CLASSIC REWIND - 1984 NHRA U.S. NATIONALS, INDIANAPOLIS

diamond p sports presents from the national hot rod association championship drag racing [Music] in the world of championship drag racing it's the big one the u.s nationals at indianapolis raceway park building traditions for 30 years a total first topping one million dollars is up for grabs and sometimes racers will try anything to win this race in top fuel qualifying phil hobbs was trying an aerodynamic experiment that did away with a conventional wing fobs was in trouble from the very start [Music] [Applause] as we look again hob's car immediately lost traction at the starting line the car took a sudden and violent right turn rolling on its side and striking the guardrail the impact sent the car motors still wide open over the guardrail and into the grassy area outside the racing surface [Music] the car overturning whipping around bouncing down the guardrail finally came to a halt from another angle we can see hobbs trying to regain control over the rampaging dragster he first tries to keep the car from veering into the guardrail then rides the top of the rail for several feet and with the engine still propelling the car struggles to keep it out of the back side of that retainer the car tumbling through the grass keeps slamming into the backside of the armco each time causing more damage to the front of the vehicle bob sitting in front of the engine is in an extremely vulnerable position every time the dragster runs into the barrier hobbs is rushed to the hospital for observation and released shortly after the accident and in spite of it all suffered only a broken ankle moving into competition in the first round of top fuel racing one of the legends of championship drag racing don garlits of ocala florida was paired against a relative newcomer to the sport shannon steward of riverside california scarlett's had little difficulty in defeating stuart but that was the least of his problems as we can see scarlett suffered some engine damage as indicated by the smoke no parachute but more seriously he lost the left front tire during the run at over 252 miles an hour the tire literally spun off the racing wheel down the front wheel flies off the chute doesn't come out you really had your hands pulled well the tube wrapped around the wheel and locked the wheel up naturally and so i couldn't get my hands off the steering wheel i had all i could do to hold a car on the racetrack you know some of the drivers including gary becker trying to glue these tires on to keep them on wheels were glued on also in the first round of top fuel racing the reigning world champion gary beck in the near lane raced his boss and car owner larry miner miner putting together a team of two dragsters in a funny car considers beck his number one driver and has worked all season to advance him to a repeat of the world championship but this was not gary beck's day mechanical difficulty slowed his car after taking a big lead over minor the surprise team owner then coasted through the race not ending as he had planned [Music] in funny car racing it was record-setting time for the team of candies and hughes their driver mark oswald raced rick johnson in the first round oswald has established a new elapsed time record of 5.69 seconds in qualifying in this race oswald in the near lane made the necessary one percent back up to the record time thus putting him in the record book but most importantly giving him valuable bonus points in his quest for the closely contested world championship title also in the first round of funny car racing tim gross of saugus california competed against the reigning world champion frank hawley of canada this was a reenactment of their meeting in the finals of the 1982 gator nationals in that race gross in the near lane had the misfortune of having his parachute come out early giving an easy win to holly this time gross again in the near lane hoped it would be different both cars stayed they then left the starting line together but once again fate stepped in the parachute shook loose and deployed slowing gross and allowing holly to streak by just before the finish line that happened to you before i think two years ago at gainesville against hawley in the final round against frank right my good friend so i wish him all the luck in the world i hope he wins this thing and you know more often than not lately every time i lose somebody it's when i lose first one that's the guy that wins the race well you got a lot of spirit my friend well we all try awful hard that's all we can do right thank you for the past 30 years fans have been jamming into five different racing facilities around the united states for the annual running of the largest drag race of them all the u.s nationals for the past 23 years it has been right here at indianapolis raceway park hello everybody i'm dave mcclelland and this year the racetrack is jammed the excitement is mounting and we'll be joining the racing action in the second round of top fuel funny car and pro stock to find out what's going on behind the scenes let's join steve evans well dave with gary beck going out in round number one this crew joe amato and company could load up right now and they would be the world champions he will carry the