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Favorite Top Gas Dragster Driver/Car? (3 Viewers)

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Cliff said:
Walt Rhoades. Safeway Sandblasting Top Gas Dragster. Later ran back motor T/F. Used to come to the line with the fueler, rev it up to about 6 grand and take off. I'm thinking early 70's with that car, also run by Safeway Sandblasting. Greg, is Walt your dad? Lotsa good memories of those cars.
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I worked with Walt's son Adam on the Maddern Racing TA/D team.
 
The Freight Train was on display yesterday at the Lion Drag Strip Museum grand Opening. Next to it was one of my all time favorite T/F dragster of "The Loner" Tony Nancy's Sizzler.


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Thanks for the photo Gino. :) I see the Cerny & Moody car there. I saw that car run 5.91 at '72 Finals at Ontario. Was Low ET of the World back then.
 
I'm partial to the GSTA Twin.... The original car has been restored with almost all original parts. I know the guy who purchased the car after it's restoration and he took it to several shows about 10 years ago. As far as I know, he still owns the car in his personal collection. In 2009 (I believe) we took the "Twin" to the Mid America Motorplex in Pacific Junction Iowa (Just south of Omaha) and the owner did a small burnout with the car on the starting line.

Dragster #5 - "The Twin" | gsta

jceci7.wixsite.com jceci7.wixsite.com

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Interesting that the hood scoops are on backwards. There was a time in the 70's when that was considered the thing to do. I remember single engine T/G cars did that, as well as some Comp cars. never did see that in T/F.
 
Cliff said:
Interesting that the hood scoops are on backwards. There was a time in the 70's when that was considered the thing to do. I remember single engine T/G cars did that, as well as some Comp cars. never did see that in T/F.
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Funny you mention the scoops..... When the car was sold to it's current owner, the seller delivered the car and trailer to the buyers shop. I was at that shop later that evening and I asked why the scoops were facing forward, not backwards like they always had been. The new owner told me the story.... when he saw that car race as a kid in 1970 he always hated the scoops facing backwards. He said he has always wanted to turn those scoops forward since he was a little kid. When the seller finally left the shop that day, his taillights were probably still visible, and the new owner was already turning the scoops forward. They've been forward ever since. When you see pictures of the GSTA Twin, you can tell who owned the car when the pictures were taken by the direction the scoops are facing. lol.

Scoops facing forward.
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How about a twin engine drag boat. The Mortician was on display at the Lion Drag Strip Museum. Twin 327 Chevys injected on nitro. The owner is Spike Morelli who is the engine builder at Valley Head Service.

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Has anybody mentioned Stephens and Venerables? They always had a very attractive clean operation and were very competitive also. The Venerables half of the team is/was Dickies dad.
 
Muddy said:
Has anybody mentioned Stephens and Venerables? They always had a very attractive clean operation and were very competitive also. The Venerables half of the team is/was Dickies dad.
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They ran a T/F car called The Pusher. Strong car.
 
Thanks John. the team was from Arkansas, right? We have a ton of 2nd, 3rd & even 4th generation racers out there now. Would be cool to hear someone's story about grandpa who raced at Pomona in 1951.
 
Could George Bolthof actually have the most wins of any AA/GD? He won a dizzying amount of weekly shows in California.

TopFuel@Lions
 
If you counted all the wins at weekly shows by Prudhomme, Garlits, Bolthof and racers from that era, it would number in the 100's.
 
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