All of the pictures on this page were taken by Roger Phillips,
I am very grateful to him for the opportunity of reproducing them here. 

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VERSION)

Super-Cali-drag-illistic.  That was the Supernationals at California’s Ontario Motor Speedway from 1970 to 1980.  Super track, super racing, super quick times, super fast speeds, super memories.  There is no need to give a lengthy history of the much lamented OMS; conceived and built in the late '60s as a West Coast equivalent to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the track was opened in 1970 with a celebrity Pro-Am race (sorry to mention any other form of motorsport, but of course OMS wasn’t just a drag strip) that included stars from the world of sport and Hollywood.
It was a huge promotional and marketing success as was NHRA’s 1st Supernationals, sponsored by Mattel’s Hot Wheels.  At first the Supernationals was an invitation-only event, and also superfluous to the NHRA calendar as the World Championships were held at Dallas.  That changed in 1974, increasing the OMS superlatives as the track became known for not only setting new records but also deciding many World Champion cliff-hangers.  But even from the beginning OMS was mired in financial ambiguity and numerous management changes and - conspiracy theorists feel free to conspire - in the end the site was worth more for re-development than it was as “the most grandiose motorsports edifice that man has ever built” (John Fuchs Hot Rod Magazine).
The site remained empty for many years; today Ontario Motor Speedway has been replaced by offices, hotels and shops (yeah, like we needed more of those) and a multi-purpose arena run by AEG Worldwide, who amongst other things, own LA Galaxy and therefore David Beckham. Never thought you’d see that name on a drag racing website did you?

The biggest news coming into the ’71 Supernationals had to be the debut of drag racing’s first purpose-built engine, the Donovan 417.  10 years in the planning, 1 year in development . . . and an afternoon in testing.  Such was the talent and expertise that went into the design and manufacture of the aluminium motor (Ed Donovan giving full credit to his workforce including Bob Mullen, Arnold Birner and Dick Crawford for the design and tooling) that John Wiebe, the chosen recipient of the first 417, arrived at OMS with half a pass on the engine and then proceeded to lay down low ET of the meet on the Saturday evening.

Based on the 392 because Ed felt the early hemi was easier to work on and parts were plentiful (many of the 392 parts could be used in the new 417), the Donovan 417 marked the first time drag racing had its very own engine and not one sourced from Detroit or the junkyard.
But while drag racing heralded the arrival of a new landmark in its history, the ’71 Supernats also marked the end of something as essentially drag racing as the dragster itself - the Top Fuel slingshot.

No picture better sums up Top Fuel in late 1971 than this shot of Warren & Coburn and Danny Ongais.  Slingshots were at the zenith of their design, long, sleek and at the peak of their performance, while the rear engine design was in its infancy and yet to attain the beauty of their predecessors.  Indeed Rain For Rent looks like a slingshot that was cut-n-shut (it wasn’t) and the tubbed bodywork, while doing nothing for aesthetics, was not uncommon - Garlits himself sometimes ran his first RED half-bodied.  Meanwhile Danny Ongais was flying in the face of collective wisdom and had commissioned his front engine dragster from Byron Blair’s chassis shop for the upcoming season.  At 210 inches long with Tom Hanna bodywork and a late hemi engine with all the right bells and whistles, it was the ultimate culmination of 20 years of drag racing history and ¼ mile technology.  But in the space of just ten months Top Fuel had gone through a fundamental change, thanks to the success of Garlits’ first rear engine dragster.  The speed with which the face of Top Fuel changed cannot be emphasised enough.  Every rear engine dragster you see here had not existed when 1971 began, and virtually every front engine dragster you see here would be condemned to history within the next twelve months.
An era was ended here at the 1971 Supernationals and NHRA drag racing would never again see a slingshot fueler in the winner’s circle, on US soil.

Thanks to Roger Phillips’ first trip to the USA as Custom Car magazine’s chief photographer we have the chance to give an almost blow by blow account of the 2nd Annual Supernationals . . . and we’re going to milk every drop of this opportunity!  So settle down, it’s going to be a long ride.

Let’s begin with Top Fuel. The ’71 Supernats Program did not publish a list of entries, but we can guarantee from Roger’s collection that Top Fuel was well over-subcribed, the West Coast fuelers alone could have filled the 32 car eliminator.

