All of the pictures on this page were taken by Lawrie Gatehouse,
I am indebted to him for making them available for us all to enjoy.

Click on any image to get the bigger picture

Lawrie Gatehouse was a busy man in 1975.  Armed with his passport and Nikons he attended numerous Stateside races and filed reports for Drag Racer magazine wherever he went.  Englishtown, Indy, Bristol, Ontario Motor Speedway, you name it he was there.  But if 1975 was a great year for Lawrie then there aren't enough adjectives to describe how good a year it was for Don Garlits.  Winning all three season openers - the AHRA Winternationals, ditto IHRA and ditto NHRA - might have been impressive enough but "Big Daddy" was merely getting warmed up.  From Pomona he then went onto win NHRA's Grand Nationals at Sanair, the US Nationals at Indy (as seen here) and the World Finals at OMS.  His total domination in IHRA's Winston series made their World Championship title a foregone conclusion, and only Gary Beck stood in his way of the NHRA title when he pulled into Ontario Motor Speedway.  But Garlits wasn't just going to take the crown but trounce the opposition AND annihilate the record books for years to come.  His 5.63 ET remained the quickest ever elapsed time until the early 1980s, and having broken the magical 250mph barrier it would be nearly a decade before Joe Amato would raise the bar to 260.  Yes 1975 was a very good year for Don Garlits and that is why he always will be the "Big Daddy".

The pre-eminent female driver of the period was Shirley 'Cha Cha' Muldowney and with three NHRA championships to her credit you can't argue with that.
Lawrie wrote an illustrated article for Hot Rod & Custom UK magazine in 1978 on female drivers generally which you can read by clicking here.
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Judging by the buckled body panels on "TV" Tommy Ivo's Nationwise Rod Shop Top Fuel car, one might assume that he'd already lost his nose wing at the '75 Nationals due to tyre shake.
But knowing TV's hectic schedule of match races, it is just as likely that the missing front end was still blowing around with the tumbleweed in the shutdown area of some prior engagement.  Such was Tommy's busy diary, competing on the NHRA trail was a fairly rare treat for his legions of fans but the touring pro acquitted himself well at Indy in 1975, qualifying 18th in the 32 car field.  His only mistake was to draw "Big Daddy" in the first round.  It should be noted that Ivo's car was one of the first rear-engined dragsters to adopt the front wheel 'pants'.  Their aerodynamic advantage was questionable but Ivo stuck with the look through at least 3 dragsters until the appendages were banned by the NHRA in 1976.

Now best known for his senior position at NHRA, Graham Light is just one of many Canadians who have made a name for themselves in American drag racing. Fellow Canadian, "240" Gordie Bonin is a familiar name to many UK fans. Both Gordie in his Monza Funny Car and Graham Light in his Top Fueler enjoyed backing from the Bubble Up beverage company in the mid 70's. Indeed both Canadians appeared in the drag racing movie "Fast Company" directed by fellow countryman, David Cronenberg. Alas Light didn't qualify at the '75 World Finals (seen here) but did reach the finals at Ontario a couple of years later.

We are delighted to welcome Bill Pryor, driver of the Jim Naramore Top Fueler, to tell us about this photo and recall his drag racing days.
"That's us at Indy in 1975.  Jim Naramore and Tuck Jones are the guys helping push me back after the burnout. Jim is on the near side.  Jim and I raced together from 1974 to 1980 and he owned a small speed shop in Peoria, Illinois.  Tuck moved to St. Louis during the late fall of 1974 to help build the car in the photo - Jerry Dawson Race Cars.  During our years together we won the NHRA Division 3 Top Fuel Championship 3 times - 1975, '76 and '79.  Division 3 was North Central and had the likes of Shirley Muldowney, Connie Kalitta, Rupp & Dakin, Frakes & Funk, Paul Longnecker, Jeg Coughlin, Jim Bucher, Jim Walther, Luigi Novelli and several more.  We also won the AHRA Gateway Nationals at St. Louis in 1974 and 1976.  Never won an NHRA national event but was runner-up at Gainesville one year.
I started racing front engined dragsters in 1968 and got my first rear engined car in 1972 with partner Chuck Hirst.  I was fortunate enough to make a living from racing and quit my day job the same year. We basically earned our living running IHRA and AHRA events and match racing.  We did a lot of match racing at places like Union Grove Wisconsin, US 30 in Gary Indiana and US 131 at Martin Michigan, and managed to stay in the NHRA Top Ten most of those years.  I match raced Don Garlits with a front engined car at Beardstown Illinois in 1970 and lost.  Then I raced him at the IHRA Springnationals at Bristol in '73 and won - 6.32 to 6.33, that was a big deal at the time.
The only year we missed in my drag racing career was 1977 due to back surgery and a Funny Car fire at US 131 in July which took me out for the remainder of the season.
In 1980 we built a brand new car and bought all new 426 engine parts, but we never made one run.
The overall travel expense had nearly doubled in 5 years (motels-gas-etc.) and teams had just begun to use semi-tractor trailer combinations.  I decided if I could not compete at the top, I would not compete at all so we just closed up shop.  I took a year off, helped Bill Simpson build an airplane, travelled a lot and finally went to work for Ed Donovan in 1982.  The last car I drove was Jeg Coughlin's Top Fueler at Indy in 1981.  I made one pass, 5.87/243 and did not qualify.  Broke the rear end and Jeg had no spares so we went home.
I certainly had a great time during all those years and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
The worst day racing is better than the best day working in a job you don't like.  The most valuable thing I brought out of all this was the friendship of all those involved that has continued over the years.
Now I'm working in North Carolina for Rick Hendrick, who owns one of the best teams in NASCAR.
I have the best hobby in the world . . . spending someone else's money to buy race parts!"

