Fuel Altered Files, Part 4

Text by Danny White

In 1960 this was as state of the art in fuel altered as you could get. The Vic Hubbard Auto Parts Bantam altered was built in 1960 by the Denny and Jerry Forsberg. The new style altered were built from tubing and fiberglass replacing the heavy steel coupes and roadsters that came into drag racing from its hot rodding roots of land speed cars, street roadsters, and rods. Denny Forsberg was the driver of the 272 cid Chevy powered car tuned by Al Hubbard and Jerry Forsberg. Forsberg ran a best of 9.46, 162.17 at Fremont in October of 1960 on fuel. In 1961 the team ran AA/A on gas before going dragster racing in 1962. (Photo and info courtesy of Denny Forsberg)

The famed and legendary Pure Hell was built in 1964 for Rick Guasco, Fred Ceruti, and Gray by dragster racer Pete Ogden. The beautiful car was christened Pure Hell while being driven by Don Petrich. Larry Huff would take the place of Gray in the partnership of the car. In 1966 Dale Emery took over the driving chores and now Guasco was the sole owner of the small block Chevy powered Bantam. Emery was one of the most successful AA/FA’s of the late 60’s with the Chevy and later the Chrysler Hemi despite a rollover in a drainage ditch at Fremont. With the little Chevy a best of 8.04, 185 was run in 1966, a Chrysler Hemi found it’s way in the frame in 68 with Emery running 7.27, 214 by 1969. Guasco parked the original Pure Hell by the end of that year. Guasco would go funny car racing in the seventies. The original Pure Hell has since been fully restored. In 2009 a new version of the Pure Hell built in the 1990’s is match racing the Rat Trap across the USA. (L&M Photo Courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories)

The Low Blow AA/FA of the Campos Bros. had a nice varied history in altered racing. The first Lo Blow altered had a crank driven blower thus the low blow name. This was the final Low Blow 23 Ford T built and campaigned by the team. The altered was driven by Rick Campos, Dan Collins, and Tom Ferraro. Tom Ferraro was the best known driver of the car running a best of 7.74, 175.00 before a very bad fire almost killed Ferraro. Tom Ferraro's burn injuries earned him a place in the AMA Journal of Medicine. His burns, of 3rd degree severity, healed on their own sans any necessary skin grafting; a virtual medical anomaly deserving of recognition. (L&M Photo Courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories; additional text by Bill Duke)

The Monkey Motion AA/FA of Gil Hayward and started with Chevy like many other altereds only to switch over to a Chrysler Hemi when tire & clutch science caught to the horsepower was able to make. There were several drivers of the Monkey Motion Bantam altered like Rob McKibben, Ray Higley, Rob McKibben, Maurey Hoover, and Lyle Webster. The car with the distinctive 6 on the side was raced from 1966 to 1969, where it was powered by the 392 and ran mid 7's at 195 and won its share of races. ( Photo Courtesy of Mike Ditty, info from Draglist files with text from Bill Duke)

Roger Garten raced blown supercharged gassers before entering the So-Cal fuel scene in the Tocco & Harper altered. The car was built as an A/A in 1967 by partners Bob Tocco and Harry Harper. “Rapid” Roger Garten became the team’s driver in 1968 and the team switched over to injected fuel. The team added a blower in 1971 with an engine by Darrell Buehl from his Bishop-Buehl Racing Engines shop. The Bishop-Buehl shop was also the team’s primary sponsor. The team ran a Chevrolet first but later switched over to a 392 Chrysler Hemi in 1972. The Jim Kirby built altered ran mid-sevens at best with moderate success until 1972. In 1973 the team built the War Horse Mustang AA/FC that was quite successful on the West Coast in NHRA Division 7 action. (L&M Photo Courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories)

Mark Emery and the Maryland based Wild Rat A/FA was part of the injected nitro Fuel Altereds Unlimited group that booked in four car altered shows after the success of the US Fuel Altered Tours. Mark Emery raced this little Fiat up and down the east coast as seen here at Lakeland, Florida. Mark Emery hailed from Hyattsville, Maryland near Washington D.C. The Wild Rat was built by fellow A/FA racer Phil Lippard and was tuned by Red Bailey. Emery ran a best of 8.00, 177 in Lakeland, Florida before retiring from fuel altered racing. Emery later went on to drive the Gorge of the Jungle funny car, while Greg Lippard, the son of Phil Lippard, later drove an updated version of the Wild Rat with a blown Chevy on alcohol. (Photo and info courtesy of Greg Lippard)

Van Duvall was also part of the Fuel Altereds Unlimited group in his Born Wild altered. Van Duvall’s Born Wild was equipped with a bored and stroked Chevy that reached 488 cubic inches with an automatic transmission. Duvall ran a good 8.03, 175 in A/FA action on the East Coast. (Photo and info courtesy of Greg Lippard)

Scott Essmeier drove the Chalk Racing AA/FA team car called the American Dream in 2005 on the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association series. The American Dream was outfitted with a Fiat body and was later adorned in a red, white, and blue paint scheme. The photo by Chris Graves shows Essmeier’s debut in the American Dream AA/FA at Baytown. Essmeier ran a best of 6.06 in the Fiat in the quarter mile and three’s in the eighth mile before the Chalks quit drag racing after coming over from boat racing. (Photo Courtesy of Chris Graves and www.maxcacklephotos.com )

Vince Generalao Jr. is the current driver of the latest Nanook field by the Hough Family. The Hough returned to fuel altered racing in 2001 with Dave Hough’s son Rick Hough at the wheel of the new car. Rick Hough was forced to retire after an accident in Gainesville in 2006. The car was rebuilt by T.N.R. Race Cars and has been driven by various drivers since then like Steve Tryon, Randy Baker, and Vince Generalao. In 2008 Generalao ran a good 6.13, 235.29 at Bakersfield in 2008 at the wheel of the Nanook. As of 2009 The Nanook is in the middle of match racing the Rat Trap fuel altered across the country. (Photo courtesy of Gary Brown, info from Draglist files)

James Generalao Jr. drives the Impatient AA/FA based out of Las Vegas, Nevada owned by the Generalao family. The Generalaos were from Hawaii and began their racing career there before moving to the mainland. The Generalao family got their feet wet in altered racing with a blown alcohol altered that in 1999 they added 15% nitro to run low sevens. In 2001 they stepped up to AA/FA’s full time with the Impatient 23 Ford T. The Impatient was build around a 1996 NSP Chassis with either a JP-1 Hemi or a Keith Black Hemi built by Lawless Engines. The engines used a small 8-71 blower, single pump, and a single magneto tuned by James Generalao Sr. The Impatient ran a best of 5.94, 228 in 2007 making it one of the quickest and most feared of the nostalgia styled fuel altereds running today. (Photo by Tim Marshall; info from James Generalao Jr. and Draglist files)