The 50th NHRA U.S. Nationals: Indy 2004 - History Remembered

By Vic Cooke

Supplementing our other reports on competition at the "BIG GO," here's Draglist’s photo coverage of the special commemorative activity at Indy that was a part of the 50th Annual NHRA Nationals celebration.

On the occasion of the Silver Anniversary 25th NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, there were several "historic tributes" paid to earlier times in the event’s rich history, but it was nothing like the gala planned for the Golden Anniversary celebration this year at Indy.

The build-up began months in advance as the editors of National Dragster, the NHRA weekly house publication, identified what it considered the 50 most unforgettable moments in U.S. Nationals history and commenced a weekly show-and-tell countdown through them. Through the NHRA website, readers got to vote in determining the top finalists. Results of the balloting for "most memorable moment" were withheld till the 50th Meet itself.

A few historic cars were present for the 25th Anniversary event back in 1979, and the ceremonial runs performed by Jack Chrisman and Don Garlits on that occasion are still remembered by many who attended that event. (In fact, National Dragster may have been remiss in not including this as one of the great moments at the Nationals!) A much grander plan was worked out as the Golden Anniversary event drew nearer. Fifty-plus historic racecars, many with an Indy-story associated with them, were to be on display throughout the event within the walled concourse behind the IRP West Grandstands and accessible by the fans throughout the event. Autograph sessions by many of the legends of the sport associated with these cars were also planned.

Special intermissions during the course of the event were also scheduled for ceremonial functions focusing on various items of historic interest. Additionally, the fans were treated to exhibition match races between several historic rip-snortin', gut-wrenching AA/Fuel Altereds, scheduled at nighttime beneath the IRP lights for maximum effect! For a finale, the recently evolved but history-laden sensation known as "Cacklefest" was scheduled for immediately preceding the final round of eliminations in all categories on Monday. Those who have attended either the California or National Hot Rod Reunions knew exactly what to expect, but for many at Indy it would be their first exposure to the sight of a squadron of historic nitro-burners idling and winging their engines as they paraded into display formation down the track. The only thing missing was the dancing header flames visible under cover of darkness when the Reunion Cacklefests are staged. Trust us though, nobody minded, and the every fan in the crowded house was on his feet for the entire show!

As noted in our summary introduction to this series of albums covering the 50th Anniversary U.S. Nationals, there was no mistaking that the primary business at the hand was the running of another edition of the premier event in drag racing, but the salute to history was more than a mere nod. The "historic portion" of the program undoubtedly brought back a number of folks who hadn’t attended the event for some time, and served as an interactive primer for those whose interest in the sport dates to more recent times.

With the 50th U.S. Nationals itself now in the history books, only time will tell if NHRA sees more than "celebrational value" in such historic presentations. We wager that many of those attending left with memories that will last a lifetime! If that’s the case, perhaps the educational and entertainment value of drag racing’s historic legacy has advanced in recognition. Perhaps it will find a place besides the NHRA Museum and the Reunions for more frequent exposition, and not be tucked away until the next anniversary event. We will see.

Through the following pictures, we’ll give our readers a glimpse of this special part of the 50th U.S. Nationals that was so enthusiastically received.

Fifty historic racecars, nominally one for each year of the U.S. Nationals, were planned as part of a static display during this year’s event. The display area, immediately behind the west stands, was dubbed "The Golden 50 Concourse." The cars on display came from all over the country....some from the NHRA Museum but the majority brought by their present caretakers, many of whom were the original owners. The particular display in this photo was a radial lineup of cars beneath a large canopy in the courtyard. The cars shown here include: (front) the Cassidy & Winward AA/D that Don Garlits drove to the class championship in 1963 only to lose the Top Eliminator final the next day against Bobby Vodnik in the Hirata & Hobbs entry; (center left) the "Howard Cam Rattler" a 1969-vintage AA/FD driven by onetime Winternationals-winner Larry Dixon, Sr.; (rear left) Hugh Tucker’s hi-boy AA/Street Roadster, a perennial class champ and eliminator winner at the Winternationals and U.S. Nationals.

This is Ed Cortopassi’s "Glass Slipper" fuel dragster of 1956 vintage. Its frame, suspension and engine represent the typical technology of the time, although it’s elegant full body and driver canopy were anything but typical fare. A "show-’n-go" machine of its day.

Located at the central entry to the Golden 50 Concourse was the Melvin Heath dragster that won The Nationals in 1956. Other dragsters from the very earliest Nationals that were on display in this gardened area included Art Chrisman’s famous bronze #25 and a re-creation of the first National’s winner, the J.E. Riley Special driven by Calvin Rice.