number one next year but he's not about to load up because he'd like to win his first u.s nationals title and there's plenty of good cars left big daddy don garlits among them he has run over 261 miles an hour in qualifying connie coletta is still in there frank bradley and of course larry miner now with gary beck's help he could also go all the way the record setting run by mark oswald well that was a costly one they are right now on the other side of the pits changing engines getting ready for round number two and of course they are head-to-head with billy meyer for that world championship as well as the u.s nationals title in pro stock the big three all survived in round number one bob glidden lee shepherd and warren johnson with the osmo bill johnson's driving has improved so much in the last three months that he's a big threat lee shepard of course always capable of getting into the winner's circle but the indiana crowd here and uh even myself we like bob glidden the fourth thunderbird he won it last year he may do it again thank you steve the 1984 u.s nationals are being brought to you by motorcraft quality parts for all makes of cars and trucks motorcraft exceeds the need and by faberge make every day your brute day with fruit by faberge and by goodyear goodyear tires and goodyear service for more good years in your car the 30th annual u.s nationals top fuel competition coming up next he's won this event five times it has been five years since he competed over this quarter mile racing service he is considered the innovator of the sport given credit for creating the first workable rear engine top fuel dragster his name don garlits he hails from the state of florida and his fans they are legion and they call him big daddy big daddy don garlits returning to competition at indianapolis raceway park and the u.s nationals for the first time in five years holds top speed of the meet at over 261 miles an hour in this second round race he will be competing against howard hate of pomona california earlier this morning steve had a chance to talk to big daddy don garlits about his return to nhra competition and to indianapolis raceway park well don after a five-year absence you return to the u.s nationals here at indianapolis and you didn't come to just play 261 miles an hour got their attention well we came here with the intention of winning the race uh you know of course anything can happen in a race but i mean that's what we wasn't here just for the beer garlits and malone i haven't said that for 25 years 59-60 the last time you two teamed up that's true it has it's the 25 year anniversary malone called me on the phone and he says you know i'd like to go to indy are you going to india i said no you know it cost so much money he says well how about if i sponsor you the indian i said that's the greatest news i've heard in a long time let's do it garlit's teaming up with his longtime partner and friend art malone for this venture in the u.s nationals competition in round number two he's racing against howard haye 261 miles an hour already to the credit of big daddy don garlits howard hate with his work cut out for him racing one of the true legends in the sport of championship drag racing it's garlit's off the mark first he's got a big lead right on the starting line and at the finish he extends it the elapsed time for garlic 5.61 seconds his speed is slowing 234 miles an hour and again it appears to be some engine problems for garlits there's lots of work for them back in the pits the garlits and malone team our next pair in top fuel competition finds dick lahaye from lansing michigan getting set to do his burnout those tires nearly 18 inches wide grow in height by some six inches as they spin in the water the smoke coming off of them indicating they're burning lahay will be racing the upset winner in round number one that is the team owner of the all-star racing team larry miner from san jacinto california dick lahaye a serious racer from the midwest actually has the qualifying advantage over his competition larry miner in qualifying dick lahaye moved into the number five spot while the best miner could muster was the number nine position but in the first round remember miner was not intended to be to this point of competition it was to have been his number one driver gary beck but mechanical troubles put him out so now the boss the team owner has got to carry the standard of the all-star racing team further in top fuel competition against mahay miner pulling out to the lead in the middle of the course and at the finish line by a car link it is larry miner with the win 5.54 seconds elapsed time at over 244 miles an hour now let's go down and join steve evans with don garlick you certainly haven't lost a touch in the last five years that's two down don well the car is running pretty good she's a little loose on the top end though i guess you know the rain and everything engine come up twice and i'll actually lift a little early so speed was probably down spinning the tires towards the finish line uh-huh yeah well that parachute is sure lazy we waited again holding her breath well you know i was so rattled from the run before i lost the wheel i held onto the steering wheel for a while because that's where the big jerk comes