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OVER CENTER
BY PETE WARD
MAY.2014
VOL18
NUMBER3
MAY2014
EDITORIAL
Kevin Wilson - Editorial Director
Pete Ward - Editor
Michelle Salcedo - Group Managing Editor
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COLUMNS
4
76
82
86
88
Over Center
Behind the Scenes
Collectible Keepers
Carb Class
The Mongoo$e Journals
DEPARTMENTS
Quarter-Mile Updates
Power Brokers
Strange Engineering Quiz
Bells and Whistles
Parting Shot
contents
8
12
13
14
90
The Snake, in
conjunction with Brett
Hajek, is restoring the
fabled Shelbys Super
Snake T/F. The
legendary Don Long is in
charge of the chassis
and the Old Master Ed
Pink, who built its
original Ford Cammer, is
again the engine builder.
PHOTOGRAPHER
UNKNOWN
ON THE COVER SNAKE AND GOO$E HIGHLIGHT THE BARRETT-JACKSON AUCTION Photo by
Visit Drag Racer online: Dragracermag.com
Jim
SPECIAL FEATURES
42
64
BACK TO THE
FUTURE WITH
YET ANOTHER
NEW IHRA
MILLION
DOLLAR
BABIES
Barrett-Jackson
Highlights
18
44
EUROBOOSTED
Tero Laukkanen Is
Blowin Big Power
48
24
PANDEMONIUM!
WHEN TIME
WAITS FOR
NO ONE
70
THE PERFECT
DISTRACTION
Ed Leaboughs Chevy II
Takes Him AwayQuickly!
TECH
32
by
Jim White
58
DRAG RACER (ISSN_1094-5547) Volume 18, Number 3 is a bimonthly publication published January, March, May, July, September and November by Beckett Media
LLC, 22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, #200, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. POSTMASTER Send address changes to: DRAG RACER c/o BECKETT MEDIA, 4635 McEwen Rd.,
Dallas, TX 75244. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Drag Racer c/o Pitney Bowes, Inc., PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B #855050365RT001.
2014 by Beckett Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material from this issue in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
QUARTER-MILE UPDATE
MAY.2014
A
R
H
N
3
1
0
2
P.
M
A
H
C
D
PRO MO
H
T
I
M
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RICKY
8 TIMEEET
PRO STCRHAMP!
WORLD
I
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U
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A
P
POPEYE POWER!!!
VENOLIA PISTONS PROVIDE RACE PROVEN DURABILITY AND PERFORMANCE RUN AFTER RUN.
PAT MUSI KNOWS VENOLIA WILL DELIVER A WINNING ADVANTAGE.......
PISTONS
PINS
RODS
RINGS
www.venolia.com
QUARTER-MILE UPDATE
emember the bitchin
muscle car stamps the
U.S. Postal Service issued
last year? Tom Fritz, the
artist who created them, also does
drag race images. Be sure to check
out his website, Fritzart.com.
10
MAY.2014
QUARTER-MILE UPDATE
GREGG BELLEMEUR
12
MAY.2014
TECH TIP
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER
ROD BOLT STRETCH
The clamp force holding a rod together needs to
be greater than the tension load pulling it apart.
To obtain the correct amount of clamping force a
fastener should actually be stretched a measured
amount. This is done with a stretch gauge not a
torque wrench.
Designed in House
CNC Machined
www.grpconrods.com
Owner/driver:
Gary Densham
13
Drag Racer
March 2014
Name of car:
Teachers Pet
Earls DisconnectsQuickly
14
MAY.2014
in the lanes
with optional
touch screen!
NO-COST
www.holley.com | 270-781-9741
All trademarks listed are property of their respective owners.
Revolutionary
Stepper Throttle
Stop From
Dedenbear
16
MAY.2014
Available
On Demand
and Digital
Download
MARCH
4TH
& on
Blu-ray
and DVD
APRIL
8TH!
The incredible true story of the most amazing drag racers in history.
SMOKING
THROUGHOUT AND
SOME LANGUAGE
FILMS
www.snakeandmongoosemovie.com
18
MAY.2014
streamliners. It took Ivo and team only a few weeks to recycle some of
the ideas to build the next generation of a TV Tom beauty. The Red
Wing was a more conventional dragster that could double as a piece
of art. The stars, however, would not align for the car as it met with a
comedy of errors. Ivo recalled its rocky beginning. Before my rst run,
my over-excited push car driver slammed into the rear of it, sending me
and the car up onto the hood of my Cadillac. The heavily damaged
aluminum deck was hastily repaired, but couldnt hold up to the strains
of touring. A berglass replacement unit was made in mid-summer and
used for the remainder of the season.
