The 50th NHRA U.S. Nationals - 2004
" One for the History
Books and One for the History Buffs"
by Vic Cooke
This year marked the 50th running of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, the singular event
that continues to represent the absolute zenith of drag racing. From everywhere
in the nation competitors and fans alike gather for this annual acceleration extravaganza, just as they first did back in 1955 at its inaugural running in
Great Bend, Kansas. A win here has a luster like none other in drag racing, with
the honor of sharing victory with some of the most legendary figures in the
history of the sport whose mark on the event is indelible. This mystique about
"The Nationals" reveals a profound underlying respect for history and
tradition within the sport, and this anniversary occasion was a
"Golden" opportunity for a bit of celebration of this storied past.
Indianapolis Raceway Park approaches a "hallowed ground" status
in drag racing, and although many racing events are
contested here over the course of a year, there is always a sense of homecoming
each Labor Day weekend as the crowds
return to witness yet another chapter of the fabled U.S. Nationals. This year
especially the legacy of the past was
interwoven throughout the event. In some respects it was as if a third "Hot
Rod Reunion" event had been added to the
NHRA schedule and conducted within the context of the usual U.S. Nationals
program.
It is the nature of anniversaries to reflect over the years transpired, so some
sort of historic reminders were only to
be expected at Indy this year. What some anticipated to be mere window dressing,
however, turned into a central
attraction that will be long remembered. It included activities both on track
and on the backstage, and succeeded beyond anyone's (probably including NHRA's)
fondest expectations! While some of the presentations were predictably
"ceremonial" in nature, less predictable was the enthusiastic
reception afforded the collection of historic racecars and racing celebrities
gathered for the occasion and the special activities made possible by their
presence.
Neatly book-ending 50 years of the U.S. Nationals was the ceremony conducted
just prior to the first round of
Pro-qualifying on Friday. The ribbon-cutting opening ceremony held at Great Bend
in 1955 was re-enacted and once
again Art Chrisman made the ceremonial first pass in the same car he raced at
that event. Frankly, it seemed more a moment of quaintness than of high drama as
Art motored off into the Indy night, and a telling statement as to how far
the sport has progressed over a half a century. This was actually the third time
that Art was called upon for this ceremonial function as he did a similar
re-enactment at the "Silver Anniversary" 25th U.S. Nationals at Indy
in 1979.
Art Chrisman was on hand with the #25 car he ran at the inaugural NHRA
Nationals in 1955.
Here Chrisman re-enacts his ceremonial first "official pass" at
the original event.
While it may have seemed "nostalgic" to some, there was nothing the
least bit quaint about the next treat in store
for the crowd at Indy that night as an exhibition contest involving several
AA/Fuel Altereds immediately pulled to
the line. There was a bit of a surprise factor involved in this, as it hadn't
been highly publicized in advance. In
fact it was only through the last-minute generosity of supportive fans that one
of the teams (Mousie Marcellus,
Mike Boyd and the Winged Express) was able to make the trek all the way from
California to participate in this. The
other participants in the exhibition were "Nanook," Don Green's
"Rat Trap" and Randy Bradford's "Bradford" Fiat
from Washington state. These weren't just fire-ups and squirts, but all-out,
full course match races as only these
fire-breathing originals deliver them. Bradford faced off against Mike Boyd in
the Winged Express, and Rat Trap took
on Nanook during these special sessions held both Friday and Saturday
immediately before the evening Pro-qualifying
sessions. The fans absolutely ate it up as the nitro headerflames punctuated the
on-again, off-again progress of
the ill-handling behemoths on their treacherous course. It was Fuel Altered
racing at its finest, with Nanook and
Winged Express winning both their heats against their more directionally
challenged rivals.
Once upon a distant time these cars ran at the U.S. Nationals, although classed
as fuel dragsters at the time. Some of the
fans might have remembered Willie
Borsch qualifying in the Winged Express at Indy over thirty years ago, although
for
many fans this was their first exposure to such machines. A testimonial to
their everlasting popularity and the respect
afforded their drivers were the
salutes of appreciation given them not just by the fans but by the Pro-teams in
staging as
they returned to the pits following their runs.
Mike Boyd in "Winged Express" and
Randy Bradford in the "Bradford" Fiat stage up for one of the Fuel
Altered exhibition races run at this year's 50th Anniversary Nationals. Their
night runs were spectacular!
