Kansas John Wiebe RIP (5 Viewers)
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Prestaged
Nitro Member
I was at Columbus in 1973 when John won Top Fuel. He beat Garlits in the final. Big's car seemed a little lazy off the line, and I said to my brother, "Do you think Garlits did that on purpose so John had a better chance of winning?" I know, it is almost sacrilegious to suggest that, but in any event, Weibe won that race and I remember it well.
There was also a picture that surfaced shortly after Indy 1971, where I also was in attendance with my brother (and frankly, I am surprised the picture has not survived the decades) of Weibe sitting on one of the front tires of Garlits car at that race. It had a cartoonish thought-cloud caption of John saying to himself something to the effect of "I don't understand how he can be going so quick." That was the year Big qualified with a 6.21 that was almost two tenths quicker than Steve Carbone's #2 effort of 6.39, which was itself very impressive at the time. No one knew it that weekend, but Garlits had offset the front wheels to provide a rollout advantage, thus lowering ET. That strategy was quickly adopted by everyone. Weibe's image sitting on Garlits front tires looking a little dejected was priceless.
Thanks for reading.
There was also a picture that surfaced shortly after Indy 1971, where I also was in attendance with my brother (and frankly, I am surprised the picture has not survived the decades) of Weibe sitting on one of the front tires of Garlits car at that race. It had a cartoonish thought-cloud caption of John saying to himself something to the effect of "I don't understand how he can be going so quick." That was the year Big qualified with a 6.21 that was almost two tenths quicker than Steve Carbone's #2 effort of 6.39, which was itself very impressive at the time. No one knew it that weekend, but Garlits had offset the front wheels to provide a rollout advantage, thus lowering ET. That strategy was quickly adopted by everyone. Weibe's image sitting on Garlits front tires looking a little dejected was priceless.
Thanks for reading.
The John Wiebe/Jeb Allen crash at the ‘73 Tulsa National Challenge was the first time I witnessed a two-car wreck. I still remember the sounds. It was awful. I got a couple of shots.
Late ‘mater member Ray Ghio, Jr. (R.I.P.) cleaned up one of the shots for me shortly before he went to Glory.
Late ‘mater member Ray Ghio, Jr. (R.I.P.) cleaned up one of the shots for me shortly before he went to Glory.
One time I talked to John at Pomona Winternats. It was just after his dad had passed. We also talked about how the tire shake was so bad that his helmet hit the roll bar, & he showed me the scratches on the helmet. Don't remember the year, would guess 1970??? I liked John, he was a Good Guy.
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
As always, there is a good tribute article by Phil Burgess on NHRA.com.
John has been in attendance at some recent CA Hot Rod Reunions in Bakersfield. I saw him there a few times. He was one of those lucky guys who aged really well. He didn't look all that much different for all the years that had passed.
John has been in attendance at some recent CA Hot Rod Reunions in Bakersfield. I saw him there a few times. He was one of those lucky guys who aged really well. He didn't look all that much different for all the years that had passed.