SHOW AND GO
During the mid-60s, drag racing had a clear-cut pecking order: there
was Top Fuel and then everything else. Prudhomme, Ivos former sidekick, had established himself as one of frontrunners of the sport along
with Don Garlits and Tom McEwen. It was a colorful time in the sport.
There was a Snake, a Mongoose, Big Daddy and TV Tom, said Roland
Leong, known for his Hawaiian dragsters and his tuning abilities. All of
them could be the fastest at any time. But, it was Ivo who knew how
to put on a show, he added.
For 1966, Ivo constructed a new and improved dragster using the
berglass tail of the Red Wing. In true TV Tom style, he one-upped
everyone when he arranged for ABCs Wide World of Sports to follow
the building process. It brought unprecedented exposure, not only to Ivo,
but the entire sport as well. Adding to the impression, Ivo painted the
car green. We called it chartreuse because it was bad luck to paint a
race car green, remarked Ivo. While the new 150-inch wheelbase dragster was drop-dead gorgeous, Ivo added another showmans touch, a
glass trailer. It was a simple yet effective idea. Make the rig like a rolling
storefront. Man, did that cause some highway excitement, he added.
In 67 Ivo went from chartreuse to psychedelic. It was the age of
incense and peppermints and there was no one more ready to be
more far out than Ivo. As he put it, I told custom painter George Cerny
about drawing amoeba shapes on my school notebooks a decade ago.
So he did up the body in white pearl with candy apple red blobs. Man,
that car was a real crowd-pleaser. In 68, Ivo moved the process forward by building a second rail and a trailer capable of hauling both.
By this time the NHRA and AHRA were competing for the top drivers and tracks. Both sanctioning bodies also increased the number of
more packed grandstands. Using one of the
sketches, the Videoliner with a swoopy aluminum body, was built. On the rst test run
Ivo discovered the wind currents made the
car handle like he was wrestling a raging bull.
The second run was no better. But Ivo and
team kept trying to ne-tune the concept in
hopes of discovering the secret.
Meanwhile, other builders were also
experimenting with aerodynamic, streamline designs. One night at Lions the answers
were tragically revealed. I was heading
down the re-up lane toward the staging
area. Another driver in a streamliner was in
mid-run when he lost control and slammed
at full speed into a telephone pole. The car
was heavily damaged and the driver killed. I
got out of my streamliner right then and
there. Ivo concluded. That event, along with
a near fatal crash by Tony Nancy in his
experimental slipstream dragster, put a
quick end to the idea.
The quest to harness the wind was not
completely lost to the ill-fated, full-bodied
19
national events and developed a points system. In the face of mounting pressure to run
quicker, engines were being pushed to the
limit. Sponsorship was still a dicey situation
and never enough to fund the building and
campaigning for a full season, not even for
drivers as successful as Ivo.
THE POINT OF TOURING
The nal season of the 60s proved to be a
tale of two extremes. First, the two Top
Fuelers from 68 were repainted and carried
over for 69. The cars were in a rainbow
scheme. Once again Ivo was a top contender at every national event. But, it was
running on the touring circuit that paid the
bills. It had become a question of ego or
economics. Ivo explained. I knew I could
make more money touring than earning
points. But it cost me when it came to being
part of the history books, he added.
It was during this time that Ivo pulled off
one of the most iconic off-track tricks in racing history. He convinced Dodge to supply
him with a cab-over truck on atbed rails.
He commissioned Swaja to design a glasssided truck to haul both dragsters plus all
necessary parts, equipment and nitro. The
kicker was it also would carry a tow car on
top. I bought a Corvette to use as the push
car. When the Dodge people saw that, they
were very upset. They wanted me to use a
Dart. I told them the only American car low
enough to clear the interstate bridges while
on top of the rig was a Corvette. The truth
was there was no way I was going to use an
old mans car as a pusher. The Corvette was
more my style, recalled Ivo. The rig had a
celebrity status of its own, being made into
model kits and featured in magazines.