TOP FUEL ROUND 1

Walt Rhoades had recently replaced Roger Rowe in the Gas House Gang and had the misfortune to draw John Wiebe in the first round, his 6.80 no match for Wiebe’s 6.58.  Dave Uyehara and Larry Hendrickson had a closer race 6.85 to 6.88, the Uyehara & Oswald rail nipping Gladiator in the lights.  Hendrickson from Bremerton, Washington was the NHRA top speed record holder, with a 232.55 mph pass which he’d recorded at Vancouver’s Mission Raceway in July 1970.  Talking of Canada . . . Pat Dakin had been Top Fuel winner at NHRA’s inaugural Grandnationals three months prior to the Supernats, but as can be seen here, the then 25 year old Dakin went up in smoke in GL Rupp’s car allowing Denny Fitt in the Childs & Albert fueler an easy 6.75 into the next round.  In 2007 Pat Dakin and Gary GL Rupp were honoured by the NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, and in 2009 Larry Hendrickson, along with Gladiator owner John Blanchard and crewchief Perry Brochner, were inducted into Bremerton’s Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame.  40 years on Dakin is still racing Top Fuel, giving us old guys someone to root for in today’s NHRA.

Having made his competition debut the previous weekend (see Page 5) Jeb Allen was showing skill beyond his 17 years when he rescued this launch (note wisp of smoke from the spinning Goodyears) to beat Jim Herbert 6.74 to 7.25.  It was Herbert’s last race behind the blower as he debuted a rear engine fueler at the start of ’72.  Schultz & Glenn had defeated Don Garlits at Amarillo the previous month making Gerry Glenn NHRA’s 1971 Top Fuel World Champion.  1971 was The Year of Garlits, there’s no question of that but his redlight against Glenn and the subsequent controversy over Glenn’s interview in National Dragster and the ‘slow tree’ used at Amarillo led many to believe this was why Big Daddy passed on the ’71 Supernats.  Of course in ’72 Big concentrated on setting up PRA to challenge NHRA and did not make his OMS rear engine debut until ’73.  But when Garlits did finally return to Ontario . . . well that’s a story for another time.  Yes, so Gerry Glenn beat John Rodeck 6.75 to a losing 6.84 and Roger Gates beat Clayton Harris in the wingless New Dimension RED.  Alas 6.98 seconds after this photo was taken schoolteacher Gates suffered a horrific engine fire in the Diaz & Wagner fueler.  Gates escaped major injury but did not return for round two.  Photos of Gates bathed in the 200mph conflagration - of which there were many - should’ve been all the reason needed to change from slingshots to the ‘new’ rear engine configuration, but evidently Gates needed further persuading as he continued to race his FED throughout the following year.

Another win (but incident free) for the FED’s saw Larry Dixon (Snr) beat James Warren, 6.68 to 6.74.  But Dennis Baca got one back for the RED’s when he sent R. Gaines Markley home to Federal Way, Washington with 6.80 to a losing 7.45.   And in a battle of the new RED’s saw Bob Noice in the “hastily prepared” Noice & Brissette (yes European fans, that’s Jim Brissette, now consultant on the Andersens’ TF ) beaten by Carl Olson, 6.72 to a losing 6.81 (note that is not the Kuhl & Olson dragster seen in the other lane in this photo).

Safety issues aside, these two photos of round one’s match up between the Jade Grenade and the California Charger show you why even 40 years on, slingshots in Top Fuel are seen by many as the personification of drag racing.  If you are staring wistfully at these two pictures of perfection then no further explanation is necessary.  As for the outcome, Ted Thomas in the Jade Grenade beat defending Supernats champion Rick Ramsey, 6.72 to 6.77.  The Jade Grenade was certainly pouring out horsepower during the latter half of ’71, running 6.3’s at 233mph to make it - then - “the quickest conventional dragster in the country”.  In the midst of the NHRA orange shirts and California Charger blue shirts, Bill Flurer (in green) co-crew chief of The Jade Grenade can be seen.