when the tire comes off and i realize hey i'm holding on to this wheel i should be letting this shoot out okay we'll see you down here in round number three don garlic howard haye saying congratulations big daddy garlits making the power of old actually spinning the tires at the finish line here's a man that garlits raced in the early days of drag racing another of the veterans of the sport connie coletta his competition here in round number two of top fuel racing is frank bradley bradley hailing from napa california was the winner of the recent nhra summer nationals for connie coletta his career in drag racing goes back to his first ever nhra championship win that dated back to 1967. just as competitive today as he has ever been and many people regard this 46 year old veteran is at the peak of his career driving better today than he has at any time in history for frank bradley he proved once again he has the combination to his top fuel dragster qualifying on one pass through the quarter mile the burnout procedures are completed both drivers approach the staging beams and leave the starting line and it is coletta and bradley side by side coletta begins to pull away and by a couple of car links at the finish line saletta taking the win at 5.72 seconds his speed dropping 240 miles an hour connie coletta advances now into the semi-finals of top fuel competition at the u.s nationals this is the fastest driver ever in the history of top fuel racing this is joe amato he has been over 264 miles an hour but at this event he holds the distinction of recording the lowest elapsed time at 5.46 seconds thus far this pairing once again matches the relative newcomer joe amato against the kg veteran a man with over 20 years experience in fuel racing gene snow snow laid out of the sport for several years then came back with this highly competitive top-fuel dragster let's go once again down to steve county of 572 gets you through the second round but i know you'd like to have gone quicker yeah i need to a model's gonna run awful quick right now he run 46 earlier today and i mean that's that's a stout number here that's the quickest run here i think in quite a while if lamado gets through this round you'll face him in the semi i run him next round and the lane choice is very important here right now we're shaking very bad in the right hand lane and uh i backed the car off because i didn't overshare with my race car or not but it looks like it's a track that's doing it it's not your particular race car that's up in that problem now in the first round just about everybody in the right hand lane shook very hard the only one that didn't was though minor that got he got down there very good yeah well let's go back to the starting line and see if indeed it'll be connie coletta and joe amato in the semis steve in this case joe amato taking the near lane or the lane that connie says is better for gene snow he has to cope with the problem not only will the car will the engine perform up to par will the lane hold the horsepower what appears to be a little smoke coming out of snow's car could it be problem and up in smoke goes to motto he loses traction right off the starting line and the upset of this round of racing gene snow the veteran 5.62 seconds his speed over miles an hour the semifinals larry minor against don garlits connie coletta against gene snow as we'll be coming right back to the u.s nationals at the u.s nationals at indianapolis raceway park it is mark oswald driving the candies and hughes special with a new engine they hurt the motor in the first round of racing now they have put in a brand new engine to race against the reigning world champion driving the chi-town hustler this is frank hawley paulie from london ontario canada has won the world championship for two consecutive years but he is out of the hunt in the points chase this season the man that is leading though is mark oswald he picked up those valuable bonus points by establishing a new national record and he is hot after that world champion title the man that's already won the top fuel title is joe amato your motto yells over at county coletta for the big smile looks like it's your turn this world championship would save just about any wound here today huh yeah we really wanted to try and do a good win to race steve there's nothing like win on indy you know it would have been the coup de gras so to speak you know car just had a little too much power in it we took some power out of it because we thought the track would be going away but apparently we didn't take enough out and it just went out there and smoked the tires i tried to pedal it but it just you know it was just hopeless it just just overpowered the track well you've had a wonderful year and you wear the world championship beautifully mark oswald number two in the world last season wants to wear the number one he is racing against the man that won that world championship last year frank hawley in the far lane oswald qualified number one holly number five but boy this is a close race look at the finish and it's ollie by half a car length and the upset very consistent 5.79 seconds at over 256 miles an hour frank hawley puts away the new national record holder the points leader and the man that qualified in the