Oct 12, 2012 racepak and the history of shirl greer duration. Don prudhomme becomes first driver to win nhra national events in both top fuel and funny car. Followed by win at the nhra spring nationals in bristol, tennessee in 1967. Greer was the first driver to reset the nhra flopper record in the decade of the 70s with a 7. On sunday, they selected funny car driver tim wilkerson as the old champs choice award. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Nhra icon john force voted as top funny car driver of alltime. Drag racing 1976 nhra world finals top fuel round 1 part 2 duration. Photo is 8 x 10 is on hp photo papermade from my original negative. Lack of experience and testing time with the unique motor limited the teams success. Reynolds tobacco company announces sponsorship of nhra national drag racing series, to begin in 1975. The national hot rod association nhra is created to create order from chaos. His chained lightning ford mustang caught fire during qualifying, doing extensive damage.
Its been a pretty rough day, said brian greer, youngest of shirl s three sons. He had undergone four surgeries in the last two weeks. Photo from kendall handout courtesy of rick covington. Shirl greer a vital link to drag racing history sports. This auction is for a photo of the chained lightning 1974 ford mustang ii aafc funny car owned and driven by drag racing legend shirl greer. The old champs choice award is picked by the greer brothers and is the driver they feel their dad would have wanted to win. Shirl greer 19342010 don garlits museum of drag racing. This photo is on 4 x 6 hp premium photo paper made from my original slide,dated june,1976. Oct 06, 2016 vintage funny car cacklefest at the 2016 u. Div 2 nhra fc driver numbers drag racing, dragsters.
Nhra crowns gary beck, shirl greer and bob glidden as first. Nhra funny car pioneer shirl greer honored at bristol dragway. Mar 12, 2010 shirl greer posted in drag racing for real. Tosti asti came aboard as a sponsor in 1989 and shirl greer was tapped as the driver.
See more ideas about car humor, drag racing and vintage humor. It takes years for even the most gifted of individuals to achieve legendary status in his or her chosen field, but don prudhomme had already become a largerthanlife figure in drag racing when he was barely out of his teens. Its first sanctioned race, at pomona, is held april 1953. Shirl greer, 1974 nhra fc world champion and kendall oil. Nhra funny car driver tim wilkerson blows an engine. Shirl greer inducted into the international drag racing. Jerry gwynn is another member of the drag racing club who realized early in life that he had a true passion for cars, speed, and competition. Div 2 nhra fc driver numbers drag racing, dragsters, funny.
Cruz pedregon is top funny car qualifier at mile high nationals. Mar 06, 2006 the list of famous drivers is the whos who list of racing. His chained lightning ford mustang caught fire during qualifying, doing. Shirl greer, 75, a former nhra funny car champion from kingsport, tenn. We had a team that combined excellent tuning talents with a driver who had earned a reputation for being quick off the line and remaining cool under pressure. Al hanna has been a longtime fixture in east coast drag racing, first as a funny car racer with the famed eastern raider, and later as the driver of a series of jetpowered dragsters and funny cars. Remembering shirl greer, and more reader feedback nhra. Oct 10, 2009 how funny cars came to be through the eyes of shirl greer a. My family was very honored by my fathers induction, and as far as the racing goes, i wouldnt trade those memories and experiences for anything, he says. Dec 14, 2015 shirl greer was inducted into the international drag racing hall of fame in 2015, a distinction van and his family cherish deeply. Local shirl greer inducted into the international drag racing hall of fame posted on july 30, 2015 the 2015 international drag racing hall of fame inductees include local shirl greer.
Take a trip down memory lane with brian greer, son of nhra s first points world champion shirl greer in nitro funny car. It eventually is split, to form the present federalmogul funny car and federalmogul dragster categories. Just had word that one of the original funny car guys shirl greer has passed away,he was famous for his tension series of cars and followed with the chain lightening mustangs. Shirl greer 19342010 born in may 1934, shirl greer whose father was a test driver for henry ford on the first auto assembly line, developed an early interest in automobiles. Funny car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Notes about the passing of former nhra funny car champ shirl greer last week. The reference to an added attraction suggested sevennight drag races were something to do after a day of daytona 500 speed week racing at daytona international speedway.
