1970 NHRA US Nationals

a day dawning in indiana the final day of competition in the national hot rod association national drag racing championships raceway park if you want to be part of the action you want to go early if you are part of the action you have to go early and the man driving this truck is very much part of the action his name is don prudel the national dragster considered him a prime favorite to win the nationals in double a fuel competition for a second successive time a young man but still a veteran he's been in the sport a long time he's learned his trade the hard way he's a favorite you think this time of morning on the road right yeah another morning right we got two more to go and we go all right that's the point of course the main thing that clutch but we had that clutch entire combination together we got it made you go up the line in the last round and try it like that that baby smokes entire history right they're pretty good guys but you know when you get to a meet like this you don't really have any friends you know do you believe there's traffic [Applause] do you have any uh real plans on how are you going to run the me cool bore all the way you have to you try and back off and save it for the last round somebody will get you a grenade against you or something you know just plan after five runs the engine will be jumped but the last run it'll still be there as you can tell by don perdon's comments and reflections earlier this morning when these pictures were taken there would be little time for quietness at the truck when he arrived these young fans were waiting don trudeau always takes time to visit with those who back him from the stands and particularly the young people he recognizes his sport for what it is it is more than just acceleration without a quarter mile strip a test of speed it's also a test of men okay on this day from here on there'll be very little time for personal reflection has won it twice now and should he win he will join as a three-time national champion the national hot rod association nationals offering more than three hundred thousand dollars in total posted prize money the crowd came early thousand plus entries to this national championship and we're down now for just about a couple of hundred and everything riding on the action today the transformation of the man into a fantasy-like figure as he pulls on the fireproof clothing the mask the helmet wedging the body into the steel cage to protect himself should there be trouble somewhere down that quarter mile strip the nickname snake that don frudom wears is not the prettiest around but it symbolizes his attitude once he sits at the starting line for a drag race toughness quickness and as they are pushed for that giddy little ride into the staging area each man withdraws unto himself knowing full well he's got to run that you really can't afford to race the other man from the moment you leave that starting line until you flash over the finish line it's off in less than seven seconds it'll be prudent against danny on guys a pair of californians they burn their tires in the staging area to heat them up make them as sticky as possible to get every bit of the traction they can using a special solution but when they released the 1500 horsepower engines onto those tires they wanted to stick to grabs and drive and send them winging down the quarter mile strength as she watches her husband don move up to the starting line in the near lane danny on guys in the far lane and they are ready [Music] defeats danny angaius the kind of action that is marking the 16th annual national national hot rod association staging one of the most explosive one of the most record-setting events in the history of drag racing i'm keith jackson and today on abc's wide world of sports i think that you'll just stand in awe at some of the mechanical and personal performances by some of the top drag racing drivers in the world and something new at the national drags at raceway park motorcycles for the first time running in a special category fifteen hundred dollars prize money in the competition we're about to see james chrysler minneapolis minnesota on a harley-davidson and from great britain dennis norman their speed will be more than 135 to 140 miles an hour [Applause] [Music] in the parlay james chrysler gets off the line with a great whole shot pulls away to win by a wide margin over dennis norman of great britain and chrysler broke 10 seconds 9.7 seconds better than 136 miles an hour on motorcycles mind you over the quarter mile drag strip the nhra nationals will continue in just a moment as we'll have a look at the funny car quarterfinals these are the funny cars in fact they are short version double a fuel dragsters and plastic bodies and don prudhomme is everywhere today he owns this car it'll be driven by jay howell and here by a parent's crew member as he pours the solution down for hollow to burn in his fire beat him up and move a money car is capable of going over 200 miles an hour it's very light the bodies are made of plastic don shoemaker has been one of the hot fellows all across the country back racing and in the national competition as well throughout this year jamaica's car is a barracuda and so is the car that powell will be driving a barracuda and shoemaker has been very very steady in all of the competition leading up to the body car quarter final buster couch is the starter watch him explode off that starting line i mean they leap out of there [Music] [Applause] shoemaker at the top end pose away to a comfortable wind 7.07 seconds elapsed time better than 210 miles an hour for the winner shoemaker so don frudom himself a winner just moments ago watches his barracuda