Sun, 13 Jan 2002, 03:46 PM Former Chief Starter Buster Couch Passes Away

Courtesy of NHRA.com

Eddie Hiram "Buster" Couch, longtime former NHRA Chief Starter and an icon in drag racing, passed away Jan. 12. For many racing fans, one of the most endearing memories of NHRA national events was the sight of Couch on the starting line. Couch, who served as NHRA's chief starter from the early 1960s until his retirement in 1995, was an imposing figure at more than 6 feet in height.

"Buster" Couch

But he also was capable of calming the nerves of the most anxiety-ridden drivers with his friendly smile as they approached the staging beams. He also served as Division 2 Director from 1964 until 1978 and became one of drag racing's best-known personalities.

An affable man who befriended many racers over the years, Couch was also well known for his rare sense of humor that was enhanced by his Southern drawl in retelling many entertaining stories from the past.

Like so many of the early division directors, Couch was a racer before becoming involved with the organizational aspects of the sport. "We first did some street racing around 1954 and 1955," said Couch in a 2000 interview with National DRAGSTER. "I had a '51 Ford flathead and then moved up to a '57 Pontiac. We got our first track when a motorcycle dealer named Ted Edwards leased an airport in Fairburn, Ga.

"Later on, two gentlemen from Covington, Ga., Clifford Capps and Bernell Myers, called me to help with a track they were going to build. That was in 1958, and I suggested to them that we contact NHRA because it was the best group for getting things organized. We called Division Director Ed Eaton, and the track got sanctioned under the name of Newton County Dragway."

During an NHRA points race that was staged at Newton County in 1961, Couch was able to get acquainted with a number of NHRA organizers. "They invited me to come up to the Nationals at Indy that year. One thing led to another, and I soon became a starter. When the Christmas Tree came out at the 1963 Nationals, I became the first starter to work with electronics. I was then hired as a full-time worker in 1964 and was named the Southeast Division Director."

During Couch's tenure as the head of Division 2, he was instrumental in establishing many dragstrips throughout the region, including Bristol, Atlanta, Savannah, Southwestern, Music City, Sumerduck, Gainesville, Orlando, West Palm Beach (which became Moroso), and many others.

"It wasn't real easy at first," recalled Couch. "We went through a lot of trouble with the civic leaders because of the bad image that drag racing had from the movies. You know, the black leather jackets and all. But we kept plugging away and things got better as we went along."

Anyone who has had the privilege of standing between a pair of fuelers as they launch from the starting line has a fair idea of the physical abuse that a starter is subjected to during a long national event weekend. "I could handle it," said Couch, "because I grew up with it and got used to it. In the beginning, I never used ear plugs until Pete Robinson sold me a couple pair. He told me that they had just been developed and that his cost was $50 for them. I could still hear the motors, but they killed the pain. Finally, my head wouldn't be buzzing all night. But when I showed them to [former NHRA Vice-President] Jack Hart, he just laughed. It turned out they were pistol-shooting ear plugs, and you could buy them for $2.95 a pair. When I asked Pete what he was trying to do to me, he just laughed and said, 'They worked, didn't they?' "

During the course of Couch's career, he lost more than a few good racing friends, including Robinson. "It was at the 1971 Winternationals that he had his accident on the final qualifying pass. I went to the press room where my wife, Ann, was working and told her it was Pete. She thought that it was someone else who had been driving for him, but I said that I could recognize his eyes under the goggles. Ann had to call his parents and deliver the bad news."

But Couch fortunately had many more enjoyable moments than unpleasant ones. "I remember at the '67 Nationals that Don Garlits said that he'd shave his beard on the starting line if he got in the sixes for the first time. NHRA and Garlits weren't getting along all that well at the time, and I was told not to let it happen. But he got his six-second run in the final to win the race, and a mob of people came down there to watch him shave. There was no way to stop it, and I'm glad that I didn't."

And there was the burndown at the 1971 Nationals between Garlits and Steve Carbone. "There was no way that Carbone could've beaten Garlits at that race. Don was running so much better. But Carbone let Garlits' ego get the best of him. I just made up my mind that I was going to let them melt the engines down to the ground if that's what they wanted. Their headers got red hot, and Garlits smoked the tires because the extra heat gave him too much extra power.

"But Garlits and I always got along perfect. He was one of my biggest supporters. He really helped me in the Southwest Division when I needed it."

Couch's tracks were among the first to feature Funny Car match races in the mid-1960s, and he strongly pushed the idea of NHRA creating a Funny Car eliminator. "We had guys like Don Nicholson, who had moved from Southern California to Atlanta, Phil Bonner, Hubert Platt, and everything else. I told NHRA that we needed a class for these wild cars. They wanted to make sure that we had all the safety rules and specifications in force before they did that. There just weren't any specs on them at the time. It finally evolved, and thank goodness it did."

After Couch handed over the reins for Division 2 to Lex Dudas in 1978, he continued as the chief starter until his retirement on Oct. 20 at the 1995 NHRA Winston Select Finals. He most recently worked with the race-control team at NHRA national events a year.

Couch's first wife, Ann, died in June 1980, and his second wife, Jean, passed away in December 1988. Between the two of them, Couch had two sons, Mike, 45, and Timothy, 20. Couch was divorced from his third wife, Cathy, "but we've remained real good friends. I work a lot with her daughter, Jennifer, on her fast-pitch softball team. That takes up most of my time between the national events."

Couch had nothing but the best of memories from his career with NHRA. "Racing for me started off as a hobby, but because of NHRA, I was able to make a living at it. It's been a great life, and it's been my whole life."

Services will be held Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 2:00 p.m. at Horis - Ward Funeral Home. Rockdale Chapel, 1999 Highway 138, Conyers, GA 30013; (770) 918-8851

Condolences may be sent to Mike Couch, 671 Providence Club Drive, Monroe, GA 30656.