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200
- Thread starter Porkchop
- Start date
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
13th qualifier and the only one to go 200?
ironpony
Nitro Member
Like when Garlits bragged about building his car that was going to go 300MPH before anyone else, Then Kenny went 300 MPH at Garlits home track?
nwspeedshots
Nitro Member
I seem to recall that Garlits' plan was to run 300 in an outlaw dragster. The plan was abandoned when someone pointed out that with a mere change of rear-end ratio, any Top Fuel Dragster could do it.
DG
Nitro Member
Porkchop
Nitro Member
Mark, you are wrong. First, they had set gear ratios at that point. Gars car wasn't ready in time for the Gators when KB ran 300. No "outlaw" dragster.
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
Garlits wanted to run his car as a NFR car to see what they would do...not in competition
(No ******* rules)
(No ******* rules)
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
"Swamp Rat 32 (1992): Garlits didn’t race for years after the Spokane wreck, immersing himself in his museum as well as television work for Diamond P, though he did memorably test-drive Muldowney's car in Dallas in 1989 when he was working with her team as a consultant (something none of us thought we'd ever see!). Garlits became interested again in 1991 and commissioned Murf McKinney to design a new car that again would break the Top Fuel mold that he dubbed the NFR (In the book, he says that stood for "No Funny Rules," which is the cleaned-up version of what the F really stood for). As proposed, the car would be a three-wheeler with a single front wheel that also sported a rudder so that the car would be steerable with the front end off the ground. To combat the growing issue of rear-wing-strut failure, the duo opted for a single center-mount post, sheathed in aerodynamics, which Garlits dubbed the “monowing." In the interest of being able to compete with the car (i.e., having a car that was within the rules), the single front tire and planned movable wing were abandoned, but the monowing stayed and finally was blessed by NHRA. The car, like its predecessors, had a cockpit canopy and small front tires but no nosepiece. It debuted at the NHRA Atlanta race in 1992 and didn't qualify, and, worse yet, Garlits had suffered a detached retina in his right eye in a two-parachute stop during testing and had to leave the cockpit again. Former Funny Car driver Bruce Larson took over the driving duties for the rest of the year and ran as fast as 299 mph with the car."
The story I heard was that Garlits wanted to run a screw blower to go 300. He was convinced by others not to do it. Had never heard the story about a 3 wheeler. There was a racer named Kenny Ellis who ran a 3 wheeler in early 1960's. Car was competitive, went straight, but it had a habit of picking up the front wheel in the lights. Ran a couple versions of it if I remember right, then gave up on it.
sammi
Nitro Member
Guessing Hector Jr. messed up a huge HD coronation and marketing plan. I also guess it pissed of the Vance and Hines tribe to the extent that they put the "Countdown" tune-up in the bikes and slaughtered everyone. Look for the "parity" tune-up once cooler heads prevail.
Congrats to perhaps the last little guy achievement in modern drag racing. I view this a something similar to Scott Palmer running 3.59.
Congrats to perhaps the last little guy achievement in modern drag racing. I view this a something similar to Scott Palmer running 3.59.
mike
Nitro Member
The original plan with the dragster was for it to have 3 wheels. There was a an article on it in Bobby Bennett's dads "Drag Racing" publication in 1990. As Bob mentioned above it was under the tag "NFR". Here is the rendering for said car.
Sean D, shondoo
Nitro Member
I don't remember seeing that rendering, Mike. Thanks for sharing that. That looks pretty bad a$$!
Sean D
Sean D
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