lose in the funny car quarterfinals in case you wonder why these are called funny cars the reason for that is very simple few years ago when they first came on the scene as an experimental class public address announcer called him a funny car the name stuck no one's come up with a better one yet now we see bruce larson and bobby wood that's bobby wood covered up by the smoke as he heats up his tires in a chevy [Music] incidentally he'll be running in the near lane and bruce larson and the camaro will be in the bar lane they're ready to go [Music] [Applause] and it's lesson in the far lane the winner 7.16 seconds 206 miles an hour bobby wood 7.22 seconds elapsed time a close loser bruce larson goes the semi-finals and the funny cars right now we're going to have a look at the pro stockers now visually these may look very much like the cars you've just seen but they are quite different but one thing the prospector is required to keep the steel shell that came with the car rolled out of the factory must not be changed fuel shell must remain and there is a minimum weight of 2 700 pounds they are allowed to make certain lightweight modifications but they must stay above that weight minimum they are hot but not as hot as the funny car herb mccandless right here in the near lane and the socks of martin entry against bob yawell [Music] the catalyst in the duster defeats bob yawell in the plymouth in the far lane in the time for mccandless 10.02 seconds for yallow's 10.14 seconds again very close this is how close the candles want it right at the finish line meantime back in the fifth let's spend a moment with don prado and his wife [Music] the only difference fundamental difference between this machine and the double-a fuel dragon that we saw a few minutes ago this one runs on pumped gasoline the fuel dragster runs on a mixture of nitromethane and alcohol a big twin chrysler powerhouse moving to the staging area ray moose is the driver jerry glid in the single engine machine and a handful of quinn engine gas dragsters running here this week the nationals and all of them have performed very well they give away weight and quickness to get more power looks like merch may have blown an engine i think you may have won the race too and most is out of control how about that for a piece of driving he doesn't have much room in which to maneuver obviously he cooked an engine but a great piece of work by raymond to keep his dragster under control and he brings it safely to a stop at the end of the quarter mile run well i guess if you're gonna let it all hang out this is the place and that's how close the finish was 7.25 seconds promotes the winner land 7.27 seconds he was the loser so most is still in it despite the fact he has blown an engine [Music] [Applause] you're watching the nhra nationals on abc's wide world of sports from raceway park indianapolis indiana this is pete jackson and we continue our coverage of the top gas quarterfinals running in the near lane will be roger road in the far lane chevy powered ridgey shot hot gas quarter-finals both men have been very quick so far in their competition shot running with chevy power hoping to get a little more reliability than he's had in the past perhaps giving away a little horsepower to get that reliability but that does not necessarily follow because the question is so tremendous here at raceway park [Applause] [Music] shutting down at the middle of the strip and roger rowe runs away to win an elapsed time of 7.42 seconds 7-4-2 and he got some kind of a start he was so far out in front halfway down the strip i think that richard shot realized there was no way he was going to catch him and i think it's worth taking another look at what the drag racers call a whole shot that's when the man gets off so quick like that he's gone almost impossible to catch him all right now we go into the top fuel quarter-finals and here comes dick daddy don garland he's won this event three times he's won five national championship he'll be running against bob ivan don collins i'm sure most of you know remained a severe injury to a foot lost part of it in an accident in california here he is one of the great innovators one of drag racing top pictures don garland back in the middle of it if you want to see a pro start watch this one [Music] a great strike by garlic see this man off the line touchdown halfway through wins easy 7.07 seconds for garlits and beating bob ivett garlits will go to the semifinals beating the winner of the jim nichol marshall love match which is upcoming he has won this event three times 67-68 back-to-back and that's the feat that don crudon would like to duplicate and meantime in the pits the tension is really growing where don prudhomme is at work quarterfinals don prudhomme the same thing over and over on goes the safety equipment the routine remains pretty much the same how about the car has it been routine with it well everything's going pretty good so far we just uh ran a uh 643 there's a low 80 and as long as the engine can stand up we can win the meet i don't know though it's gonna happen we're gonna have to run awfully hard though competition requires hard running here this year doesn't oh it gets tougher and tougher every year i'll tell you it's just really hard to stay on top getting so much out of an engine demanding so much diminishes the reliability factor doesn't oh absolutely absolutely the engine's fresh when it comes to the race it's good for about five runs and it's dead as he turns to continue the work with his crew readying himself for the upcoming semifinals again i'll say the the tension is reflected visibly you can never be too ready when you're gonna go streaking down a quarter mile