Make My Day!

Text by Danny White

Photo by Dennis Roetman

Make My Day 1985 Daytona at Alamo Dragway WWCS Race 1985. Photo by Dennis Roetman

The "Make My Day" Top Alcohol drag racing team was not around for long, but left its mark on drag racing. Charlie Byers pulled off a great upset in 1985 by winning the NHRA Winston Finals at Pomona. That was the only national win for the super nice team from the Alamo City.  

Byers' time in funny car racing had a rocket assent and descent. The San Antonio based Byers Bros. started racing Top Alcohol Funny Cars in 1983. The brothers had an Iverson bodied Camaro with a BAE/KB Hemi. The team started under their own name, but called their car "Make My Day” by the end of the year. Most thought that the car’s name was based on Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry" catch phrase, but actually the team was sponsored by the "Make My Day Lounge." The brothers ran 6.50s by the end of 1984.

Make My Day 1985 Daytona at Alamo Dragway WWCS Race 1986 with new paint job. Photo by Dennis Roetman

The year 1985 was by far the team's best. Racing a new Dodge Daytona, the team won in its first race at Green Valley and the year’s final race at Pomona. The Byers boys finished number two in Division 4, number 2 on the AAFCC circuit, and made it into the NHRA top ten. They won the World Finals, running a 6.30 when the all time world record was a 6.23.

In 1986, the team bottomed out with breakage problems and lackluster results. The Byers Bros. followed up with a new 1987 Corvette that they raced a couple of times before retiring.