Fuel Altereds have always been a fan’s delight and this current breed of hybrids is no less entertaining than those of a different era. What appeared to be an endangered species just a few years back, now seems to be riding a new wave of popularity. As Jeff Bennett said, "They just keep building them". So, what has happened? Is it our natural yearning for the "good old days", or a preference for something different? Then again, anyone who has ever seen Mike Boyd wrestle the ""Winged Express" down a track, knows the difficulty and danger involved in getting a fuel altered from starting line to finish line. And, because there are a few daring men willing to take up the challenge, the drag racing scene has been revitalized with their presence. Witness the spectacle they put on for the fans at John Keigley’s just completed Fuel Altered Friday at the infamous Famoso Raceway (Bakersfield, the ‘patch’, the ‘field’) July 15^th. Originally scheduled for an April date, wet and windy conditions forced rescheduling to a mid-summer date. Despite their universal appeal with drag racing fans, neither the NHRA nor GoodGuys racing associations currently accommodate the class within their organizations. Yet, they endure. At every booking, fans pack the stands to watch these monsters prowl, posture, and pound the asphalt with their Promethean expenditure of horsepower, fire, and smoke. And, they are cantankerous as hell. With all that muscle strapped to a very short frame, the driver must be on his A game to get this breed of race car to behave and go down the track.

Fuel altereds have been part of the drag racing scene from the beginning. One could actually say they began as two classes decades ago when Doris Herbert was editor of Drag News. This publication maintained what was known as the Standard 1320 Record List. There were eighteen categories of race cars; seven for nitro burners and the remainder for those running pump gasoline. The groupings within a classification (say fuel dragster) were determined by cubic inch size of the engine, and a blower advanced the car one classification. Real simple; if you had a 392 cid Chrysler and put a supercharger on it, then you went from B to A. Now, of the seven classes burning nitromethane, it would be safe to say that four of them were the precursors of the modern day fuel altered. Basically, there were fuel altered roadster and fuel altered coupe/ sedan. For the altereds, the requirements were two: maximum 25% engine set-back and the driver had to sit in front of the rear axle. Typical of the genre was the Argee-Sorenson-Burkholder Bros. record setting roadster, and the unforgettable 554 coupe of Mooneyham-Sharp. Similar, but not so restrictive, were the modified roadster and modified coupe/ sedan classes. Other than body type, there were no chassis restrictions on these race cars, so they were somewhat faster and quicker than their altered cousins. And, who were some of the more renowned modifieds of that era? How about Glass Chariot, Speed Sport Spl., Cagle-Newhouse (roadsters); Loukas-Preising, Coburn Glaze, and Card’s (Jerry) Auto Special (coupe/sedans).

The way they used to look: Wild Willie Borsch one-handing Marcellus-Borsch; first fuel altered to run 200 mph

By the mid 1960s, altereds and modifieds were well established on the drag racing scene. Some were so successful they could compete for Top Eliminator against the slingshot dragsters. Remember Larry Dixon Sr. and the Fireside Inn, or Butters-Gerard and the Damn Thing? Then, a new breed of race car showed up at the track. They were the so called "funny cars". Originally A/FXs, the injectors were quickly replaced with superchargers and gasoline with nitromethane. This was the new kid on the block and immediately captured the fascination of the drag race fan. Whereas altereds used body styles that were predominately pre World War II, funny cars were styled after contemporary Detroit production models. In the racing publications, "Fuel Altered Frenzy" gave way to "Funny Car Shivaree", "Funny Car Madness" and other such promotional headlines. Though not totally relegated to the back burner, the always popular fuel altered and modified classes had to share the spotlight with the new comer. Over the years they just became known as fuel altereds. Though not restricted to one type of body, devotees of the genre seemed to prefer the roadster shell. Any fan from the Golden Age of Drag Racing will never forget Rich Guasco’s Pure Hell, Leon Fitzgerald and Pure Heaven, Leroy Chadderton and Magnificent 7, or the king of them all, Marcellus-Borsch. That is not to say that the coupe cousins were not well represented, too. How about Mondello-Matsubara, Randy Bradford, or Mike Sullivan, just as a short list. So, here we are decades later and the fuel altereds are ready to thunder at Bakersfield. By now, they have morphed into a funny car wearing a bikini. They utilize the same chassis and engine combination you might see on a John Force, Del Worsham, or Whit Bazemore funny car. These designer engines take two mags, two fuel pumps, and are equipped with multiple timers to regulate fuel, ignition, and clutch. The names, exotic as always, like Jeff Diehl’s Witch Doctor, reflect the touchy and erratic personality of the breed. However, their performances are stunning. Although pace setter Ron Fassil will sit out this event due to a recent crash, his 5.29 sets the standard for the class.

Without further ado, let’s take a close look at the steeds John Keigley has corralled in the pits of Bakersfield. Talk about Murderer’s Row; the Yankees could never muster this kind of firepower. Up first are the Howell Bros. and their beautiful Power Play. This car occasionally has a gender problem because it dresses as a funny car and sometimes as a fuel altered. Nonetheless, it was built to go 5.40 and has all the nice pieces: a 498 cid billet block with Alan Johnson heads and a Sonny Bryant crank nestled in a Steve Plueger chassis. Up next is Greg Daebelliehn and his Fast ‘N Forty Racing followed by James Genaralo and Impatient Racing. Hitting clean-up is Jeff Diehl and his Witch Doctor; Dave Hix, Mike Sullivan, Ed Schwartz, Jeff Bennett, and finally, Denney and Norton complete the line up. Brad Denney and Ty Norton definitely flash back to an old school way of racing. Brad owns the car and Ty Norton owns the engine. It’s a 23-T with a 417 Donovan, 2-speed Lenco, 1 magneto, and one fuel pump. It has seen 7.20-190 mph on alcohol and the team hopes for high 6s on nitro. Also in attendance, six more altereds on alcohol, Jeff Gaynor’s ’70 Barracuda nostalgia funny car, and Brad Thompson’s nostalgia top fuel dragster

Dave Hix and his Hi Tech Racing; fastest single mag altered on the planet

Gil Valencia’s Mountain Raider ran 7.36-177 on a very hot track (140+)