stretch of concrete at 225 or 30 miles an hour in less than seven seconds there's the white line right by his side the crowd just sometimes have grown so thick around the working area that they've had to ask marshalls to move them away back on the staging area a key match between marshall love from arlington texas and jim nicholl of spring valley california a couple of tested veterans who have been so close to tasting the glory of a national championship and it's a big moment for both men jim nicol will be in the near lane partial love in the far lane both have been under seven seconds in their last four runs [Applause] it's typical that's the top end 6.59 seconds and both men release their shoots late way down the strip and look at them bounce around and they use all of the run out area nickel 6.59 seconds 227 plus miles an hour marshall love and losing at a 6.6 to 227.2 seconds wow what a tough way to lose we mentioned earlier they look like figures out of some fantasy but every piece of equipment they wear is needed and necessary and particularly the mask when those fumes come blasting back into their face we'll see don freedom and pete robinson right after this time out the temperature is now risen to better than 90 degrees a silvery hot sticky day sneaky pete robinson atlanta georgia has heated his tires and he moves up onto the starting line this is a crafty cup veteran burning his tires and what now they expand as they come out of the boost box don brudong comes into the near lane one time they used a plane bleach now they've gone to some very sophisticated suburbs to increase the traction the way the rubber is burning this track here at raceway park in indianapolis they don't need a whole lot of help production this is a big match in the top fuel quarterfinals robinson and [Applause] four five seconds for dawn for dawn 208 miles an hour pete robinson 6.64 seconds elapsed time his speed about 207 miles an hour so don verdon stays in it and we'll be back for more later at indianapolis but right now let's rejoin jim mckay and valdez your friends the men's downhill skiing thanks very much jim and i wish we had some of that snow and cool air here at indianapolis raceway park as we continue our coverage of the national hot rod association nationals you're looking into the pits of don fudon he is just moments away from his semi-final race against brian budd they are putting the car back together afraid to gamble that everything might not be just right his wife lynn everybody who is part of this group who could help who can help has been pushed into service on a stifling hot afternoon we're going to try one more time with these cool wet towels mighty welcome they'll button the car up as fast as possible now having made some changes in the engine and just moments from now croudon will be wheeled onto the staging area for his semi-final match there is action at the staging lane jim nichols moving into the near lane from spring valley california he's going against john garland of stepner florida charlotte's almost a living legend or as the nhra nationals are concerned a three-time winner jim nichols has never won a big one but he's been close and he's had a good season and it's strictly shootout time right now with big daddy the winner here goes to the top fuel finals scarlett's in the far lane nickel and the earlier crowd all standing and the red light is shining in garlic's wing you won't see that very often but don girlish has drawn a red light he left too soon perhaps it was the bite of the track the incredible traction you get here at raceway park whatever don garlits has been eliminated by a foul and thus ends his comeback to racing after his severe accident but he made it to the semifinals and he is still tough jim nicholl is the winner we'll have more in a moment all right here we go with the last of the semi-final runs in the top fuel category jim nicholl has already won his way into the finals the winner of this one between don bruno moving up to bernie syracuse qualifier rolled off the truck a couple of days ago and turned in a 6.66 second elapsed time and got him at 212 miles an hour and nobody could beat him into qualifying and he has made his way to the semi-final you would think at this juncture however don trudeau might enjoy our psychological edge because bud has not had the experience of the dome nor the winning history very ticklish up on that starting line and both men know it literally laden with fatigue they have struggled and fought their way to this moment and just a few seconds from now it's going to be all over for one of them with home in the far lane but in the near lane [Music] [Applause] [Music] red light on brian burns donald trudeau is in the finals against jim nichols but realizing he had to get off quick let it go too quick he saw the red line himself and shut his equipment off and coasts on through the trap and don prudhomme will be going against jim nichols for the top fuel championship here at the nationals the pro stalkers now will come wheeling around the corner arlen banke of akron ohio in a plymouth duster running against herb mccandless of burlington north carolina he is at the ducks and martin duster right here both these men have been absolutely superb so far their sparks have been impeccable their equipment is at a peak this could be one of the quickest pro stock races you have ever seen all in becky won here in 1968 at the nationals winning the super stock championship but this product category is a little hotter white blue is mccandless frankie's on the far side postdoc title on the line right now [Applause] [Music] [Applause] they're shifting all the way through and it is close and it's mccandless the winner 