Too often over-looked in the annals of Top Fuel, Clayton Harris was an innovator and pioneer, always forging his own path back when the top class in drag racing still allowed individuality and experimentation.
Even from this photo at Bristol Tennessee, aka Thunder Valley, sharp-eyed fuel fans can see that Harris ran a rail that was like no other at this time. At a whopping 254 inches long (when 220 inches was about the norm) Harris had commissioned his 1975 ride from Mike and Greg Peek.  The Colorado Peek Bros. then better known for their chassis work on altereds incorporated numerous innovations whilst working with Harris.  After hanging up his driving gloves, Clayton Harris quickly became a tour de force as crew chief for Richard Holcomb and later put Paul Romine's Nostalgia Slingshot into the 5 second zone. Sadly Clayton died, and later his daughter Meagen, when their private plane crashed in November 2000.

Back to Indy.  Jim Herbert at the wheel of his own Sacramento speed shop sponsored "Performance World" Top Fueller had the dubious distinction of qualifying #32 in the 32 Top Fuel field at Indianapolis in 1975.  Despite being at the bottom of the pile, Jim beat Tom Toler (driving Dick Stahl's TF) in Round One but then redlit against Ted Wolf (in Jim and Alison Lee's beauty) in Round Two.  Jim and partner Chris Raynor continued to race Top Fuel until the late 1970s and then after taking time out for his business the addiction to nitro proved too strong and Jim returned to the sport in the 1990s via the Nostalgia/Good Guys Top Fuel circuit.  Jim Herbert passed away suddenly in 1999.

Numerous Top Fuel racers complained that the left hand lane at the '75 US Nationals was causing tyre shake problems and presumably a body-popping Larry Dixon was one one them.  Even if his Indy ended early (he was knocked out in Round One by Terry Capps), Dixon at least had the distinction of being the only Bow-Tied member of the Cragar Five Second Club - a feat achieved at the '73 Supernationals at OMS.
Using a reconditioned RCS chassis and numerous over the counter GM parts for the rat motor, what the Dixon team lacked in state-of-the-art equipment  they made up for with ingenuity and a loyal team that included wife Pat and son Larry Jnr, along with partner Rod Dunne and Chevy expert Jerry Johansen.  The Chevy fueller had enjoyed sponsorship from "The Real Don Steele" - the legendary Los Angeles radio disc jockey, TV presenter and some-time actor - but presumably this deal ended sometime earlier in the year as his name has been replaced by the "Howard Cams Rat" moniker in this photo.

Now to a trio of Division 6 stalwarts.  "King of the North West" was Jerry Ruth, a title he happily enjoyed due to his long run of Championship titles in NHRA's North West Division.  Ruth's penchant for publicity and his cock-sure attitude made him a love him or loathe him figure, but there was no denying his total domination in "The Land of the Leaders"... that was until 1975.  Having won the Division 6 Top Fuel title seven years in a row, the unthinkable was unfolding, "The King" was about to be de-throned.  Ruth's 5.90/239.36 qualifier at the '75 US Nationals (seen here) was good enough for 3rd place but Hank Johnson was right behind him with a 5.92/245.23 and R.Gaines Markley in 9th with a 6.03, giving some indication how tough his Division 6 rivals were.  The points battle between these three - and Oregon's Ernie Hall - was one of the most eagerly followed stories of 1975, with a deciding race that went right to the wire two weeks after Indy.

The total antithesis of Jerry Ruth, "Gentleman" Hank Johnson earned his nickname from the simple fact he was - and still remains - just that - a shy retiring gentleman.  His lack of pushiness only added to the rivalry with Ruth, a situation that drag race promoters were only too happy to exploit - even if in truth The King and The Gentleman were the best of friends.   Previously too shy to even ask for sparkplugs Al Wexler of Mr. Auto Supply coached Johnson in the skills of publicity and public appearances and backed Johnson's dragster (and later Funny Car) with his chain of shops.  Eventually ending up 4th in the '75 tussle for the Division 6 crown, Johnson also went out in the first round at the World Finals (seen here) ending any hopes of repeating his '71 win at Ontario.  Nonetheless Johnson did win the much coveted Division 6 title in 1976 and went on to race Funny Cars into the 1980s.