number one spot hawley driving that chi-town hustler picked up a very slight lead off the start he began to extend it and won the race right 256 miles an hour that's the fastest you've ever gone well generally we don't run it right to the last light but when you're racing mark my goodness i saw him about half track and he was in front and their car always runs fast i fell off a little bit and i wasn't taking any chance i drove it right out the back door is what they say even though you've won two world titles this one's eluded yet you'd like it oh gosh anybody that's ever drag race would like to win india the nationals uh uh all all i ever do is i remember who was the world champion last year and who won indy and i want to win and he's on his way to the semis steve we'll find out in just a few moments how he does as the next bearing again the relative newcomer against the kg veteran the man from columbus ohio is jim head his main claim to fame he finished in the runner-up spot at the recent nhra cajun nationals championship down in baton rouge louisiana head pulling into the water box totally unsponsored running the car on his own does a very brief and short burnout he's 35 years old and is regarded by many as one of the rising stars of the sport he's racing against one of the true stars this is ed the ace mcculloch driving the other all-star racing team entry of larry miner a huge crowd on hand under threatening skies last night a severe thunderstorm struck this sprawling indianapolis raceway park facility in fact rain earlier this morning delayed the start of competition but the track now dry and safe let's go down to steve with mark oswald well mark you hated to change engines but it had to be done yeah i guess it was a little rich they said they saw a drop of cylinder it was a good race in mid-track i was actually a little ahead of him and like he said you know our cars got a good top in but not that time it was just running on seven cylinders well you worked hard and you ran very well and congratulations on being the quickest driver of all time in this category thank you mark oswald holds the national record he is leading the points chase but he is very disappointed at his loss in the second round of competition for this prestigious us nationals title two drivers that are in the thick of the chase ed mcculloch in the air lane jim head in the far lane the burnouts are over the staging procedure is almost completed and it's a good start for both drivers it is mcculloch with a slight lead but jim head begins to come on and at the finish line a big upset it is jim head from columbus ohio the man the best finish thus far only a runner-up spot 5.92 seconds but look at his feet 255 miles an hour and that's where he came around and defeated ed mccullough at the finish line so two of the three all-star racing team entries of larry miner are out of competition the only car remaining is the boss himself back at the starting line we're into the burnout procedures as we have more funny cars these 2500 horsepower plus fiberglass creations are one of the crowd's favorites and this is one of the best tom the mongoose mcewen hailing from fountain valley california mcewen is regarded by many as one of the premier drivers ever to sit behind the wheel of a championship drag racing car he's driven them all from a top fuel dragster to a funny car you name it for john collins a long and illustrious career for collins he calls long beach california home they're meeting here on the starting line at the u.s nationals the most prestigious race of them all it was in 1978 that tom mcewen pulled off the upset of that year as he defeated don brudom in the finals of funny car the mongoose would love to repeat this year john collins trying to stop him though can it be done let's see collins up in smoke and it is mcew and just glued to the asphalt and threw the finish line in almost losing control as the parachutes come out john collins coasts across the finish line but for mcewen of 5.85 seconds at 238 miles an hour one of the surprise winners has been jim head i can tell you exactly how you won that a big top in charge of 255. well i thought it was running pretty hard on the high end and i i went around him in the top of high gear and i didn't see him anymore i went across the finish line and that kind of speed uh doesn't really pay any money but it tells you you've got a lot of power there that maybe you could work on the elapsed time with well my race car is gonna run a lot of speed all year we run 260 already this year we run over 258 about four or five times and a lot of 255 so hopefully we'll get a little more e.t out of this race it's going to take better than five nineties is that what ran 590. it's a little slow jim head knowing he has to improve on his elapsed time performance but he's already made it into the semi finals we'll find out how he does in just a short while right now we're down to the last two cars in this round of racing kenny bernstein is in the near lane and his fellow texan doing the burnout in the far lane is billy meyer from waco texas it was one year ago that kenny bernstein had one of the greatest three weeks in championship drag racing he won nearly a hundred thousand dollars culminating that streak with a big win at