Remembering Steve Condit (1 Viewer)

[Randy]

A few days ago, Steve Condit, brother of driver, the late Dave Condit, passed away.

They are remembered for their famed L.A. Hooker funny cars as well as their time with Gene Beaver and the Condit Bros funny cars. They were a staple in the So Cal funny car scene in the 1970's and 1980's. I worked at D&J Auto Parts in Whittier at the time and I can remember hearing their funny car idling from the neighborhood behind the grocery story across the street some Saturday mornings. We would pop over to see the guys working on it with the body on the lawn. It was their mom's house.

They always had great looking cars and were known for doing some crazy stuff. But after reading how Roland is now gone, Schumacher, Steve, and several others we lost in 2023, it reminds us how we shouldn't take life for granted.

 

[You!]

Truly a sad run of losses in a very short period of time. And now just heard that Sherm Gunn has passed.

Heartfelt best wishes and prayers to all family and friends affected by these recent passings.

 

[TSK]

I got this shot at either the '72 or '73 National Challenge at Tulsa.

 

[Cliff]

Ted, this photo reminds me that sometimes you'd see a flopper go up in smoke, and smoke coming from the wheelwells and cockpit until the driver couldn't see & shut off. Lost the race but put on a show for us.

 

[TSK]

Ted, this photo reminds me that sometimes you'd see a flopper go up in smoke, and smoke coming from the wheelwells and cockpit until the driver couldn't see & shut off. Lost the race but put on a show for us.

You’re right Cliff. Today’s big show cars are amazingly engineered and operated. The show they put on is an assault on all your senses, and it’s like nothing else.
The cars back then were raw and the teams were still trying to figure out how to wrangle the most out of their setups.
In the picture the car was at about the 500 ft mark and coming to a stop after a good smoky burnout.
Nobody does that today. Shoot, we feel fortunate just to hear a throttle whack, much less a couple of dry hops after a big burnout.