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Keeping NHRA Fans Up to Date

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Fan Fotos: New England

29 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
" width="100%" Welcome to Fan Fotos, the sequel! Steve Heuer – and quite a few others -- took advantage of my offer two weeks ago to display their 10 best fan photos, and here they are. Again, the purpose of this is to show off…
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How the elephant crushed the guardrail

20 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Even when you truly enjoy the subject matter, the reader response, and the thrill of telling a new story, writing a biweekly column can be tough. (I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I began this column more than four years ago as a thrice-…
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Open houses, early chutes, and finals gone wrong

16 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
As I knew it would, Tuesday’s column about early shutoffs elicited a few more head-slapping incidents of drivers lifting too soon or woofing the chute prematurely. So let’s take a look at a few more prime examples, then we’…
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Don't lift until you've heard the referee's whistle

13 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
I coached youth hockey for my son’s teams for a number of years, and one of the things I always worked hard to remind the kids of was to keep playing until they heard the referee’s whistle; until then, the puck is live, and play is ongoing. You may…
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NHRA's first computers

11 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Everyone who has ever owned a computer has a "my first computer" story. Whether your earliest experiences with the "ones and zeros" was a Commodore 64 that loaded programs from a cassette player or you just finally got wired and broke your computer'…
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More Indy yearbook feedback ... and 'Jungle's' wedge

09 Sep 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Back safe and sound and mostly caught up after the Big Go (my 29th straight!), and I thought I’d wrap up a few loose ends before moving on to our next topic. The 1977 NHRA U.S. Nationals Yearbook continues to be a favorite topic (I’m…
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My favorite time of year(book)

30 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Whether you’re lost in the woods or tortuously filling and tying off scores of water balloons for your 4-year-old grandson’s “swim party,” it’s good to know you’re not alone, and when it comes to admiration for the 1977…
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The 1977 NHRA U.S. Nationals Yearbook

26 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Drag racing fans still love the printed word (thank goodness for me!), which explains why a lot of us still have library-worthy collections of old drag racing magazines – Super Stock, Drag Racing USA, …
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Chi-Town and 'Jungle': Farrrrrrrrrrr out!

19 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Lots of thumbs-up (and one thumbs-down, as you will read) for last Friday’s column about the Chi-Town Hustler and “Jungle Jim” Liberman, which I guess should well be expected seeing as how they’re two of a handful of surefire winning column topics…
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Clearing the table (again)

16 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Like a busboy in an all-you-can-eat restaurant, seems like I can’t clear the plates fast enough to satisfy your rabid hunger, so I’m going to try to use today to wipe the table clean of some news and notes I’ve had scattered across my desk. (I wish…
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The day that 'Jungle' drove the Chi-Town Hustler

12 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
It’s a fact of life that just when you think you know everything about something, you get slapped upside the head, which happened to me (again) this week. Everyone knows the story of the great Chi-Town Hustler, how engineering ace John Farkonas,…
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Open for business, again

09 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
As any of you who have been around this cantina for any length of time full know, it’s as much your own memorable morsel as the main course that I serve up that makes this column the popular potluck it has become. Despite me hanging out the…
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The slingshot's last hurrah

05 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Who had the first slingshot dragster is certainly debateable, but Mickey Thompson long took credit for it with this car, pictured in 1954. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of a very telling date in…
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Second helpings

02 Aug 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Yeah, and they have pretty cool t-shirts, too ... Friday’s "Food for Thought” column about dragstrip delicacies may have been…
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Food for thought

29 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
  It may well be the most famous and photographed concession stand in drag race history, showing up in the background behind superstar racers burning rubber at Irwindale Raceway in the 1960s and ‘70s, and…
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A farewell to Dave Condit

26 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
I was all set to kick off a discussion of dragstrip food when I learned yesterday about the passing of former Funny Car racer Dave Condit. I guess John Force mentioned it on the air during this weekend's ESPN2 show from Denver, but because I was…
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And, finally, ‘the Snake’ weighs in

22 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
(Above) The "slightly off" Rapid Transit paint scheme and (below) the real deal. (Above) The same Rapid Transit car, new '91 grille treatment, another kinda-sorta…
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All Snake, all the time

19 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Over the wails of frustration from the few residents of the Insider Nation complaining about the current “all-Snake-all-the-time” format … sorry ‘bout that, and here we go again. Last Friday, I left the floor open for further comments/discussion…
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What became of the original yellow 'Cuda?

15 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
I knew this would come up one day – I just didn’t know it would be two years later – but now seems to be about the perfect time considering the recent subject matter concerning Don Prudhomme and Barracudas. It may give you an excellent idea of what…
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The 'other' black 'Cuda

11 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
(Above) Don Prudhomme shook down the Snake III 'Cuda at OCIR prior to its debut at the 1973 Supernationals. (Below) The fully decaled/painted car as it appeared at the Supernationals and Lions' Last Drag Race. (Steve…
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Red Gooses, black Snakes, and steam catapults

08 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
After somewhat reluctantly (yet honor bound to do so) publishing mixed reviews of the replica Hot Wheels Duster Funny Car in last Friday’s column, I was glad to see an outpouring of support for the project from fans. Though…
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That was then, this is now

01 Jul 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Coming or going, you can nitpick the differences between the original, as shown in the first and third photos supplied by Bob Snyder and shot at the 1970 AHRA Summernationals at New York National Speedway,…
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It's ready!

28 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Just a real quick hit this morning while I try to dig myself out from the chaos that is my desk anytime that I travel to a national event. We didn’t get back into SoCal from our trip to Norwalk until late yesterday, so I didn’t get a chance to drop…
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M&R revisited, and the tale of Bob Gibson

21 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
After posting here last week about Roger “Riceman” Lee’s upcoming re-creation of the Masters & Richter Top Fueler, it didn’t take me long to get the expected reply about whether it was the ex-M&R car that “Big John” Milner drove in More…
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Top Fuel seasons, then and now

17 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
OK, Insider experts, what do Top Fuel racers Carl Olson, Don Garlits, Chip Woodall, Jeb Allen, Art Marshall, Gary Beck, Jim Walther, and Don Moody have in common? I’ll give you some time to think about it as the column progresses. If you’ve been…
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Filling out my to-do list

14 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Dale Pulde, far lane, took on Dave Condit and the L.A. Hooker Mustang at Lions. My recent mention of upcoming topics brought forth a lot of responses and, as always, some great help. I’ve been…
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It's ramped up and almost ready

07 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Any trip to Englishtown is steeped in history — the names of heroes such as “Jungle Jim” Liberman and Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney are always invoked. The vast majority of the nitro racers who compete annually always…
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The name game

01 Jun 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Quite a few of you applauded my tongue-in-cheek strikethrough "mistake" in referring to the annual event in Englishtown as the Summernationals, which, of course, now is the name of the recently completed event in Topeka. I'd…
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Rats, snakes, hustlers, and kings

27 May 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
At this time next week, I'll be at one of my favorite places in the drag racing world, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown for the annual Summernationals SuperNationals. (Still struggle with that one, and don't even get me started on…
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At a loss, again ...

24 May 2011
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Another Tuesday, another sad duty to report another substantial loss to our sport. Yesterday, about 5 p.m., just a week after the death of James Warren, we lost 1970s veteran fuel Funny Car campaigner Dick Rosberg, adding to the already staggering…
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