the u.s nationals his competition is a man that started driving funny cars at the tender age of 16 billy meyer meyer is lined up in his mustang in the far lane in the ford tempo bodied creation will be bernstein in the near lane both cars highly competitive and it is bernstein off the mark first smoking the tires is meyer and bernstein with an easy go runs over 249 miles an hour at 5.84 seconds that sets up our semi-final round of competition in funny car jim head against tom mcewen frank hawley against kenny bernstein over in the top fuel pit area there's a lot of frantic work going on in larry miner's all-star racing team entry remember out of three cars miner is the only one remaining the work goes on to rebuild the engine as we'll be coming right back to the u.s nationals two of the all-time greats in the sport of drag racing don prudhomme and don garlat's comparing notes between them a total of 11 u.s nationals victories six to predome five to garlits this year prudom lost in the first round to billy meyer another loser in round number one was gary beck gary in a lot of ways you must wish that you were in the seat of that race car going against don garlitz because he's a particular favorite of yours if you any time you can punish him well it is uh i'm real pleased that don has chosen to come back and really race and go go after us competitively and he certainly is capable of doing it he's as tough as they come we all know that it's going to be a good drag race uh with against larry miner it's uh our cars uh we are starting to run a little better for them but it's going to be good it's we'll see you know you've raced on garlic so many times battling for world titles over the years any advice for larry how to raise don garlic well he's pretty clever you know and he's real cagey i've already i was watching don the last two runs and i've already been talking to larry a little bit about what he's been doing so that larry's a little more familiar with some of his techniques is that he's using around the start line so it won't surprise larry but it's uh larry does a good job there on his own you know uh but it's uh it's it's going to be a great drag race i must agree with that the reigning world champion gary beck now helping his boss and car owner larry miner as he gets set to go against don garland while all this preparation has been going on we've been having the second round of pro stock eliminator in the factory hot rods in the near lane it was lee shepard driving for the team of rare and morrison ford racing against the pontiac firebird of ronnie manchester the two cars came off the starting line relatively even but it was not long before the power of the opal oatmobile took over and by several car lengths it was warren johnson taking the second round win over ronnie manchester our final pair in round number two of pro stock racing found joe lupone jr driving the pontiac in the near lane against the bright red camaro owned by bob pinella and driven by the veteran ken dondero dondero had the slight advantage off the starting line he held the lead at this point but the power of joe lapone's car almost pulled out a win oh so close at the finish look at the times 7.79 for lupone don darrow at 7.82 the advantage off the starting line paid off there's our semi finalist ken dondero against bob clinton gordy rivera against warren johnson it is johnson number four in the world last year driving the osmo bill cutlass gordy rivera at the wheel of his chevrolet camaro these cars use engines up to 500 cubic inches in displacement run on racing gasoline are limited to two four-barrel carburetors and must weigh no less than 2 350 pounds with the driver very evenly matched the oldsmobile in the far lane the chevrolet in the near lane the factory hot rods of championship drag racing's throw stock eliminator the power of johnson's osmo bill proves out to be the winner at 7.64 seconds at a speed of over 181 miles an hour so warren johnson of duluth georgia advances into the finals of the 30th annual u.s nationals here is the ford thunderbird of bob glidden using a 500 cubic inch shotgun ford engine a race motor designed and developed by ford against him ken dondero driving bob canelo's car this was a big block 500 cubic inch chevrolet motor the fans love it when the ford versus chevrolet battle matches up on the starting line the teaming of ken dondero and bob vanella is a rematch of a driver owner team that dated back over a decade in drag racing the forward of glidden in the far lane ken dondero in the near lane together they leave the starting line it is don darrow and glidden side by side and at the finish line it is by a half a car length bob glidden 772 at a speed of over 178 miles an hour as we watch again you see the two cars almost as one clawing into the air the front wheels off the pavement the rear tires trying to get a hold of the pavement pulling the cars ahead headed for that finish line 1320 feet away as they reach the speed traps at the finish line glidden begins to pull ahead and by a half a car length takes the win that sets up the finals in pro stock bob glidden against warren johnson there are several special awards presented at the u.s nationals steve evans has one of them [Music] well dave the mcguire wax people