Steve Carbone was another strong contender coming into Ontario, and quickly dispensed with Paul Schoenfield in the flamed ‘Shasta Want Bird’ of Aiello & Taft, 6.71 to 6.93.  Carbone’s burndown against Garlits at Indy on the 6th September 1971 is still written about today as one of the most memorable races in drag racing history.  Would anyone dare a similar psych out trick at OMS?  You wouldn’t have thought so, but . . . hey, let’s wait and see.  Although qualifying with a 6.80, Don Prudhomme had taken the unusual step of withdrawing from competition when handling problems with his new Kent Fuller ‘yellow feather’ RED caused The Snake to trailer himself rather than compete in the eliminations.  Prudhomme was replaced by Berry & Hughes as first alternate but no sooner was Dwight Hughes back in the race than he was out again, his 6.84 no challenge to Hank Johnson’s 6.66 at 224.43 mph - which stood as Top Speed for the weekend.

Hank Johnson and Jim Dailey, from Marysville Washington, were another team eschewing the option to go the rear engine route.  Hank had debuted their 200” Don Long car in ‘71, with the engine mounted 8 inches further forward than most slingshots and used a Lenco 2 speed and Halibrand quick change with a late 426 hemi.  A competitor who concentrated on racing in the NHRA Northwest Division, Hank nonetheless raced outside his home state of Washington on the AHRA Championship circuit.  His ’71 season had included a runner up place to Garlits at Fremont, just a few weeks before Ontario and he was rated as a one to watch when National Dragster forecast the potential front runners at the Supernats.
We’ve been in touch with Hank Johnson and asked for his memories of the start of eliminations at Ontario . . .
“We started the race kind of behind the eight ball.  With a 32 car field the entire race was a test for a few guys not used to a lot of between rounds stuff.  That Sunday morning we came off the roller starters (remember them?) and I was driving back thru the pits and the throw-out bearing broke apart which engaged the clutch and away we go thru the pits faster than any sane man would go.  I got her shut down but we barely got that fixed for the first round.  We then shredded a blower belt against Dwight Hughes and damaged the front seal.  I don’t remember how much time we had between rounds, but with five eliminations to reach the final it wasn’t much.”
Hank’s story continues in round two…
(Note we do not photos for the following round one races: Tony Nancy beat a redlighting Jim Nicoll with a 6.73/220 mph.  Norm Wilcox beat Frank Bradley 6.73 to 7.14.  And Dwight Salisbury’s 6.90 in the new Salisbury & Weiss RED beat Gary Cochran)

Okay while 16 Top Fuel winners prepared for round two maybe we should look at some of the other classes.

Funny Car. Again we shall concentrate on eliminations with just a brief summary of how the field lay when qualifying ended.

Qualifying #1 and #2 were Mike Snively (6.87) driving for Big John Mazmanian and Bill Leavitt (6.917) in his Quickie Too Mustang.  You know how tough the field was when the DNQ’s included Larry Fullerton, Ron O’Donnell, the Hawaiian, the Ramchargers and Tom McEwen, amongst many others.  McEwen had suffered a bad fire at Lions six days earlier (see Page 5) and had thrashed hard to rebuild his Duster in time for Ontario.  Looks like everything was repaired and repainted here, but the Mongoose nonetheless failed to make the show.

FUNNY CAR ROUND 1

Round one and Mike Snively beat Stan Shiroma in the Midnight Skulker, 7.03/193.54 to a losing 7.07/205.  Jim Dunn slapped a holeshot on Ed McCulloch needing only a 6.92 to hold off a 6.88.  Whipple & McCulloch had just got their deal with Revell model kits a week before the Supernats, and their Dodge Demon appeared in what can be best described as an interim design that was then replaced by the iconic Revellution paint scheme at the start of ’72.  Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of this briefly seen car to show you.

Despite winning Lions and Carlsbad the week before Jake Johnston only made the Supernats by virtue of being first alternate when Gary Henderson couldn’t make the call for round one.  Johnston made the most of his reprieve beating Pat Foster in Barry Setzer’s Vega (seen here backing up) 6.93/205 to 6.96/210.  Like Rick Ramsey, Gene Snow was another defending event champ (and 1971 AHRA World Champ) who said goodbye to any repeat title when he lost to Bill Leavitt, a sick 9.35/99mph no match for Leavitt’s 7.03/201.

