James: For those young 'uns who may think "Bunny"
Burkett hasn't paid her dues, I submit a 1979 photo of Ms. Burkett's
Mustang BB/FC. Yeah she still looks great, but there's more to the lady
than that. Having survived one of the worst crashes ever,
"Bunny" continues to be competitive and draw the fans. Hello
sponsors! She is running times with the best of the roots gang! Lets get
the lady some funding so she can run with Von Smith on a monthly basis.
P.S. I swear that taillight touch up wasn't done with software.
James Morgan
jdmmfr@gsinet.net
http://www.Motorsportunderground.com
Bill: This is a cool shot. I think the taillight that looks as
if it was painted crooked is actually hanging open. Some cars of the day
had their taillights swing open on a hinge to let the smoke escape the
body on a burnout. This looks like the case here...
I am a certified Bunny fan, and am proud to have become friends with
her and her crew over the years. She is a racer's racer and a fan's
racer, always giving it all she can for them. They absolutely love her,
too, with huge crowds around her trailer after each round. She takes all
the time she can for them, especially the little ones. Kids big and
small (even us adult kids), however, come away from Bunny's pit thinking
they are someone special. This lady is the real deal.
In addition to solid match races everywhere, she did a great job at
the IHRA President's Cup at MIR last fall. She led qualifying after the
first session, and ran consistent 6.0s all weekend. Bunny and the Boys
put together seven runs in qualifying and eliminations that ranged from
6.04 to 6.10; most of them were 6.05s. Great consistency! She won the
first round on a holeshot, then beat IHRA tough guy Jimmy Rector in
another 6.0 to 6.0 battle. Believe it or not, the Rector team got pissed
and started crying about Bunny burning him down on the starting line. We
use the Compulink autostart at MIR, however. If she had taken too long
after Rector staged, Bunny would have drawn a foul.
Bunny met genuine NICE guy Mark Thomas in the semis, in a battle of
former IHRA world champions. They left about even and Bunny was ahead
early on, but Thomas passed her on the top end for a 6.00 to 6.05
victory. A check of the blower after the run showed that Bunny's huffer
was a little tired. Despite the loss, Bunny and the Boys were totally
thrilled with their stellar showing at their home track. This is a match
race team. They do not have the money or inclination at this time to
freshen the equipment between rounds since they are not racing for
points. They were out to put on a great show for the fans and that's
what they did.
Bunny was off making money at a match race appearance as the IHRA
gang moved on to Shreveport. This team could definitely run with the
best of the IHRA if they had the funding to do it. At this point,
however, I wonder if they would? Bunny and the Boys have a good thing
going as one of the most requested match race acts on the East Coast.
Bunny did tell me a few years ago that she would go Top Fuel racing in a
minute if the right deal came along. That would be cool.
By the way, talk about paying your dues -- Bunny actually raced a Super
Stock Ford Mustang in the late '60s. She went and got a job at the
Playboy Club in Washington, D.C., in order to raise money to go racing!
That is where the nickname came from. Bunny then moved on to Pro Stock
before joining the alky FC wars. She raced a Ford Pinto in 1972.
One of our R/R Videos shows her racing against Harold Denton (who
then had a Ford Maverick) in a "Battle of the Sexes" match
race. The deal was, if Harold won, Bunny had to go back to the kitchen.
If Bunny won, Harold had to wear one of her bras in public. Well, Bunny
won the match, and we've got footage of Harold Denton wearing Bunny's
MASSIVE brassiere (over his shirt – the chicken wouldn't take his
shirt off)! Bunny is a very attractive lady today, but guys, she was a
stone cold KNOCKOUT in the early '70s...
Bill Pratt