So who was Ruth's nemesis and "king" of the North West in 1975?  Step forward R. Gaines Markley.
So many times the bridesmaid in NHRA national event finals during the mid 1970s, probably Markley's best - or should that be worst? - remembered loss was the 1973 Supernationals when he won his semi-final against a young John Stewart (driving for Keeling & Clayton), only for his car to explode an engine then proceed to disintegrate down the Ontario shutdown area.  Having watched Big Daddy solo in the final Gaines was left to load up his pile of scrap metal and head home to Federal Way, Washington, to rebuild for the another season.  Although a national win continued to elude him, Gaines earned enough points at divisional races to take away Ruth's crown by the narrowest of margins at Portland in September 1975.  Handing the driving chores over to fellow north-westerner Rob Bruins, when chronic back problems forced him out of the seat, Gaines would eventually gain World Champion status at Ontario in 1979.  We like happy endings.

It seems funny now but back in 1978 when he returned to Top Fuel, people were asking "Who's Kelly Brown?"  Five years away from racing must've seemed a long time back then.  Brown's origins went back to dragsters in the 1960s but he was best remembered (or not, so it seemed) for his rides in Funny Cars during the early '70s.  With his sandy hair and good looks, Brown often appeared in print ads and went on to act in TV commercials for Ford and Olympia beer - later in '82 he would do the stunt driving in Shirley Muldwoney's movie "Heart Like A Wheel".  His 'come-back' came about through Brissette & Drake, propelling them to the World Championship title in 1978.  In 1979 the wins continued but now Brown was driving The Over The Hill Gang (seen here at the '79 World Finals) with Bill Schultz tuning.

Regular readers will by now have guessed that the captions on this page are so well researched that they cannot possibly have been written by me.
Andy Barrack has kindly spent a lot of time putting together the information on these pictures but even he has drawn a blank here so all I can tell you is that this is Ric Uribe in the Uribe Brothers' New Generation.

Well if it's the US Nationals and you've spotted the trend in Lawrie's knack of shooting first round losers then there's no prize for guessing where John Wiebe's fortunes ended at Indy in 1975.  Again the effects of the left hand lane are strikingly noticable in Wiebe's bodywork.  In a post race interview Garlits claimed the controversy over the left hand lane was exaggerated, citing Dale Funk's impressive 5.97 in the bad lane as the reason for his opinion.
Nonetheless Garlits chose the right lane in the final - despite a trail of oil left by the Blue Max - and realised he had the win in the bag when he heard Shirley Muldowney's RPM's in stage and knew the left hand lane just couldn't take that type of launch.  Sure enough Shirley went up in smoke and Big drove straight down the oil sweep for the win.

Dan Richins in "Iron Horse" - another member of the Cragar Five Second Club.  Contrary to the what the name might suggest "Iron Horse" was in fact the first member of the exclusive club to dip below the six second zone with an aluminium Donovan, no mean feat as despite its weight advantage it was generally felt that the 417 block didn't have the - er hum - horses of the larger elephant motors.  In fact "Iron Horse" had nothing to do with bhp or animals but was a reference to Richins' job as a train conductor.  Based in Salt Lake City Richins, along with partners Rex Pairmain and Al Pehrson, was neither troubled by the left hand lane at Indy or the curse of the Lawrie Gatehouse lens.  "Iron Horse" first got round Gary Ritter then Grant Stoms before coming up short against Terry Capp in the quarter-finals.  Richins retired at the end of the '70s, but continues to attend the races with his old racing pals whenever he can.

Even if he called him Larry and thought he was Australian, Lawrie Gatehouse became good friends with Jon Asher on his regular visits to the USA throughout 1975.  This culminated in a Drag Racer feature on the Jade Grenade in which Lawrie paraphrased Asher's famous dictum that "Insanity Is Colored Green".  Obviously failing to heed his own words Asher (in the yellow shirt) was still mixing wrenches with his desk-job at Car Craft magazine 4 years after he joined the Jade Grenade team.  The effects of nitro on one's sanity was marked by the fact that the only a few months earlier the previous Jade Grenade had crashed, losing then-driver Don Roberts his right leg.  But without such lunacy - and tenacity - the Top Fuel ranks would not have not been blessed with one of the most gorgeous rear-engined fuelers ever to grace the strip.  With Circus Custom Paint applying what had to be one of Kenny Youngblood's most perfectly executed designs, and topped by the genius of letterer Jim the Painter from Philadelphia, the S&W Racecars machine was a pure work of art.
N.B.  While the Jade Grenade has yet to be installed at the Guggenheim Museum, Jon Asher was rightly inducted into Don Garlits' Hall of Fame in 2006 for his contribution to drag racing journalism.

Lawrie was not only a talented photographer but also a journalist and an authority on drag racing of international renown.  This fact was recognised by Car Craft magazine who gave him their 'Hi-Riser' award.
You can read Lawrie's commendation by clicking here.  You may notice a few subtle differences between the picture on the commendation and this 2007 shot of Lawrie holding his plaque . . .

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Lawrie Gatehouse was inducted into the
British Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2017
click here to read his citation