Another winning car from the pre-Indy era that was on display was the famed Albertson Olds. Leonard Harris drove this car to victory at the 1960 Nationals in Detroit. The following year the Nationals would move to its permanent home in Indianapolis.

The "youngest" car in the display area was the "Over the Hill Gang" car seen here. Kelly Brown drove this car in winning the 1979 Silver Anniversary U.S. Nationals. It subsequently won Indy twice again as a TAD and S/C with different engines and chassis modifications but has been restored to its original configuration.

The first of several on-track ceremonials was held on Friday evening, immediately before the first round qualifying for Top Fuel and Funny Car. It was a replay of the ribbon-cutting ceremony held at Great Bend, KS to mark the official opening of the first NHRA Nationals. Stand-in proxies for the original dignitaries involved were used (such as NHRA president Tom Compton (left) for then-president Wally Parks). As he did at the 1955 event, Jack Chrisman then took a flag start in #25 to make the ceremonial "first official pass" of the event. In the background Art can be seen in #25 making ready for his replay 50 years later. Some may recall he did exactly the same thing at the Silver Anniversary Nationals as well.

Fuel-car qualifying on both Friday and Saturday evenings was preceded by another "history-oriented" special event....the AA/Fuel Altered exhibition races! Four cars with histories back to the ‘60s were on hand for this, "Nanook," "Rat Trap," "Winged Express" and the Bradford Fiat. The most unpredictable and unstable racecars to ever go down the quarter-mile, these cars lived up to their reputation with thrilling displays of the longest way from A to B using a blown nitro engine to do it! This is the Rat Trap on a burnout prior to one of these races.

The pairings saw Rat Trap face off against Nanook and the Winged Express take on Bradford each time. They exchanged lanes each evening (not to mention during the actual race as well!) Pure excitement, and for many of the fans it was the first time they had ever witnessed such a heart-stopping spectacle. Such contests were once a match race staple before Funny Cars arrived on the scene. In the encounter seen here, Bradford has just put a hole shot on the Winged Express, although W-E would find the other end of the track first. As these races almost always involve pedaling the ill-handling car through leaps and bounds several times, the clockings are secondary to the style points scored! Still, it’s a drag race, and the object is to get to the finish line first!

Another trip through the Golden 50 Concourse turns up the Jeg’s Automotive AA/Gas Austin 2-dr.of Jeg Coughlin, Sr. as campaigned in the mid 1960’s. One of the great "Ohio Gassers" of its era, Jeg Sr. would parlay his early drag racing success into making Jeg’s Automotive the giant Performance Parts Supply biz that it is today. The Coughlin name has been associated with an uninterrupted string of winning racecars right up through the present Jeg’s Pro-Stock.

Before the Pro Stock Bike class was born, motorcycles had a place at the U. S. Nationals in the form of Top Fuel Bike. This was an exhibition class similar in status to what Pro Mod is today, and was contested only during the Indy event. A top contestant in this class was T.C Christensen, and this fuel bike known as the "Hog Slayer" was his ride back in the mid-1970’s timeframe. (The name announces it’s intent to beat-up on fuel-Harleys)!

On Saturday night, another commemorative presentation was held before the Pro qualifying sessions. In 1954, the fledgling NHRA sent out a group of missionaries on a countrywide tour to preach the gospel of organized off-road drag racing and assist local groups of enthusiasts in organizing and conducting drag meets. Known as the "Safety Safari," the group used this car and trailer in their travels. Now permanently residing at the NHRA Museum in Pomona, it was part of the Golden 50 displays, and used as a prop to introduce the original members of the Safety Safari as well as the early NHRA Division Directors instrumental in organizing early drag racing and the first U.S. Nationals.

On Monday morning, prior to the start of the final day’s racing, another presentation was made announcing the winner of the voting for "Most Memorable U. S. Nationals Moment." That turned out to be Tom McEwen’s emotional underdog victory over Don Prudhomme in the 1978 Funny Car final. In this photo, Don Prudhomme laughs as McEwen quips with announcer Bob Frey during the presentation.

The car that McEwen drove in his "Most Memorable Moment" encounter was also one of the display racecars on the Golden 50 Concourse. It is a splendid re-creation executed by Pat Foster for his client Don Trasin, and is fully operational. It is absolutely faithful to the original and detailed to the n-th degree! The car was later one of the participants in the big Cacklefest event, and barks real good!! (The car actually made its debut at the first weekend of last year’s event, the 25th anniversary of its Indy win, but most fans missed it due to the weather postponement).

