on March 20, 1992 at Gainesville, Fla., where Bernstein became the first driver in history to break the 300-mph barrier.

After leaving Bernstein’s Budweiser King team, Armstrong was crew chief to Larry Dixon at Don Prudhomme Racing, Inc., and, while there, directed the three-time world champion to the first sub-4.50 time in the history of quarter mile racing.

From left, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Amrstrong and Joe Amato.  (James Drew photo)

Inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1995, the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2010, he was No. 10 on the list of the top drivers in NHRA’s first 50 seasons and was an 11-time member of the old Car Craft Magazine All-Star Team.

Despite his driving and tuning prowess, Armstrong’s genius lay in his innovative skills. With Tony and Lanny Miglizzi of L&T clutches, he developed the first multi-stage clutch. With Ron Armstrong (no relation), he refined data acquisition with their work on the RacePak computer, which became the standard for the sport.

He was among the first to utilize the wind tunnel for straight-line applications and his race car designs were legend. The most controversial of his configurations was Bernstein’s “Batmobile” Buick Reatta Funny Car that broke all the barriers in 1987, leading to a plethora of NHRA rules changes.

Nevertheless, some of his most creative projects were snuffed out before they were even tested, mostly because of expense. Among them was a two-speed supercharger and a three-plugs-per-cylinder head design.