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Click on any image to get the bigger picture |
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By
way of introduction, I should mention that I have been a slave to my fascination
with drag racing since I first saw it in print back in 1969. Being only ten years old at the time and with
no-one else to share my enthusiasm, it would be Easter 1976 before I could see
it live. I’ve been going continually to
every major meeting since then. Some 14
years ago, with no capital whatsoever, I took the foolhardy step of setting up
my own business as a full time illustrator and photojournalist. The fact that I’m still here is due to the
editors of Custom Car past and present, American Car World and my many customers
for which I’m grateful. I’m also
indebted to Alan Currans for allowing my output onto his excellent site and to
Andy Barrack for scanning everything for me. |
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I thought I’d start with something spectacular. This was the late Lee Anders Hasselstrom in 1987 at the World Finals driving his nitro Camaro funny car. The fire was out quickly but note the broken blower belt in front of the injector. The shot was taken at the 70mm end of a zoom lens at 250th of a second on 50 ASA slide film. |
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This is one of my favourite shots of Krister Johansson driving his Top Methanol Dragster, before he went over to the injected nitro setup. I’m not sure which meeting it was but I took it on print film using a 300mm lens on an ancient Olympus OM1, which proves that there is very little to be gained using more modern equipment, often as not. |
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Back in the early 90’s, Steve Read was top dog in blown methanol and was looking for a new challenge. In this shot at Avon Park, Steve burns out in the Top Fuel machine of Stuart Vallance, which was a recent US import. He was match racing a Williams Formula 1 car and I have a motor drive sequence of Steve at half track with the Williams barely up to the Christmas tree! |
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This was a pretty but short-lived Donovan powered nitro funny car campaigned as an independent by John Spuffard. Taken at the Cannonball in I think 1987, I was responsible for the colour scheme, striping, signwriting and the airbrushed headlights. The Showdown Challenger unfortunately burnt to the ground some weeks later. |
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This was Tim Cook’s first Pro Mod effort and a car that showcased the early engine building talents of Rob Loaring at ICE Racing Engines. The full-sized car was a fierce launcher and Tim had plenty of success with the ’56 Chevy. I did the lettering on the car including painting many stars on the Americar logo. |
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We expect Scandinavian Pro Stock cars to be American imports but back in the late '80s there were a few home grown devices like the swoopy Scorpio of Sweden’s Viveca Averstedt. She went on to Top Fuel, while the car went via Alan Packman in Pro Mod to become the Super Mod championship winning ride of Andy Hone. |
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Mark Pemble had a Puma-powered twin called Chain Reaction back in the '80s and it used to run 8.50s as I recall. Later on, he went to this Top Fuel machine which ran into the sevens. He’s seen here looking understandably wide eyed as he comes off the line at Santa Pod. Taken with a humble but capable Practica camera and 300mm lens. |
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Back in the 80’s, the killer Pro Stock rider was Jack Valentine from Shaw in Lancashire. His V&M Suzuki’s were rarely beat as he was a good rider and his homegrown bikes made plenty of power. |
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Here’s a weird one. One Easter meet in the late '80s I think, Houndog funny car pilot Alan Bates put a nitro engine into the Lowes brothers’ Pro Comp dragster and had a go. Typical long Bates burnout, with Stu Bradbury seen leaping away for his life in the background! |
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Seen late in the career of the car, Graham Barrs campaigned the Neon Star Pinto in the Modified class. The car looked like one of Bob Glidden’s Pro Stock cars which was no bad thing and Graham later ran a Mustang in Pro Modified. |
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A regular occurrence at any November meeting was the fire burnout – a spectacular unique to drag racing but unfortunately outlawed. Nobby Hills was the master on nitro but even lower powered cars like the Rutland Rebel slingshot would have a go! |
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Making his nitro debut at a chilly November at the Pod was Charlie Draper from Essex at the wheel of the EMS-TOGO sponsored Trans Am. Right from the off, Charlie got the burnout routine squared away and the car performed well thereafter. I designed the colour scheme and did the signwriting.i |
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To compliment the funny car operation, the Draper Brothers commissioned me to design them some stickers for giveaways. This was before the days of widespread computers so they were hand drawn having designed a logo first. Rendered in coloured pencil, pen and gouache. |
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In
the '80s I used to spend a lot of time down in Rayleigh, Essex putting paint on
race cars. |
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In the early '90s I was concentrating heavily on artwork. If you ever wondered why Steve Read came out with a strange green and white paintjob, this is why. Had the BP logos been in place, it would all have made sense but the deal fell through. |
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To go with Steve’s methanol-burning dragster, I did him an Iveco Turbo Star tractor and trailer unit with a canopy in the BP colours. Drag racing is full of what might have beens and this is one of them. |
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Back in 1992, I was commissioned by Super Street rider Mark Wanstall to design him a paintjob for his Suzuki. For whatever reason, the bike never got done. I was pleased with the paint at the time and notice that the graphic spears on the bike match the helmet with co-ordinated leathers. |
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John Spuffard got his feet wet in nitro funny car by fielding a Vega-bodied car powered by a 392 Chrysler and later a Donovan. In 1986 I decided to do a drawing of the car using pen and coloured pencil for my own amusement. Trickiest bit is getting the smoke pouring off the tyres! |
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In the early '90s, I was regularly designing the Santa Pod event T shirts, something I don’t get involved with any longer. This was a typical one featuring Mickey Moore’s T. The blank oblong was always filled in later with a Budweiser logo. |
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Again, something I did for myself. I’m very particular about the way a funny car should look and the plain blue Rune Fjeld Mustang was getting on my nerves in ’97! Gary Page was driving and though he had no say in the matter, this is what I felt the car should look like! |
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