I have to
say the Nostalgia series on NSDN has been a ton of fun piecing together so far.
I hope you, the readers, are having as much fun looking through this stuff as I
am. Last week I received a package from Brian Chapman filled with amazing
photos. He obtained these photos from the collection of the legendary Bucky Ray.
I have to extend a huge thank you to both of these guys as there are some true
treasures within these photos. These photos will be broken up into a few
different segments throughout the next few weeks. I also have to thank Brian
for taking the time to burn up some phone minutes & go through these photos
with me to provide some great insight for photo captions. Anyways, read on and
enjoy.
Nelson Lengle launching at Glen Helen. This was an asphalt Fueler fielded by Larry Minor & driven by Tony Pedregon before converting to sand. Larry was also a part of this program, which dipped well into the 2.5's in the mid 90's.
Nate Wilcox, of B&J Engineering fame, with his Sorcerer Top Alcohol dragster dipping into the 2.6 zone.
Bud Martens "Another Six Pack" A/Fuel Blown Chevy V6 on Nitro running in the 2.7 zone.
The legendary "Top Dog" Buggy driven by the late Richard Montiel in a rare photo before the car went into Top Dog colors. This was the combination that was the first 4 cyl Buggy to break into the 2 second zone with a 2.97 at Glen Helen.
Taylor Brewer and his trademark Bad News Buggy tearing up the Glen Helen track. Taylor still races this car today in the TE class.
Mitch Parker's famed Flash Point Buggy. This Buggy was powered by a Twin Turbo odd-fire V6 motor carding a best pass of 2.94@111MPH. He held the Buggy overall World Record up until Rick Morris' Heavy Metal put that record to rest with a 2.79. All the more impressive with the Parker buggy was that he regularly duned this car.
This wild Buggy was powered by a Turbo Volvo power plant and dipped into the 3.4 zone. George Schultz was the driver of this Buggy, which ended up being destroyed in a crash at Glen Helen when the wheelie bar failed & the car went over backwards.
"Oh Henry" was the name of the car with Henry Ortiz as driver. This was one of the wildest A/Fuel entries of all time as it was powered by a dual-supercharged Pinto on NITRO. At its best, it dipped into the 3.1 second zone.
This is the "My Ride" Top Alcohol Dragster of Eddie George. Powering "My Ride" was an Aluminum Small Block Chevy pushing the Dragster to a best ET of 2.61, which was a record at the time.
The legendary "Two Shy" entry of Longerot & Stires wheeled by Keith Longerot. This car set the A/Fuel world on fire running into the 2.5's back in the Glen Helen days. Keith dominated the Top Fuel class up through the 2000's eventually pushing this car into the 2.4 second zone. We hear this car is sitting in the shop in race ready form. We would love nothing more than to see "Two Shy" back out on the track again.
Here is the matriarch of the Morris Family Racing Team, Shelly Morris at the wheel of her Dirty Dancer dragster. Shelly is the mother of current TE Champion Billy Morris (2 Dolla' Bill) and wife of AA/Buggy World Record Holder Rick Morris (Heavy Metal).
Last but not least, here is Mike Charlton behind the wheel of Blown Some. Mike had a Blown, Alcohol Corvair in between the rails of this Buggy. This is the car campaigned by Phil Soper today with V8 power.
This concludes the first round of the West Coast Showcase Nostalgia segment. Thanks again to Brian Chapman & Bucky Ray for their help in this. Keep an eye out for the next round of these great photos. Also, if you have anything to add to the captions on any of these cars feel free to e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..