have done it again from the over 1 000 entries here at the u.s nationals their best appearing car award goes to just a jewel of a racing machine it's brad klein's a factory experimental a don ness chassis topped with a gleaming red 84 camaro body painted by gene fashion the pro stock racer now look at the detail in this back window it is all zeus buttoned in for easy removal so that they can clean all of this beautiful hand formed aluminum inside and get to their weight transfer bars very easily the stripe along the side it's not just on the side as we open the door we'll see that it even continues through the door jamb brad klein is a psychotherapist from amarillo texas and if you look at this car every screw in the entire car has the head pointed in the same direction that indeed would drive you crazy right you are steve and our congratulations on a beautiful car to brad klein here is a beautiful car too as the long-awaited top fuel semi finals just about ready to go don garlits into the lanes at the u.s nationals at indianapolis raceway park in the 30th annual running of the us nationals i'm dave mcclelland along with steve evans and all eyes are on the starting line as we're set for the semi-final round of top fuel eliminator here is big daddy don garlands he is at the u.s nationals for the first time in five years it was 20 years ago that dick daddy won his first ever u.s national title back in 1964. he's racing against larry miner a relative newcomer to top fuel racing earlier steve talked with him how does it feel for you and only your second year of driving to be going up against the legend big daddy dun girl really you know it doesn't bother me because i'm relaxed out here and i'm just doing my own thing and having fun and there's no pressure on me and i think that's why i can really do a pretty decent job of driving miner the car owner of that all-star racing team with three cars in competition he's the only one left and garlits is pulling ahead at the finish line and puts out larry miner it's don garlits into the finals of the us nationals and larry miner having problems with his parachute but he seems to be bringing the car to a safe stop for don garlits a great run in the semifinals 5.56 second elapsed time his speed over 254 miles an hour as we look again garlic had pulled ahead by the middle of the racetrack he continued to hold that lead until the finish line and by one car length don garlits advances to the finals defeating larry miner garlit's very composed as he comes out of the car taking off his helmet and shaking over his engine well after a five-year absence big daddy goes into the final with a 5 56 and a good race it was yes it was it was a real good race i he actually was right out there to about the eighth mile and it just kind of pulled away i guess i had a little higher top speed and the engine looks just fine dry not a drop oil out of it yeah i had one little problem a throttle cable was breaking up there and we just barely got it fixed well the shoot worked this time everything worked this day yeah i'm real happy really let's go back to the starting line and see just who don garlits is going to race in that final round gene snow or connie coletta steve we'll know that in just a moment the only newcomer in the sport is now out of competition in top fuel it's all veterans connie coletta in the near lane a former funny car racer moving into the crew chief role for shirley muldowney when she won her first world championship then back into driving and driving better than ever for gene snow a former funny car racer over 20 years experience in the sport snow now campaigning his top fuel dragster out of his home base in fort worth texas snow up in smoke and coletta beginning to extend the lead can he hold on to it at the finish line a close race and the wing comes off a snow car snow with a parachute out keeps the car under control as it bounces to a safe stop but the win goes to connie coletta and two veterans in the final don garland against connie coletta let's watch and see just what happened very close racing at the first speed light and right at the finish line coletta pulls ahead from the rear angle you can see snow in the far lane in the near lane as coletta coletta takes the wind but the wing just collapses on gene snow's car momentarily he starts to lose control the parachute out instantly pulling the car back to straight down the racetrack and snow bringing it to a safe stop snow running 250 miles an hour on this run did a great driving job keeping the car under control when that wing unloads its speeds like 250 miles an hour it can cause severe handling problems you see the damage struts and there's no wing at all for gene snow very very disappointed as he had a great race going with connie coletta until the mechanical problems set in with the wing we're down to the semi-finals in funny car eliminator kenny bernstein in the air lane the defending champion against the reigning world champion the chi-town hustler with frank hawley at the wheel the burnout procedures are completed all that's left is to light those two yellow bulbs at the top of the christmas tree the green light comes on and holly out of shape off the starting line has to lift and it is kenny bernstein for the second