The desire for a double life of racing was
tempered by a decade of being the most
popular driver in the sport. Fans from coast
to coast looked forward to Ivo coming to a
track near them. His warm personality, Hollywood good looks, and beautiful dragsters,
trailers and tow cars had made him a big
attraction. It was here where the two-car
system paid major dividends. The full-bodied dragster was used for the majority of his
touring appearances and at custom car
//As in years
past, Ivo the
showman took
over the class and
became a fan
favorite. During
non-national
events, Ivo was
known for his
long, near
quarter-mile
smoky burnouts.
//
20
shows. The second car minus rear bodywork was lighter and
quicker, thus it was his choice at national events or during match
races with the heavy-hitters of the day.
Time on the road takes its toll, especially after a decade. It
was important to stay loose and try to have fun. Otherwise the
rigors of living out of a suitcase nine months a year would drive
a person to the edge. While Ivo was as famous as a drag racer
could be in the 60s, he was also infamous for his practical
(and often elaborate) jokes.
One night, while at a national event, he and a crew member
were leaving the hotel parking lot. At the time, nearly every
team had a Chevy truck. There were dozens of them in the parking lot, so I decided everyone needed a new hood, he recalled.
Ivo and team removed all of the Chevy hoods and swapped
them around. The next morning, red hoods were on white
trucks, white were on blue and black on red. It was a slight to
see. I think it took three months for everyone to get the original
hoods back in place, he said with a chuckle.
Ivo was the biggest prankster there was back then. I remember the hood gag. The only ones that got off that one were Prudhomme and I because he was running a Ford and I had a Dodge,
said Tom McEwen. Ivo wasnt immune to retaliation and often
found himself blockaded in his hotel room by a vending machine
or with a lump of Limburger cheese hidden in his rooms air vent.
McEwen summed in up this way, It was all in good fun and was
part of the camaraderie of the sport.
THE TIMES OF CHANGE
The next two years were lled with massive transition. In one
genius move major sponsorships were brought into the sport
via the growing popularity of Funny Cars. Suddenly, Top Fuel
was no longer the top draw. McEwen and Prudhomme opened
the oodgates with their Hot Wheels deal. Coupled with Garlits tragic clutch explosion and subsequent invention of the
rear-engine dragster, it seemed the entire sport was being
turned upside-down. TV Tommy, always on the leading edge
of innovation, was suddenly seen as a man in the past. He
had two conventional front-engine dragsters, no plan to get
into a Funny Car, and was only able to land small sponsorship
deals with Fram Oil Filters and AMT. Drag racing, as he knew it,
was over. Funny Cars were the touring draw and he knew he
would have to adapt or die. He would not only adapt, be once
again lead the charge.
Change for Ivo came in 1972 when he arrived with a new
rear-engine dragster. Style and attention to detail were just as
important as performance. Rear-engine design became a
standard cookie-cutter look. I wanted to stand out, not only by
being faster, but to have a distinctive style, said Ivo. To achieve
this, Ivo ran body panels connecting the front and rear of the
car. The wing supports were also unique at the time. When it
came to performance, Ivo quickly set the bar. On his rst offiMAY.2014
21
one of its old Nailhead engines had blown apart. It didnt take but a
moment for Ivo to have the answer to his farewell tour dilemma.
Within a few hours he was able to purchase the car and trailer. In his
Burbank garage, the same one where he built the four-engine car all
those years ago, he brought the past back to life.
The previous owner had tted the rig with a body resembling a
Buick station wagon. Ivo liked the idea of the WagonMaster and
called every old track owner to replicate the tour of years past. Over
the nal months of 1981, the four-engine car was restored beyond its
earlier glory. With the signature Ivo glass-sided trailer, he was on the
road one nal time.
It was early spring and Ivo was crisscrossing the map. He recalls a
time in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, when his good time tour turned
sour. A harsh winter can do awful things to a racing surface. To a
packed house, Ivo gave the crowd what they came to see, a full chat,
four-wheel drive burnout from line to line. In the barrage of smoke and
noise, Ivo didnt see the remains of a frost heave leftover from the subzero winter. The car bottomed out, delivering a severe thud to the still
healing Ivo. Near blackout pain followed, but in showmans style, Ivo
pulled it together, exited the car and waved to the adoring fans.
