History Most exciting year in Drag Racing

For me, it has to be 1965. Match racing caught on big time. Many legal A/FX cars were lured away from class racing by match race money, and threw away the rule books. A lot of them just left the A/FX classification on the cars, but they were not true A/FX cars, and could not class race.
It seemed like these cars were changing weekly. The 2 percent wheelbase alteration rule gave way to 10+ percent wheelbase changes creating the term “funny car”.

Interiors, window glass, hoods etc… were pitched out to save weight. Alcohol replaced gasoline in the tanks, then nitro replaced alcohol. Injectors replaced carburetors, then blowers replaced injectors. In less than a year, basically warmed over Super Stockers became Injected or Supercharged Fuel Altereds with doors.
Radio commercials shouting SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY promoting them became popular. I was still a Junior in High School when all this was going on, and my buddies and me couldn’t wait for the current month hot rod magazines to come out to see how much wilder and quicker these cars were getting. I went to two match races that year and got to see these crazy looking cars burnout through rosin, wheel stand and fishtail all over the track.
When one of my buddies told me a car had run an 8.63et at 163mph, I didn’t believe him. He brought a new hot rod magazine from his locker for proof. At this time (October 1965), the top cars were in the low 9’s with rumors of maybe a legit 8.90 something being turned somewhere. Gary Dyer in the Grand Spaulding 1965 Dodge Coronet from Chicago had done just that at Lions Drag Strip and basically stunned the drag racing world. It even made the front page of the Los Angeles Herald newspaper. Wow, What a year! The photo here is Gary Dyer preparing to make that historic 8.63 run.

--- Steve ---

 

everyone has that special time that really sparks the 'ol motorhead to life.

 

'65 was certainly an exciting year with the transformation from gas to nitro in Funny Cars but for me it is 1970. Pro Stock was added to T/F and Funny Cars at the '70 NHRA US Nationals....and Top Fuel Motorcycles! That is the way it still is except Pro Stock motorcycles have replaced the Fuel Bikes.