year in a row into the finals the funny car eliminator at the u.s nationals some engine problems possibly 5.74 seconds a great time for bernstein his speed 250 miles an hour and what a disappointment this has to be for frank hawley as he goes out in the semi-finals the veteran tom mcewen the mongoose he's known as is in the near lane here is the newcomer to funny car racing he only started this season jim head from columbus ohio let's go to steve two years in a row you go to the finals last year you won it well you know it's a long way there yet one more grunt and a hard one holly and those guys are super but we're glad to be there we're glad to be there they apparently had some sort of problem on the starting line i don't know if you could see it or not a few liquors no i didn't know didn't have any idea at that stage you're not worrying too much about it in your own right you got your own problems to take care of and don't worry about that and we're just lucky today we ran through there and of course now we ran good that's good kenny bernstein taking dead aim on his second nationals title in a row for tom mcewen it's been a long dry spell since 1978 when he won the funny car championship for jim head i am sure he is thrilled just to be in the semis and earning the right to race tom mcewen the driver is concentrating on the start and in his head and mcewen something going wrong with tom mckeown's car and another major upset as the crew for jim head responds in joy another 590 elapsed time for head but good enough for the semi-final win to set up this race kenny bernstein against jim head for the final in funny car eliminator the two veterans don garlits and connie coletta in the finals of top fuel eliminator in coletta's pit area there's lots of work going on readying his mount for the final against garlits the tension is mounting at the us nationals as we're set for the professional finals of the us nationals steve is with one of the finalists connie coletta county racing don garlits in the final round has got to bring back a lot of memories and be kind of a special moment for you here in 84. yes it is it's really fun to race him and i've enjoyed racing for 20 years and each time you do it it's just more fun do you remember the first time erased no i really don't i guess it was with the gas car i believe the first time that i raced him was with a gas car and we run against the top fuel car when he was running fuel and i was running gas and this would be back in i think 61 or 62. malone was driving a car for him i believe at that time malone's back too scarlet's him alone it's unbelievable i know it is it's different connie coletta obviously enjoying himself at this 30th annual u.s nationals here are two gentlemen that are enjoying themselves warren johnson in the near lane as the pro stock final unfolds with the ozmobile his mount on the far lane the ford thunderbird of bob glidden johnson has won the last two nhra national events this season bob clinton is the defending champion at the u.s nationals a bit of a psychological staging war going on between the two starter buster couch signals to clinton roll it in he does and the tree is green those cars lost the mark and it is warren johnson with the lead he extends it at the finish to a half a car length and the osmo bill of warren johnson wins the u.s nationals title warren johnson with an outstanding performance of 7.63 seconds his speed over 181 miles an hour for the last three races has absolutely dominated the category as we watch again you can see how close this race really is from the start to the finish less than a half a car length separates these two drivers the oldsmobile in the near lane of warren johnson the fourth thunderbird of bob glitten in the far lane and there's the margin of difference at the finish well that makes three nhra victories in a row but this has got to be the biggest and the most thrilling work this is definitely the sweetest of all there's no doubt about it this is the first india i've ever won i've never been in the finals here and just everything went perfect warren johnson your pro stock champion here's the first finals at indy for this man jim head in the near lane it is the defending champion kenny bernstein bernstein has got to be the favorite based on performance he ran 5.74 seconds in the semifinals jim head seems to be stuck in those five 90s and he said earlier he's got to run better than that can he do it in the finals he'll need everything to beat bernstein all eyes in this sprawling facility focused on these two funny cars over 5000 horsepower leave the starting line and up and smoke goes bernstein and jim head with the upset of this race has won the funny car title where jim had his first full year in funny car racing culminates with winning the most prestigious drag race of them all the us nationals title his crew absolutely overjoyed there it is another 5.96 seconds but over 254 miles an hour you see what happened right off the starting line there's the smoke off the tires from kenny bernstein he's lost traction he's lost the race and jim head takes the us nationals title in style from another angle you can see very graphically what happens the car smoking the tires losing traction and bernstein loses jim head makes his