"Memories of Drag Racing"
"From Those Who Were There"

Mike Nelson, "Memories of The Wizard and more"

Hi, Mike Nelson, from Sand Springs Oklahoma, the land of the Wizard of Suborn. Grew up around drag cars before I knew what they were, but I knew I sure like what I saw and heard lots of noise. When I was 13 or 14 I would ride my bike up the hill where I live to where Bennie lived and work for awhile at a filling station DX I believe as my memory serve me its not what it used to be. I would hear Bennie fire up his A/MR, and up the hill I would ride just to watch. Anyway that's how I got started knowing Bennie, that was cool back then, well to make a long story short I have a few picture left of Bennies T/FD the woody car that he did so well with.

 The pictures that I have are 1968 in Tulsa at a points meet, you will see Ray Goodman sitting next to Bennies car and the car in the back ground is the A/GD of Brookes and Moritz from Tulsa. Also there are a few pictures of the Nelson/ Horton/Bradley C/GD the chassis was one of Bennies old cars, his first Chrysler car he had built after the twin engine BRAND X Chevy power dragster. 

Bennie is in white shirt and driver pants with some friends

Bennie was a one man band, crew chief, mechanic, driver. That's the reason he got the nick
name of the Wizard he could always pull one out of the hat. He along with Big were and still
are the best, they were seat of the pants drivers, knew the car inside and out. and could
adjust without a computer

Bennie in the near lane on his first round win., not sure who he racing

Bennie on his 2nd round win, still do know who the other car. I know there were more
pictures than this but this is all I have from in the good old days. Back when sex was
fun and drag racing was dangerous !

I am now 61 and still love the smell and the noise I do miss it. I finally quit racing in 1992 sold the whole rig to save a marriage but that another story. Now at 61 years young and I have got a rear engine dragster now, an injected Chevy on alcohol that my best friend and my crew chief John Horton who been with me for a long time on a lot of different cars, we are going to change a few things and go to Bonneville this year and have some fun while we still can. 

This is the new toy, that myself and my crew chief John will be taking to the drags here
at Tulsa in which they have rebuilt from the ground up , nothing like it was but a lot better
;2.5 million spent on it so far and a lot more to go. Also with a few changes we will be
headed to Bonneville this year.

I got started in drag racing was back in late 66 or earlier 67 I bought a 1933 Plymouth coupe when I was home on leave that was set up for small block Chevy and had been running in B/GC. It had been the club car for the Jokers car club in Sand Springs that Bennie and Leon Frazier had started. Anyway the car had been past around to a few other people in the club , then in 66 just before I got out of the navy I bought the car from one of the club members while I was on leave. When I got out of the service I  got together with John and couple other guys and was going to race the coupe but they wanted to have a dragster instead. I sold the coupe and found the chassis that's in the pictures. It was built 64 or 65 by Bennie and was set for a Chrysler 392, it was his first Chrysler car after the twin Chevy motor car that he built.

The car was running and john was doing a little adjusting on the old Hilborn injectors,
with myself in the car

Crew chief John discussing what to do on our first of elimination

This is our first round qualifying run at Tulsa at that time knows as Southwest raceway

First round and guess what I blow it up right off the starting line. Bad day!!

I do not know if you can see the oil on the ground or the big whole in the pan ,
believe me there is one

This is of us pushing back to the pits , boy I sure would like to have that rig back now!

What went wrong; the driver of course, its always the driver

We race it for awhile then I sold it and got hook up with Chester Garrison who was running a top fuel car call the ambushes, stay with him for awhile as a crew member. Then I had couple of door cars I play with that was my daily driver and a race car, that doesn't" work well. I got with a friend of mine he had gotten one of Ken Vennys funny cars and I work with him as crew member, then I later drove for a short time. Then in 1988 my old buddy John got me started in drag boat racing's and had fun with those for awhile, not fuel just gas, had one close call in it and decided to get off the liquid asphalt and get four wheels on the ground. Traded the boat for bracket race car, 1976 Vega with small block, it did fairly good with it ran in 10s at 132 MPH  the put it on alcohol and ran 9.90 at 137 MPH. Then I sold the Vega in 92 to save a marriage but that didn't" do any good. I was getting tired of racing anyway, John and I use to say when drag racing no longer is fun its time to quit, so I did sold lot stock and barrel, car, trailer spare parts and tools. It had became a money race, how fast you wanted to go depends on how much money you had to spend. Bennie once said that now days these guys have as much money or more tied up in there motors as he had in whole operation, truck,  trailer, car, spare parts.

 Oh yes that one picture of Bennie in his race car at 229 MPH with chute out was in Hot Rod or one of the magazines at the but I've never saw it again until a few years ago I was talking to an old friend of mine name Phil Oaks another drag racer from way back, he had the picture in his store here in Broken Arrow Okla. I hadn't" seen that picture until then and I ask where he had gotten it, he said he got out of an old magazine and had it printed off bigger., so I ask if I could take it and have a copy made for me and I did so. I just think the picture is just cool not only the picture but because its of Bennie the Wizard.  Mike Nelson

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