The next morning Ivo ew home to get checked out. The news
wasnt good. While his spinal cord wasnt damaged, three vertebrae
below the shoulders had been crushed. I was put into a body brace
and told to make a choice, drive a race car or walk. I chose to walk,
he said. And so, the man who had innovated the sport, survived multiple high-speed crashes, traveled across the country and overseas
to promote the sport he loved, was faced with forced retirement.
Again, Ivo was concerned more with his fans than himself. He
hired Rick Johnson to drive the four-engine car for the remainder of
the tour dates. He accompanied Johnson and the car, but it wasnt
the same. He was thankful when it was over.
In the years that followed, Tommy Ivo received numerous honors.
The Hot Rod Magazine Lifetime Achievement, NHRA Lifetime Achievement, named to the Car Craft Magazine All-Time All-Star Drag Racing Team, and he was enshrined in the American Motorsports Hall of
Fame. To me, being inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame was
better than winning an Academy Award, Ivo proclaimed.
Today, with the resurgence of nostalgic drag racing, Ivos as big a
draw as ever. His T-bucket, two engine, four engine and Barnstormer
dragsters live on at events from coast to coast and at the Wally
Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. And as for
the man himself, hes still smiling and forever in love with the sport
he helped build and the millions of fans he thrilled. DR
/ The Rod Shop and Ivo parted ways in 78. It was also the year he switched
to the more aerodynamic Plymouth Arrow body.
Cyclops. Ivo was thrilled by the ride and always kept the idea of driving a jet car in his thoughts. All the fun of touring was gone. The way
the sport had developed, there was no longer match racing and little time for anything other than work. I wanted to do something fun
again; perhaps a new exhibition car was the ticket. But, instead of
four Buick engines, something a little more modern, like a Jet engine,
Ivo explained.
Jet cars werent new, just unrened. In true Ivo style, he changed all
that. Jet-powered cars were not much more than a basic frame with
an engine attached. I designed a body that looked like a Can-Am
racer, he said. At the time, jet engines could be had for less than a
hundred dollars. Ivo traveled to Arizona and plunked down a couple
of Franklins for a pair of 8,000-hp engines. With old friend Ron
Attebury crafting the chassis, Ivo was like a kid again. I loved coming to the line and hitting the afterburners. That would throw out a
huge reball. The crowd loved it.
Like hed done so many times before, Ivo set up a coast-to-coast
tour. With his reputation and fan following, it was an easy sell. The
car accelerated like a Super Stocker off the line. But, as the air mass
increased into the engine, it accelerated to 300-mph in a heartbeat.
It was the most exciting car I ever drove, he said.
The Jet Car excitement took on a new meaning in Thompson,
Ohio. On a Saturday, post-rainstorm, Ivo did a 250-plus-mph pass.
Unlike most tracks where the shutdown area featured an incline, this
tracks shutdown area was downhill. When I hit the shut-down area,
the jet engine was still making enough signicant power to send the
entire car airborne. It lifted over eight feet into the air. The crosswind
sent me to the side before crashing into a muddy shoulder, said Ivo.
The landing didnt cause injury to car or driver, however the thick mud
from the rain caused the car to dig in. This resulted in instant resistance and slammed the car from 200 to zero in about 6 feet. It was
the same type of negative force that killed Dale Earnhardt at Daytona
in 2001, he added. The force sent Ivos head forward, crushing three
neck vertebrae. He was in great pain but drove the car the next day at
Englishtown, New Jersey. Ivo was ercely loyal to the track owners that
promoted him throughout the years as well as his fan base. Despite
injury and pain he fullled his remaining commitments. He sold the Jet
Car at the end of the year and took 1981 off to heal from his injuries.
During his recovery, a jet-powered Funny Car was built and tested but
Ivo felt it wasnt capable of touring and abandoned the idea.
What Ivo really longed for was the fun days of touring. By a twist
of fate, he was able to live the clich, it was the best of times, it was
the worst of times. With 30 years of racing under his belt, he wanted
to make one last farewell tour. Hed grown weary of cutthroat competition and had no interest in elding a Top Fuel or Funny Car. By
chance, he drove by the old speed shop in Glendale. In back was a
familiar long lost friend. It was the old enclosed trailer that once
housed the four-engine dragster. After some inquires, he discovered
the car was still inside. Itd been there for more than a decade after
22
MAY.2014
.(2! 33!! 2%#/2$ (/,$%2
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