first national event victory the biggest of them all the u.s nationals congratulations thank you very much steve again in the 590s consistency wins it for you he went up in smoke well i had to lift it was shaking hard and going towards the guardrail but i'd already seen him go up and smoke so i i rather than hit the guardrail i thought i'd just motor on down just just a marvelous one for you and your crew your first year really in uh in funica racing coming out of top fuel uh they say that's a very difficult transition to make you've made it look easy well i i think it is a very difficult transition it's been good for me though because it made me very conservative having that motor in front of me when all the fires behind you you tend to take some chances you wouldn't take in this configuration well no question about it all last year i tried to run 540s with gary beck and i blew up a lot of stuff trying this year i don't care how fast they go on they'll blow up any motors well you're showing great composure here maybe maybe it hasn't set in yet you have won the us national i can't believe it that was already happy when i crossed the finish line jim head obviously overjoyed at his u.s nationals title this leaves us with a final in top fuel eliminator 52 years old big daddy don garlits against his longtime friend and competitor 46 year old connie coletta some 50 years of drag racing experience between these two drivers never before in the finals of any nhra national event have two veterans with this much experience met to decide a title as important as the u.s nationals it was 20 years ago that big daddy don garlits won his first ever us nationals title that and four other victories combined to make him one of the crowd favorites as steve found out earlier look at all of these shining faces uh watching don garlits and crew put the black car back together again for the final round at the u.s nationals and also looking on his pat garlits what an incredible day this has been it certainly has i just couldn't have dreamed that it could be this great bar what went through your mind uh when don sat you down and said pat we're going back and we're going back seriously well at first i didn't believe him but the more they started ordering pieces for the car and working then i knew we were going to indy and we're building a house and we're right in the middle of moving in and he said just leave the boxes leave all the unpacking until we get back from indy steve that just shows you everything takes a backseat when big daddy goes racing and racing he is against connie coletta the finals in top fuel eliminator based on performance it's got to be the edge to garland but we've seen upsets throughout this day and off the starting line they come up in smoke goes colored it may be the advantage garlic seeds and it is don garlits his sixth u.s nationals title and a tremendous victory as big daddy has returned to championship competition the partnership with art malone getting off to a great start with a u.s nationals victory as we watch again both cars leave on the green light it is garlits in the near lane coletta in the far lane and the tires begin to smoke on coletta's car indicating the loss of traction giving a slight advantage to garlits he continues to pull ahead and at the finish line a big victory don garlits wins the u.s nationals goes home with top speed to the event a magnificent return to nhra drag racing thank you steve i've had a wonderful weekend and i've enjoyed myself tremendously it's been great to be back it's great to have you back and we look forward next year to a new car aerodynamics the kind of thinking only you bring to this sport well i hope so art has injected a lot of uh you know given me enthusiasm to have him come along and put the money where the most people's mouth is and get me here and by the parts so we're capable of performing with these people which proves that you just got to have the technology and to have an old friend a guy who's been racing almost as long as you have in the final what a great moment well you know connie and i go back a long long time uh you know he and i uh i met him when he was 17 years old sedo pasteurian and i were going to california for the big bakersfield challenge and he was a 17 year old kid with his 57 chevy and had a bunch of parts from chrysler well i think pat right now doesn't mind at all leaving all those boxes in that new house i know congratulations again he certainly is big daddy indeed he is steve and our congratulations to all the champions in our professional categories don garland's jim head and warren johnson at the 30th annual u.s nationals we hope you've enjoyed the excitement of the u.s nationals for steve evans i'm dave mcclellan saying so long for now the executive producer of diamond p sports is harvey palace produced and directed by john b mullen coverage of the 30th annual u.s nationals has been a presentation of diamond p sports

Channel: CompetitionPlusTV

Views: 17,627

Rating: 4.8113208 out of 5

Keywords: #classicdragracing, drag racing, nhra, u.s. nationals, don garlits, jim head, warren johnson, indianapolis raceway park, shirley muldowney

Id: JiJhAMtmPTo

Length: 45min 36sec (2736 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 22 2020