Early afternoon found many of the cars that would be involved in Cacklefest making final preparations for the show. Here is Ralph Kitron and Dave Hoyh’s "Swamp Fox" in the pits with covers off for a valve clearance check and final inspection. The car is a 1968 vintage Top Fueler as immaculate as any.

The cars assembled in a staging area down beyond the finish line. The "Tennessee Bo-Weevil," as seen here, is today a Cacklecar but has a long competition history at the U.S. Nationals. Running in the AA/Modified Roadster class, it scored numerous class and eliminator wins at the Nationals, even pre-dating Indy! As the class died out and was eventually dissolved, the Bo-Weevil name carried over to successor cars running in Top Fuel.

Tom Steed, once-upon-a-time race driver of the Division 1 "King and Marshall" Top Fuel car, pushes the restored car out from the Golden 50 Concourse toward the staging area. Sy Sidebotham is the owner of this beautiful front-engined digger and the car travels widely to participate in many events.

Along the way a passing fan inspects the famed Chrisman-Cannon "Hustler," the Top Gas car driven by Art Chrisman circa 1958. For a period, Indy Champ-car styling influenced dragster body designs as reflected in this example of the trend. The center section of the bodywork has been removed here for service access prior to Cacklefest.

Here is another stunning oldie representing the long-extinct Comp Coupe class of racecar. This is the Loukas-Preising AA/Fuel Comp that ran out of Cleveland in the early 1960’s. The car has been in and out of museums and original-owner John Loukas participates in as many Cacklefest events as he is able to attend. The just don’t make ‘em like this any more, but one look and listen to this beaut and you wish they did!

The Cacklecars have completed their pre-run checkouts (and in many cases warm-ups) out of sight in the downtrack staging area. The semi-final rounds have been run and the intermission before the finals is the window of opportunity for staging the last "historic" event on the agenda.... Indy’s first Cacklefest! Two great names of the sport are seen here at trackside in obviously high spirits as the cars pull out downtrack. Standing is Goob Tuller, driver of the famed Peters & Frank twin-engined "Freight Train" AA/Gas Dragster. In the wheelchair is Ray Godman, owner-tuner of the famed Tennessee Bo-Weevil machines.

Concessions to the limited time had to be made and the Cacklecars had to forego the usual procedure of pushstarting past the stands, circling behind the starting line and parading downtrack to their final berth in a lineup. Instead the cars were fired far downtrack, pursued by their pushcars in a mass parade uptrack, and immediately filed into positions along both walls downtrack. Here is the Barnes & Gladstone Logghe-chassised "Michigander" Top Fuel dragster arriving at its destination a couple hundred feet downtrack. Across the way the Winged Express empties its fuel supply in a nitro salute the crowd walls of the track.

Most of the cars have found their way down the track at this point and are lined up in their final formation. The crowd is on their feet , the din of the nitro orchestra is thundering and deafening. Those nearby have to cover their ears. Nearest the camera is the Barnes & Gladstone fueler, then the Rattler and The Swamp Fox. Across the track is the Loukas-Preising Fuel Comp, the Jade Grenade, and further up the line the red tail of the Bo-Weevil is visible.

As the fuel loads are spent and the drivers begin to dismount, the scene becomes a bedlam. A few of the cars vie to be "last man running." In all, about 16 cars were involved in the simultaneous exercise. Seen here on the right is the "Sour Sisters" car of Kenny Safford, and to its left the King & Marshall fueler and the Albertson Olds. Ahead the Glass Slipper can be seen and Barb Hamilton-Advey’s CC/G Willys.

Two generations of famous Top Fuel drivers are shown here in a photo that might symbolize the bridge with the past that Cacklefest represents. Larry Dixon, Jr. joins his dad Larry-Sr. next to the "Howard Cam Rattler" as Cacklefest comes to its conclusion.

"First Lady" and drag racing ambassador-extraordinaire Linda Vaughn was on hand for the 50th Anniversary U.S. Nationals and provided some color commentary from the announcing booth during the event. As the event drew to a close, she reprised her role of "The Hurst Shifter Girl" as she had done countless times over the years at Nationals past. A platform ride aboard the Hurst Shifter Olds 442 and a procession past the stands with a bow and wave to the fans is as much an Indy tradition as the final run for Top Fuel Eliminator. No need to tell you the fans ate it up, as cheers and ovation followed her all the way!

Vic Cooke