The resurgent interest in drag racing history that characterizes the last decade
was nowhere more evident than a special
display set up at the event featuring a
collection of restored and re-created older racecars. Improvements in recent
years
on the west side of the IRP facility include the permanent stands,
hospitality suites and concession stands that are now completed together with a
large walled, paved and gardened courtyard surrounding it all. During this
year's event, this
area was chosen as the setting for what was called the "Golden 50 Concourse" featuring 50
racecars representing the 50
years of U.S. Nationals competition. While not
every machine present had an Indy-winning pedigree, many did, and most
had at
least some history of participation at major NHRA events during their racing
histories. For those familiar with the CHRR and/or NHRR, the "outdoor
museum" concept was akin to the "Memory Lane" exhibits at these
Reunions. It
actually went "one better" in that some of the cars had
never been on display during past reunions, or only at at the eastern
or western
venue, while others were seldom seen outside of their museum confines anywhere
(most notably those coming
from the NHRA Museum at Pomona).
On display at the entrance to the "Golden 50" Concourse
was the re-created "J.E. Riley Special" dragster driven by Calvin Rice
in winning the first NHRA Nationals. The car was brought from its home at the
NHRA Museum in California.
With such a long list of participating cars, it isn't possible to list them or
show them all here, but photos of the exhibit and a number of these cars is
included in the album section accompanying this report. With its strategic
location, even the most casual of fans was brought into contact with these early
cars on their way to the stands, and most lingered to examine them in detail.
The area was a beehive of activity though out the event, and was characterized by
lines of fans eager for autographs or just a few moments chat with the owners
drivers and caretakers of these classics. NHRA also sponsored several autograph
sessions to keep things moving along. Cars like the fuel altereds were not a
part of this formal display, as was the case with some of the "cacklecars"
also attending. The "Golden 50" in the end was oversubscribed, and the
count of historic racecars at Indy certainly exceeded 60!
Indy's first Cacklefest was a phenomenal success! This was the scene
with all twenty participating cars lining the head of the track and engulfing
the standing crowd with the thunder of their aggregate nitro-power!
Did I say cackle cars?! Static firings of some of the old nitro machines were
heard on an off throughout the event, but the best was saved for last as a
full-scale Cacklefest was to be a part of the 50th U.S. Nationals as the event
drew to a close. It's not possible to estimate how many folks were
"veterans" of such displays and how many were to witness a 'fest for
the first time. NHRA had included small-scale cacklefests at many regular
National Event meets earlier in the season to stimulate interest in the U.S.
Nationals as well as its Reunion activities. It's fair to say that many knew
what to expect, but those who didn't
were in for a delightful surprise. In either case, what transpired was memorable
as one of the "Great Indy Moments"
for the keepers of the lore.
Originally conceived as a sixteen-car program, the final manifest would include
twenty cars participating in the
historic event. The list looked like this:
Ventura Motors AA/SR
Barb Hamilton-AdveyCC/Gasser
Tennessee Bo-Weevil A/MR
Glass Slipper Fuel
Dragster
Brief Encounter AA/D
Freight
Train AA/D
Reath Automotive AA/A
Swamp Fox
AA/FD
Jade Grenade AA/FD
Albertson Olds AA/D
Loukas & Preising AAF/C
King & Marshall
AA/FD
Bounty Hunter AA/D
Howard Cam Rattler AA/FD
Winged Express AA/FA
Barnes
and Gladstone AA/FD
Chrisman-Cannon Hustler
Kuhl & Olsen AA/FD
Over The Hill Gang AA/FD
McEwen 'Vette
AA/FC
Unlike the Cacklefests at the Reunions where they were born the Indy enactment
required some concessions to fit the
schedule, namely the daylight timing and dispensing with the push start down
past the stands, the idling pass before
the crowd, and the turnaround and return to a lineup formation along the track.
Cacklefest at Indy was scheduled
in the window between the last semi-final and first of the final rounds of
competition on Monday afternoon,
necessitating some changes. Instead, the cars assembled and fired down-track then
were pursued by their push-cars as they
idled up track and immediately filed into a diagonal parallel-park formation
along both walls of the track as seen in the above photo. As the lead cars
approached, Pat Foster in the McEwen Funny Car fired up in front of the starting
line and performed a few dry hops, while the Over the Hill Gang pulled in front of
the Top Eliminator Club stands to entertain that section. The remaining 18 cars
came down-track as described.
It was "short and sweet" (at least it seemed short, but of sweet there
is no doubt)! The din of the nitro-chorus put
grins on every face looking on, and you had to look hard to see anyone who
wasn't standing and craning to best savor it
all. A most fitting climax to this most history-laden anniversary celebration
ever to happen at the U.S. Nationals. Without stealing a bit of the suspense and
thrill the final eliminations that followed, Cacklefest simply underscored all
that makes Indy everything it is....the world's premier drag race!
Enough words? Like to see some more photos? CLICK
HERE and visit Nitrogeezer's album of shots detailing the
history-related happenings during this year's 50th Annual NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Also those of you who would like to see Vic's coverage of the National Event part of the U.S. Nationals on Bill Pratt's Excellent Draglist website CLICK HERE
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