Fri, 28 Mar 2003, 08:01 AM Just Some Food For Thought

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2003

I’ve been around this sport long enough that I remember when there was actually a class for cars that were called  “Jr. fuelers,” small block cars with fuel injection that were running nitro methane fuel. I remember watching twin-engine, fuel injected cars run times that left some supercharged teams gasping for breath. I watched a little, small block Ford car that was campaigned by the Gunther Brothers run with the Top Fuel cars up and down the east coast and give them all they could handle. I’ve actually been around long enough that I remember seeing turbo-charged fuel cars, V-6 powered cars in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and cars that ran in a class called Top Gas Eliminator. Really. These were blown cars that were running on pump gasoline and they made up a class of their own, and what a class it was. In another class, I even remember when the NHRA Pro Stock cars got a weight break because of the size of the engine or the length of the wheelbase. But no matter how revolutionary the cars were, and regardless of the class and how diverse the machines were that populated them, one thing remained constant, whichever particular model was running well at the time, the other guys all thought they were getting the shaft. I see that same thing happening today in the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

Gary Ormsby

Since the middle part of last year, the nitro-powered, fuel injected cars have, indeed, been setting the performance standards in the class. From Gary Ormsby’s monster runs in Topeka and Chicago last year, to Arthur Gallant’s national championship effort, the fuel cars got a lot of attention in 2002, and this year has started out with more of the same, in fact more than more. Now, Morgan Lucas, Bill Reichert and, most notably, Tony Bartone, are threatening to run away with the class, and, as expected, the folks with the supercharged cars aren’t happy about it. Well, here’s some food for thought….

With two national events in the books for this year, the fuel cars have had a field day, winning both races and setting the performance standards on both coasts. At first glance, it would seem that something has to be done to stabilize the class, but after taking a second look at the situation, it may not be quite so cut and dried. Consider this. In Pomona, after one round, there were eight cars still in competition and four of them were blown cars. After one round of competition in Florida, there were eight cars still in competition and four of them were blown cars. Now, in the interest of fair reporting it must be pointed out that only one blown car made the semi-finals in California while none survived in Florida, but is this because of a real disparity in the class, or what? At Pomona, Morgan Lucas was the number one qualifier at 5.289, while Bartone rang up the low elapsed time at 5.227, and those are remarkable performances for sure. The best performance turned in by a blown car was John Haley’s 5.36, and while that seems like light years away from Bartone, consider this, Haley was just about as close to Morgan Lucas as Lucas was to Bartone.

Bartone vs. Lucas

At the Gatornationals, Bill Reichert set all of the performance standards, running 5.25 at 274.05 miles per hour and, at first glance, it looks like a mismatch when he lines up against the blown cars. But after a deeper look, maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. Tony Bartone, who won the Florida race, had a best elapsed time of 5.28 for the entire weekend, including his qualifying and four rounds of eliminations. Marty Thacker, who was the best of the blown cars, qualified with a strong 5.32, just slightly behind Bartone and less than a tenth of a second behind Reichert’s numbers. Just some food for thought.

While the performance march of the fuel cars really started about mid-season last year, in the beginning of the year it was pretty much a push. In 2002, Rick Santos, the multi-time champion, made three appearances on the tour, and he set low elapsed time at two of those races. In fact, at the Winternationals, he was #1, set low elapsed time and recorded top speed. At the AAA Club of Southern California Finals, Morgan Lucas set low elapsed time at 5.23, while Rick ran a best of 5.29 seconds, not that far behind. Duane Shields ran 5.263 at 269 last year at Englishtown and that was good enough for the national record. Now, granted, the fuel cars did throw out some huge numbers at a couple of the races, but they were the exception, and were done by one car, the one that Gary Ormsby drove. And while the fuel cars, in general, had a better year than they had in a long while, it may not be time to panic.

Rick Santos

The way I see it, the two types of cars aren’t that far apart, but then it’s easy for me to say because I don’t have to finance a car or line up against Bartone, Lucas or Reichert. Of course, once you get past the top few fuel injected cars, a lot of the other teams are still searching for that elusive combination that makes these machines so powerful and they have to be content to run in the middle of the pack. But if Santos can do it, if Marty Thacker can run right with the injected cars, if Duane Shields can set the record, then maybe it’s not so bad. Ironically, there was a bigger gap between the number one and number eight qualifiers in the alcohol funny car class in Florida then there was in the dragster category, not that that means anything, I just thought it might be a little food for thought.

Marty Thacker

I know it looks like the injected cars are having their way with the field right now, and they are. Does that mean that the class will become all fuel cars in the near future? No. Does that mean that we should set up two classes, one for the injected cars and one for the blown cars? No. Does it mean that there should be some change in the rules in the middle of the season to level the playing field? No. And I am the same one who said that a couple of years ago when the injected cars were limping along couldn’t buy a spot in the field. Perhaps the powers-that-be can take a look at the class and see what may or may not have to be done next year, but I have never been an advocate of changing things in the middle of the season. Maybe Tom Conway has the answer, after all, he’s a bright guy (to say the least), and isn’t he the guy who ran three different engine combinations in the space of two weeks a few years ago, just to see which one worked best? If memory serves me correctly, he tried a classic blown hemi, a wedge-engine Mopar and a fuel-injected engine all in short order.

I’d be interested in hearing from fans on both sides of the fence, and remember, I’m not pretending to have all the answers, I just wanted to throw some numbers out there and give everyone, pro and con, fuel lovers and supercharged fans alike, a little food for thought.

Paul Howard update:

I spoke with Shelly Howard, Paul’s wife, on Friday afternoon and she was extremely happy with the progress that Paul is making. Following his surgery, she told me that, “He’s up, walking around, talking and generally in good spirits.” Shelly said that they still hope to make the national event in Houston, although they don’t intend to “rush into anything.” Paul and Shelly are great representatives for our sport and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this special time.

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