| 53744
EDIT THIS!
|
Norman Blake |
Clayton Harris (M) from
Haleyville, Alabama
USA
(Comp Nr/Finish:
217 / 21) |
1973 - Category: TOPFUEL, Type: TN, Class: AA/FD, Div: 2 |
| "Clayton Harris" Owned by Clayton Harris
from
Haleyville, Alabama
USA
| Crew Chief: Clayton Harris |
| '73 Dragster by
Peek Bros. |
Powered by Supercharged Nitro 482 Keith Black Hemi with
2 speed manual transmission |
| 1/4 Mile ET: |
6.020 at NHRA D2 Suffolk VA 4/29/73 |
1/4 Mile MPH: |
233.16 at NHRA Columbus OH 6/09/73 |
| 1000 FT ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1000 FT MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
| 1/8 Mile ET: |
Unknown at Unknown |
1/8 Mile MPH: |
Unknown at Unknown |
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Entry's 1973 Performance Ratings (0 to 100) based on comparison to average ET/MPH:
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1/4 Mile Rating: ET 81.73,
MPH 63.70 |
Entry is 0.93624 times average ET and 1.02335 times average MPH |
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1000 FT Rating: ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
| 1/8 Mile Rating:
ET 00.00,
MPH 00.00 |
Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH |
|
| 1973 Records: |
1/4 Mile: 5.784 ET, 247.25 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.135 ET, 184.80 MPH |
| 1973 Average: |
1/4 Mile: 6.430 ET, 227.84 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.360 ET, 175.56 MPH |
| 1973 Minimum: |
1/4 Mile: 7.076 ET, 207.04 MPH |
1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.690 ET, 163.21 MPH |
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No Racer Website |
No video link |
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Notes: You had to wonder what happened to Clayton Harris in '73. He had been on top of the world in '72, with many saying that he was the next Don Garlits of the sport. He set records everywhere during the '72 season, but that all changed in '73. The performance just wasn't there as it had been the year before. Yet despite that, he won his only NHRA title at the Summernationals at a race he didn't even qualify for, and he won the NHRA Division 2 title. Harris' '73 season started unspectacularly at Beeline for the AHRA Winternationals. He qualified for the show, but he lost early. At Pomona for the NHRA Winternationals, he qualified #19 in the 32-car field with a 7.13/218.44. Traction was horrible, and low qualifier was in at 6.75. Clayton did well in eliminations, however. He won the first round over Danny Ongais, 6.772/221.13 to 7.002/225.56. He then took it easy at 10.15/73 when Ray Stutz lost fire in round two. In round three, he lost ran quicker than his opponent but lost to a fast, leaving Jack Martin, 6.876/223.32, to Clayton's 6.794/220.58. The next big event was the Bakersfield March Meet. It was another 32-car show, and his 6.55 qualified #7. He lasted until round two, where an off-pace 6.97 lost to Jim Herbert's 6.71. Gainesville was his next stop for the NHRA Gatornationals. He looked strong in qualifying, running 6.25 and 6.21. The 6.210 qualified #8 in the sixteen-car field, but he fireballed an engine in round one, while losing to Pat Dakin. In April, he was at Phenix City for the NHRA Division 2 race, where he finished runner-up to Flip Schofield in a 6.64 to 6.65 final. On April 29, he was running really well for the second Division 2 race at Suffolk. He set Low ET and Top Speed in the final while winning over Schofield with a 6.02/229.34. That was probably one of his best showings of the year. The following week (May 6), he was at Rockingham for the IHRA Pro-Am Championships. He qualified #2 with a 6.28, and in the opening round, his 6.77 beat Alan Starr's 6.90. In round two, a slower run of 6.66/211.26 won over John Hilton's 6.80/201. His run ended in the semifinals, where eventual winner Tommy Ivo's 6.33/226 beat his 6.44/227.00. Beech Bend held its third annual Memorial Day Championships, and while Harris didn't reach the final, he did reset the track record to 6.12. He faced off against Jeb Allen at a best-of-three match race at Englishtown. Unfortunately, he lost all three races. He debuted his new Peek Bros.-built car at the NHRA Springnationals. Clayton qualified #2 with a 6.289/233.16, but in round one, his ailing 7.068/168.85 lost to Dakin's 6.458/210.77. The car did much better at Bristol the following week (June 17) for the IHRA Springnationals. He ran 6.40 over Jim Hundley in round one, and a 6.33 took out Charlie Moulder in round two, and in the semifinals, he picked up to a 6.25 over Ivo. This put him in the final against Marvin Schwartz. Clayton was late in, and despite setting Low ET at 6.22 (at 231.00), he lost to Marvin's 6.30/230. He then won the Division 2 race at Blaney, where he qualified #1 for the eight-car field with a 6.29 (Low ET). A first-round 6.41/198.66 beat Dale Thierer, and a 7.27/167 advanced over Don Plunkett in the semifinals. A slow 7.06/190.06 was enough to win over Don Powell's 7.76/208 Chevy effort in the final. Then came the NHRA Summernationals at Englishtown. Not only did Harris fail to qualify, but he was also actually the second alternate for the field. When Gary Beck broke, Chuck Kurzawa was the first alternate and was asked to fill in. He was unable to, so Harris was put into the show. In the opening round, Herm Petersen fouled against him, and Harris advanced with a 9.10. In round two, Dave Settles failed to show, so a solo 10.78 advanced into the semifinals. He faced Schwartz, and Marvin had his 'chute fall out, so Harris' tire-smoking 7.30 entered the finals. His opponent was none other than Jim Bucher's strong Chevy-powered car that had been running 6.30s on the way to the final. No one gave Harris much of a chance in the final, but Bucher's Chevy broke, and Harris sputtered and popped to an 8.72/149.50 for his only NHRA victory. His best ET in eliminations had only been a 7.30! Sometimes you can't beat racer's luck. He ended the month of July by winning the Division 2 race at Miami-Hollywood, where Moulder fouled in the final and Harris' 6.25/218.44 got the win. If July had been good to him, August was not. He went to Canada and was helping Moulder attempt to get his car qualified and broke his leg. He had already qualified #5 in the eight-car field with a 6.35 but was unable to race. Because of his injury, Moulder was going to drive Harris' car at the PHR Championships, but the team failed to qualify with some 40 cars attempting to make the sixteen-car field. Dale Funk drove Clayton's car at the NHRA World Finals, qualifying with a 6.50 and winning a 6.29 to 6.50 contest over Dave Settles in round one. But another 6.50 fell to Gaines Markley's 6.30 in round two. | Did Clayton run 5.92/234.98 and 233.76 somewhere in 1973? We formerly listed those times, but need confirmation. | On 7/1/73, Leroy Goldstein defeated Harris in a best 2 of 3 match race at Magnolia Dragway in Gulfport, MS. R1 Harris 6.30 def Goldstein 6.55. R2 Goldstein 6.37/226.70 def Harris. R3 Goldstein 6.47/221 def Harris 6.85/205.47. - Julian Roberts |
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Submitted by Draglist Archives, Last updated on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, 09:00:41 PM by
Ron Howard.
Approved by Super Crew. |
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Rankings updated: 08/20/25 03:03:16 am EDT
