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Photog Web |
Don Prudhomme (M) from
Granada Hills, California
USA
(Comp Nr/Finish:
38) |
1968 - Category: TOPFUEL, Type: TN, Class: AA/FD, Div: 7 |
| "Shelby's Super Snake" Owned by Lou Baney
from
Saugus, California
USA
| Crew Chief: Ed Pink |
| '66 Dragster by
Don Long |
Powered by Supercharged Nitro 427 Ford SOHC by Ed Pink with
direct drive |
| 1/4 Mile ET: |
6.889 at NHRA Indianapolis IN 9/01/68 |
1/4 Mile MPH: |
230.00 at Long Island NY 6/09/68 |
| 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 1968 Performance Ratings (0 to 100) based on comparison to average ET/MPH:
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1/4 Mile Rating: ET 62.95,
MPH 82.39 |
Entry is 0.97578 times average ET and 1.05042 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 |
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| 1968 Records: |
1/4 Mile: 6.400 ET, 236.00 MPH |
1000 Ft. 5.723 ET, 226.58 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 4.660 ET, 174.00 MPH |
| 1968 Average: |
1/4 Mile: 7.060 ET, 218.96 MPH |
1000 Ft. 6.440 ET, 196.76 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 5.160 ET, 160.70 MPH |
| 1968 Minimum: |
1/4 Mile: 7.720 ET, 200.24 MPH |
1000 Ft. 7.157 ET, 177.05 MPH |
1/8 Mile: 5.633 ET, 146.50 MPH |
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Racer's Web Site |
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Notes: The Shelby's Super Snake dragster was a deal in 1968. Shelby sponsored the Prudhomme-driven Baney Special. Don Prudhomme and Lou Baney entered '68 with hopes to run as well as they had in '67. Ed Pink continued to build the SOHC engines for the team, and Carroll Shelby stepped up with sponsorship. Things started well for the team when they traveled to Carlsbad on January 14 for a best two-out-of-three match against Don Garlits. Prudhomme won the first race with a holeshot 7.01/223.86 over Garlits, who lost a rod on the run and ran 6.95/209. Garlits was done for the day as the damage was too much to repair. Tom McEwen was the backup car for the match, but he too had broken earlier, so the "Snake" soloed to a tire-smoking 7.21/226.70 to win the match. A week later (January 21), he was at Beeline in Arizona for the AHRA Winternationals. Traction was not the best, as Don qualified #10 with a 7.43. He ran a 7.56/210.28 in the first round to beat Bob Mayer's quicker 7.44/192. He beat Don Cook in round two and had an easy win in round three (32-car field). Chuck Kurzawa fouled against him in the "Ramchargers" car in the semifinals. This put him into the final against Pete Robinson, but Robinson had broken. So Prudhomme got to single for the win. Prudhomme and Baney had a big decision to make, as M&H offered contingency money to racers who won using their tires. Baney was a Goodyear supporter, so the team elected to remain on the Goodyears in the final. Don ran 7.25/221.12 for the victory. At the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, he qualified #20 in the 32-car show with a 7.19/187.50. In the first round, he picked up to 7.04/222.76 to beat Dave Powers at 7.15/214. In the second round, he advanced when Hank Westmoreland fouled. The "Snake" made a rare mistake in round three when he was on his way to a win over Dwight Salisbury, but he pulled the 'chute early, and his 7.14/186.32 lost to Dwight's 7.19. At the Stardust Open in Las Vegas, Prudhomme qualified #10 in the sixteen-car field, but he lost to a holeshot by Tom Larkin in the first round. On March 3, the team attended the PDA Championships. Don qualified with a 7.07, and he lasted until round two when the dragster pulled two wheelies off the line, and he shut off, losing to McEwen. He also lost to McEwen at the next race. It was the Bakersfield March Meet, and Don ran 7.11 to qualify #18 in the 32-car field. A first-round 7.22/202.70 lost to Tom's 7.02/202. On April 66, Don was at Irwindale for a sixteen-car show. In the opening round, both he and his opponent, Joe Lee, had problems and shut off. Lee won their coasting contest. He faced James Warren in a best-of-three match on May 11 at OCIR. The team of Barney and Prudhomme had been undefeated in OCIR's "King of the Hill" competition since November 18, '67. They debuted a new Don Long-built car here for their match against Warren. In their first race, James scored first with his 7.16/221, beating the "Snake's" 7.29/222.76. Don came back to even the score with a 7.24/218.44 to beat Warren's tire-smoking 7.74/177. In the deciding race, Prudhomme smoked the tires to a 7.33/176.47, losing to James' winning 7.11/229. Prudhomme made his first Eastern Appearance of the season on June 11 at Maple Grove for a match race against Ron Rivero. It was not a good day for the Ford-powered car as it had problems and lost two straight. Rivero had held the track record at 7.12 coming into this race. In their first match-up, Don's 7.67/153.84 lost to Ron's 7.50/204. In the second race, an ailing 8.02/134.55 lost to the "K&G" fueler's 7.45/193. Prudhomme had lost the match but attempted to come out and make one more run to try and break the track record. He ran a decent 7.30 at only 176.12, but it was nowhere near the record. A couple of days later June 3, he was at Capitol for another best-of-three match. This time, he faced "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Once again, the SOHC-powered car came out on the losing end. Garlits set a 6.96 track record at 221 while beating Prudhomme's 7.19/185.94 in their first race, and Garlits won two straight with a 6.97/225 in their second race that covered the "Snake's" shut off 9.36/108.56. The car performed much better at New York National in June 99 for the Smokers Meet. Only two cars topped 230 here; one was Prudhomme's, and the other was the "Ramchargers." Don reached the final against Mike Snively in the "Hawaiian." Mike got the win with his 6.92/227, beating Don's 6.98/198.22. There was disappointment in the camp when the team failed to qualify for the NHRA Springnationals at Englishtown. Don had won this race the previous season, when it was held at Bristol. The team even took off their Goodyear rubber and attempted M&H's for a final do-or-die attempt to make the field. After that series of disappointing runs, Don was sure to be happy to be back in victory lane at OCIR on July 6 for its Nitro Championships. It was a sixteen-car show, and Don's 7.26/217.38 qualified #5 (there were no sixes run as Low ET was a 7.05). An opening round 7.57/197.36 beat Bob Mayer's 7.68/205, and in round two, his 7.17/220.58 beat Kelly Brown's 7.45/185 in the "Dean Engineering" car. Another 7.17 at 219.44 in the semifinals beat Tom Toler's 7.58/203 and moved him into the final against Jim Dunn, who had just set Low ET with his semifinal win. But Dunn shut off with problems in the final, and the "Snake" ran 7.22/220.58 for the win. He was also awarded the Mike Sorokin Memorial Award at this event. It was an award given and voted on by his peers. A week later (July 12, 2012), the "Snake" was at Carlsbad for the third NHRA Division 7 race. His 7.22/212.26 lost to eventual winner Gerry Glenn's 7.18/221 in the opening round of eliminations. Things didn't go very well at the PDA Championships held at Lions in July 2020. There, a 6.99/223.88 qualified #12 in the sixteen-car field, and in the first round, a fuel pump drive broke, giving his opponent, Chris Karamesines, a solo into round two.; Photo: "Drag Racing Heroes: Dragsters" website - MB |
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Submitted by Danny White, Last updated on Friday, October 3, 2025, 08:58:39 PM by
John Murnan II.
Approved by Super Crew. |
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Rankings updated: 10/04/25 03:38:43 am EDT
