Fri, 25 Mar 2005, 11:39 AM International Drag Racing Hall of Fame

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2005 Randy Anderson

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The weekend of the MAC Tools Gatornationals always gets off to a great start with the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductions on Thursday evening and this year was no exception. This year, after being selected by the panel, seven greats of the sport were inducted and another, Dave McClelland, was presented with the Founder's award.

The Class of 2005.

Under the guidance of "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame has been inducting members for fifteen years and the class of 2005 included some of the most recognizable names in the sport. Unlike previous years which were dominated by drivers, this year's group featured some of the most famous names in hard core parts. Nick Arias, Kent Enderle and Stuart Hilborn all entered the Hall of Fame and rightfully so, after all, when you think about drag racing, Arias pistons, Enderle and Hilborn fuel injections systems are among the most visible and long standing names in the sport. In addition, Tim Beebe, Roland Leong, Jim Walther and Al "Mousie" Marcellus also joined the list of drag racing's elite who are in the Hall of Fame.

Nick Arias was introduced by Ted Jones, the president of Masters Entertainment, who told the capacity crowd about Nick's involvement in the sport and about his love of cars that goes all the way back to the early 1950's. After working for a variety of companies Nick decided to open his own business in 1969 and Arias Pistons was born. Nick stated that his goal was to provide racers with the best pistons and related parts possible and he continued to do that for the next thirty years. Over that period of time Arias pistons have found their way into some of the best machines in racing, street rods and even airplanes. Nick told the crowd that among his greatest accomplishments is the fact that he was honored at the 2000 California Hot Rod Reunion with a lifetime achievement award for manufacturing. In addition to being in the Drag Racing Hall of Fame, Nick is also a proud member of the Gold Coast Roadsters and Racers Hall of Fame in Buellton, California. Nick was joined on stage by two of the legends in the fuel systems arena, Stuart Hilborn and Kent Enderle. Like many before them, both men acknowledged that they began their companies when they realized that the racers were not getting the quality parts, service and products that they wanted from the available sources. Enderle introduced the famous "Barndoor" injector that worked with supercharged engines and that became the injector of choice for many of the top racers in the sport, like Tony Nancy, Ted Cyr, George Bolthoff and more. That was followed by the equally famous "Bug Catcher" injector, a product that became extremely popular with the Top Fuel cars and the new breed of Funny Cars. Another fuel specialist, Stuart Hilborn, was also inducted and anyone who follows the sport of drag racing knows the name "Hilborn." Stuart Hilborn began racing in the late 1940's and like so many of the racers of that day he spent a great deal of time running at the dry lakes and Bonneville. Hilborn eventually would design fuel injection units that ran at tracks across the country form the Indianapolis 500 to Indianapolis Raceway Park and cars equipped with his product won at every type racing venue in the country. One thing that was very special at the ceremony was the fact that Kent Enderle told the crowd that "right before I came on stage I shook the hand of Stu Hilborn for the first time in my life." Amazing that it took the Hall of Fame to bring these two greats together.

Tim Beebe, one half of the famous Beebe and Mulligan Top Fuel team, was among the honorees and while he wasn't in attendance the audience was told about the great success of this tremendously popular team. After a few years of running the Beebe Brothers and Sixt team, with his brother Dave and friend Lee Sixt, Tim enlisted the help of his friend and neighbor, John Mulligan, to drive the car and the rest, as they say, is drag racing history. Tim is one of the few racers to have been successful in both fuel classes, that is, Top Fuel and Funny Car. With John he set the dragster national record in 1969 and in the Funny Car class he secured the class record in 1970. And just to indicate how well he did as an engine builder and tuner Tim was honored with the Car Craft Magazine Crew Chief of the Year in both 1969 and 1970. Another gentleman who was honored this year was also part of one of the great teams of all time. Al "Mousie" Marcellus, part of the legendary Marcellus and Borsch fuel altered team, joined his late friend and driver, Willy Borsch, in the Hall of Fame. "Mousie" was inducted by Steve Gibbs who always brings his unique perspective of the sport to the podium and this time was no exception. Steve told some great stories about the famous "Winged T" altered, a car that revolutionized the sport and became a legend even while still active on the quarter mile. And for those who may never have had the pleasure to see the original car run, "Mousie" and his driver, Mike Boyd, are racing the car at nostalgia events around the country and it is just as popular today as it was when Willie was driving it.

Jim Walther, a former NHRA World Champion, was honored and he was inducted by his long time friend and former partner, Dick Advey. Dick may be the only guy to have his partner and his wife, Barbara Hamilton, both in the Hall of Fame. Jim and Dick teamed up in the mid 1960's and together they campaigned their car very successfully for a couple of years. Throughout the late 1960's and into the early part of the next decade, Jim teamed up with several partners and the results were always the same, the car was among the most competitive in the country and it was especially strong in the Division 3 area. Jim capped his career by winning the NHRA World Top Fuel Championship in 1972. When you add up his wins on the divisional level, at the special invitation only races and on the IHRA trial you'll find that Jim Walther was the driver of one of the more successful cars in the history of the sport.

Roland Leong

While Roland Leong never drove a car (he actually did once, but he'd rather forget it), he was among the most successful car owners in the history of the sport. And while no one really knows how many drivers did work for Roland, we do know that almost every car Roland campaigned was a winner. It all started with Danny Ongais who was followed by the great Don Prudhomme who, in turn, gave way to Mike Snively in the early "Hawaiian" dragsters. Roland was able to win consecutive Indy races with a different driver each year and when he switched to the popular Funny Car class in the early '70's he duplicated that feat with two drivers at the Winternationals. In 1991, Roland and his driver Jim White, had one of the most dominating performances in Indy history when they won the "Big Bud Shootout" and the U.S. Nationals and became the first Funny Car to run over 290 miles per hour. Now, just for fun, here's the list that I have of guys who drove for Roland.Ongais, Prudhomme, Snively, Norm Wilcox, Larry Arnold, Pat Foster, Mike Sorokin, Bobby Rowe, Mike Van Zant, Leroy Chadderton, Larry Reyes, Butch Maas, Ron Colson, Johnny West, Mike Dunn, Jim Dunn (once), Rick Johnson, Gordie Bonin, Ron Capps, Ray Higley, Jim Epler and Jim White. If you know of any others, please feel free to let me know.

Last but certainly not least, Dave McClelland, a.k.a. "Big Mac," was given the prestigious Founder's Award for his years of service to the drag racing community. Dave, who did everything from running drag strips to starting the Super Chevy Shows, is most well know for his days behind the microphone at NHRA national events. Dave had been calling races for forty-four consecutive years before deciding to reduce his travel load last year and stay a little closer to home and to his wife, Louise, and his children and grandchildren. Dave joins a very select group of five other individuals who have been honored with the Founder's Award.

The annual induction ceremony is one of the real great social events of the year and it is open to the public, so if you've never been, you should make plans to attend the festivities next year. Throw in a trip to the nearby Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing and a few days at the Gatornationals and you'll have a week that you will never forget. Congratulations to the class of 2005, eight very worthy recipients of induction into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

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