That year i won seven of the eight nhra national events and finished a whopping 6,000 points ahead of shirl greer. Nov 12, 2016 nhra icon john force voted as top funny car driver of alltime. When i came in, greer had already won and i came in after. Smith was one of the drivers that he beat for the memorable fc championship and smith was one of the guys that helped greer s crew get the car back together for sundays eliminations shirl was that well liked. It is the top competition series of the nhra, comprising competition in four classes, including top fuel dragster, funny car, pro stock, and pro stock motorcycle. Parks would run both the nhra and hot rod magazine for the duration of the 1950s. Drag racing pictures of front engine fuel dragsters. The crew for brian greer wears the picture of shirl greer on the. The real pro mod rpm association was created by pro mod team owners and drivers to preserve and promote the future of these amazing spectacles of drag racing.
In the 2001 nhra poll of the top drivers of alltime, force was second behind one of the sports pioneers, the iconic don. Van greer keeps fathers racing memory alive with tension. See all 40 photos shot from down low, the view of thorleys old ride accurately depicts the high center of gravity and wheelbase reworking. He made his car pay for itself with multiple match race bookings in the 1970s and into the early 1980s and was the crew chief for the likes of chuck etchells from. Fumerelle went back to racing alcohol funny cars and achieved moderate success before retiring from drag racing. The nhra mello yello drag racing series is a drag racing series organized by the national hot rod association nhra. Hanna and the late shirl greer raced against each other in the southeastern u. Shirl greer s 1974 funny car title has long been remembered for the heroic effort at the end of the season. The unsponsored smith established his credentials when he finished second to shirl greer in the 1974 nhra funny car standings, actually outpointing the third place don prudhomme. Shirl greer was inducted into the international drag racing hall of fame in 2015, a distinction van and his family cherish deeply. The car took greer to the winners circle in the first ahra funny car championship in detroit, michigan, in 1966.
I last saw shirl at the bowling green nhrr but first met him in 1988 when i was working for paul smith and chuck etchells. Funny cars are characterized by having tiltup fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a customfabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers showroom models. Nhra icon john force voted as top funny car driver of all. Shirl then switch to a flip top style 1968 barracuda which was loaned to him by fellow racer bunky bobo. Greer was hospitalized at the james h quillen va hospital in johnson city, tenn. One of the true pioneers of funny car racing, georgia native shirl greer will always be remembered as the first to win an nhra funny car world. He was a former nhra champion and a really nice guy. Ap photojohn force celebrates the 1,000th round win of his nhra career, a mark no other driver has. Nhra funny car driver tim wilkerson blows an engine during the fall. Greer was a perennial div 2 contender and won the division fc title in 76, 77 and 78. The current format, tabulating points only from national events, was. Brian was part of nhra s display of 50 years of funny cars at the nhra us. The official 1960 nhranascar winter nationals program cover carried both association logos. Greer won multiple events at bristol and was the first driver to make a run down the bristol drag strip when it opened in 1965.
This auction is for a photo of shirl greer s 1972 mustang aafunny car named chain lightning smoking the tires at capitol raceway in maryland. Just the other day march 12th we lost the famous funny car driver shirl greer at the age of 75. Local shirl greer inducted into the international drag racing hall of fame posted on july 30, 2015 by news manager posted in drag race cars the 2015 international drag racing hall of fame inductees include local shirl greer from kingsport, tn. Notes about the passing of former nhra funny car champ shirl greer last week have dominated my inbox, and there is some cool stuff worth sharing. Shirl greer made drag racing history on his own terms. Shirl was the 1st nhra funny car world champion in 1974.
Kingsport driver van greer son of shirl greer, the first nhra funny car champion won sundays dot race at the bristol chevy show. Brian and van greer, sons of the late iconic funny car driver shirl greer, wanted to keep their fathers memory alive. Oct 02, 2019 kingsport driver van greer son of shirl greer, the first nhra funny car champion won sundays dot race at the bristol chevy show. Jerrys first vehicle was a 1934 ford pickup, and that machine would start a lifetime love affair with the racing world. S pittman was one of the greatest gasser men of all time and bob tasca sr. Nhra released a statement, lauding the former champ. It started with a kid out of bristol, shirl greer, the first champion. I have to admit, i was pretty stunned earlier this week when online voting concluded for the most memorable moments in nhra world finals history and shirl greer s amazing comeback from a nasty. Best funny car names iconic cars from drag racings past keezling october 11, 2015 at 7. Carl moore had a vision with bristol dragway sports. With more than 3,000 horsepower, the suspended door pro mod cars travel the quarter mile in under six seconds and at speeds exceeding 250 mph. Nhra leads motor sports in diversity indianapolis star.
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