9.981 seconds and hear this banky 9.983 seconds and both men get 138.03 miles an hour for their top speed and let's take another look the top speed is measured in the last 66 feet at the very end of the course and you can see the canalists won it by the smallest of largest you never meant to have a new lifer congratulations thank you very much that's the first big one for you huh yes sir in the pro stock i'm really happy i just don't know what to say buddy socks if you said that out of the tree kind of green yeah ronnie's he had some transmission trouble it's just one of those things but it'll be lucky and fast a lot of times really had to put the pressure on equipment this year though didn't you yes we really did we really pushed the cars hard it's the toughest feel of cars i've ever seen herbie did a great job congratulations thank you very much sir for the young man from burlington north carolina herb mccandless wins his first major title at 27 years of age in the sucks and martin duster and now now the final run for the motorcycles running for the first time at the nhra nationals it'll be boris murray of laverne california on a triumph in the far lane running against larry welch of chevrolet maryland he is on a triumph in the near lane murray has the quicker time so far in the competition of the two at 9.49 seconds welsh at 9-5-1 they'll put it out here right now in the final cluster couch taking a good look this is something new for everybody who's been coming to the nhra nationals for years here at indianapolis burning the tires halfway through the quarter mile and it is welch at the top end listen to this 9.34 seconds for larry welch plus miles an hour boris murray at 914 but well speaking of the rule shot we'll be back to talk with the top fuel finalists jim nickel and don pradom in a moment jim you put it together yourself you've come to the end of a long hard week what are you thinking right about now well i feel fortunate to get this far it's been a heck of a good race all the way everybody's run good it's been a terrific race one of the best races i've ever been to i guess actually been an incredible meet hasn't it certainly has what do you think it'll take to win oh that i wouldn't even want to say good luck huh yeah i think a lot of luck that's for sure uh most fellas say i drive my own race i'm running the clock and then we'll see what happens to the other guy is that pretty much the way you go at it that's basically the way you have to feel about it you know perdom's a very good runner and a heck of a good driver so we'll just have to see what happens that song it takes a little of what you call gut toughness when you come up in this moment doesn't it then a little lady luck yeah jim good luck to you thank you very much jim nicole from spring valley california is certainly not an unknown factor prior to this meet the national dragster in handicapping the field made particular note that he had been a consistent performer and been so close to winning one of the big ones it also made note of the fact that he has been running some real hot stuff in his equipment but he did come in as one of the listed favorites jim nicholl to be reckoned with by don prudel don you're happy as you go to the finals oh boy i'm very happy i want to do it two times early make me a five-time national champion and i'll tie it with garland good luck we're not far away from the exciting climax one of the most successful national meets ever for the nhra here at indianapolis but right now we're going to watch the top gas finals jack jones of san diego california will be in the far lane roger rowe of los angeles will be in the near lane jack jones is also trying for a second successive title here at the nationals he won the top gas title last year victory here today could be worth right at ten thousand dollars for the winner [Applause] row and jones both veterans both who vote very quick off the line this race will probably be won either on the start or somewhere in the middle neither man has had to really extend his equipment to win at the top end so far [Applause] jones in the far side and roger rowe on the near side and the christmas tree is lit and it's jack jones with a great start 7.41 seconds for the quarter mile run for jack jones the speed not a particular factor in this instance because jones got such a great start that he was well out in front halfway down and zipped across to win his second successive top gas title here at indianapolis raceway park in the nationals so there is jubilation in the san diegoans pits and here comes the crew racing down pit road there was a time when you could win this championship and go home with a thousand dollars but not anymore today there is ten times that amount guaranteed and here's the crew now we go to the bomb the white car is leroy goldstein he was the first man to run a bunny under seven seconds and here at raceway park in this meet he has had four runs in less than seven seconds in his money car don shoemaker in this blue and white machine has been so consistent it's remarkable the question is the raw power in the ram chargers machine with leroy goldstein be enough or will the consistency of shoemaker payoff this event worth about 11 000 bucks for the winner remember the funny cars run on fuel nitro methane and alcohol same kind of stuff the top fuelers fly on here they go [Applause] leeroy goldstein lost traction you saw that big pump of smoke his tires were spinning and it was that fraction of a second that let shoemaker get out in front and win it shoemaker's having trouble with the shoot that's angled up but he holds it under control [Music] and he pulls off the track he's got a fire there's a fire inside [Applause] dodge crater star the body is plastic you make an outfit in a hurry up goes the hood the extinguisher is on and here comes help for it don shoemaker has won the funny car championship [Applause] he has an extinguisher inside and obviously when he first saw the fire he popped it they were quick there to help him kind of hot very well let go well we burned a couple of pistons i'm sure on the run we lose some oil out of the breathers catches on fire on the headers and then i hit the fire extinguishers didn't hurt the climax though victor still sweeted it that's for sure incredible performance by the funny cars it must have been moments when you wondered if you weren't kind of wandering around on the ragged edge during the whole meet we've been on a ragged edge to homemade i'm sure all of us well you hang on did a great job congratulations thank you very much seven seconds flat 215 miles an hour for don shoemaker the top fuel final food almond nickel coming up this is it this is the climax to all of the hard work the frustration the sleepless nights [Applause] the climactic moment for the nhra nationals john prudhomme the snake from granada hills california tim nickel experienced veteran from spring valley california the day started near 4 a.m for both these men on this day each hot weather has given them both for teeth bone tiredness they're as high right now as they can possibly be for a golden moment the highest payoff ever for the top-fueled register the biggest crowd in the history of the nationals watching the near lane john perdon from bar lane jim nicol they are both safe [Applause] [Applause] to the run-out area breaking heavily his parachute behind it but nichols car cut in half there is the driver's cage it came at least 350 feet down the track and bounced over into the grass [Applause] don for dom climbing out of his car he appears to be all right it was jim nichols car that came apart [Applause] i'll say that don the dome appeared to be all right he's now climbing out of his fire suit it or nothing [Laughter] not bad how bad is he [Laughter] right right now not at all concerned with the fact that he won his second successive championship that's the front end of jim nichols car that came all the way to the end of the run out area and we understand that jim nicholl was conscious when taken out of the roll cage input of the ambulance now on the way to the hospital we'll be back to check on his condition and talk with don quijom in just a moment [Music] the crowd is gathered around what's left of jim nichols car disintegrated in the final run for the top fuel championship the word from the hospital is that jim nicholl will be at the victory banquet tonight he'll be a little sore but he's all right that's marvelous news incredible news considering the extent of the accident and here's the finish how terribly close it was the dome winning by a yard three one hundredths of a second at 231 miles an hour it won't matter you look all right congratulations thank you thank you very much i know you like uh thousands of us were shaken by what happened to jim nichols yeah it was just unbelievable i'll tell you we were coming towards the lights and he was right next to me i didn't know who was going to win the race and then i i knew i was in the finish lights and i was getting a little dust back on my little oil back on me and i opened the chute and i got my goggles down a little bit dry could see and the next thing i know his car was in front of mine if my shoe had to open how to hit him for sure or hit what was remaining of his car well i know when you got out of the car you said i'm going i'm going to quit uh that's a tough thing for a five-time national champion to say yeah well that's why i feel right now i'll tell you things are getting too tough and i just don't know what's going to happen but i'd sure like to thank all my sponsors that have brought us this far to win all these meats and once hot wheels goodyear coca-cola you know don i've never seen you so fatigued as you were before you started this final yeah it's been a long tour we just ended up this is our last date we're on our way home and we've had two cars a funny car a hot wheel car we've been running and it's just really been a strain on us really you've got to be one of the toughest critters i've ever seen well thank you very much i'm just very happy uh tying garland's mark now now that i won five national events and that makes me just super happy 6 45 dawn's a great final run you're a fine sportsman go get some rest thank you very much and thus the nhra nationals come to a close at raceway park an incredible chapter in the growth of this sport that jim nickel should revise the accident we saw and be making plans right now to attend the victory banquet record speed record money record crowds at the nhra nationals the executive producer of abc's wide world of sports is rue knowledge coordinating producer jim spence national drag racing produced by bryce weissman directed by bernie hoffman world cup skiing produced by doug wilson directed by robert rieger remember coming up next here on abc except for those of you on the west coast east west college all-star football game next saturday here on abc's wide world of sports the 25th annual hoola bowl football classic live and in color via satellite from honolulu beginning at 4 30 pm eastern time and now this is keith jackson saying so long from indianapolis indiana today's program pre-recorded

Channel: supertubr

Views: 35,162

Keywords: 1970 NHRA US Nationals, supertubr, NHRA, NHRA drag racing, classic drag racing, Vintage Drag Racing

Id: 7DJgj5gzjfs

Length: 41min 23sec (2483 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 22 2022