The ‘Israeli Rocket’ Leroy Goldstein had forsaken the Ramchargers for Louisiana’s Candies & Hughes and took an easy win when Kelly Brown lost fire in Ed Willis’s Mr Ed.

Memphis-based Larry Arnold was the bridesmaid in the Funny Car final at the inaugural Supernats, but hadn’t been resting on his laurels in the intervening 12 months.  From beating the best of the West Coast in February to nullifying the New York funnies (on the UHRA circuit) in May, Larry had been clocking up the miles and wins prior to his return to OMS and was serious about rectifying his 1970 loss.  We’ve managed to contact Larry to get some background on his story . . .
“I was born in Pontiac, Michigan and moved to Memphis in 1968 to drive Bill Taylor’s Super Cuda - Larry Reyes had left him to drive for Roland Leong.  In 1970 I bought Schu’s (Don Schumacher) old car, I needed a body and his reject was sitting in a corner of his Chicago shop.  I believe the chassis was a John Buttera.  Schu was happy to sell and I even used his old throw-away pistons.  I was just a poor, country boy. My Cuda was the oldest funny car at Ontario but I won the first round no problem.”   (Larry beat Jerry Ruth 6.94/202 to a 7.18/203)

Talking of Don Schumacher, he qualified 4th with a 6.91 and drew Tom Hoover in round one, but The Shoe took a solo as the photo of Hoover explains why.  And completing round one of Funny Car, Richard Tharp in the Blue Max beat fellow Texan Mart Higginbotham in the Drag On Vega.  Is that Harry Schmidt, owner of the Blue Max, seen in the check shirt?  I think it is.  In two short years, the 26 year old Schmidt had turned the Blue Max into one the most famous floppers on the Funny Car circuit, making nearly a hundred match race appearances per annum. Today’s young fans can only ask “Granddad, what’s a match race?”

TOP FUEL ROUND 2

Back for round two of Top Fuel.  Norm Wilcox had an easy win when Steve Carbone broke.  John Wiebe is often cited as the quickest front engine dragster of the '70s but British fans will know that this is not true and that place in history belongs to the Norm Wilcox rail.  Bought by England’s Dennis Priddle in February 1973 and renamed Mr Revell, Dennis recorded a 6.04 in April 1975 at Santa Pod Raceway, a record that stood until the advent of nostalgia FEDs in the 1990s.  British fans might - just might - also recognise the man with the VHT bottle getting between Roger Phillips and a good photograph.  Yes, a young Bill Schultz, often seen at Santa Pod Raceway helping out Knut Söderqvist.  In a very close race Gerry Glenn (with Bill Schultz tuning) ran identical ET’s with Dave Uyehara (6.77’s) but lost on a slight holeshot.  Continuing the trivia stuff, it was Glenn’s brother Bob Glenn who was producer of the movie “Drag Racer” released in 1972.  Starring Mark Slade (star of The High Chapparal . . . if you remember the ’71 Supernats then you surely remember The High Chapparal?) the movie’s story line could’ve been written on the back of a pack of Winston but for old dragster fans the race footage is a must.

In the other round two races, the crowd favourite Jeb Allen beat Dennis Baca, 6.64/220mph to a 6.76/212mph, Tony ‘The Loner’ Nancy beat Carl Olson (not shown) with a 6.64, and Chip Woodall strapped a big holeshot on the Jade Grenade and powered away to a 6.55 (second best ET of the event) to a losing 6.72.

Apart from Larry Dixon beating Dwight Salisbury, for which we have no photo, the round ended in odd fashion when Hank Johnson got an automatic win after Denny Fitt was red-carded for coming down the fire up lane and making a solo run before his race was called.  This bizarre disqualification was covered in the major race reports of the day but we’ve asked Hank to recall the incident from his perspective.
“What the hell were they [the Childs & Albert team] thinking?  Whether we were in the pits or in the line to run, I can’t be sure but I know  we still had the front off the motor when they ran.  They had run toward the front of the pack in round 1 and we were toward the back.  I don't remember how cars were paired up back then, but anyway when I heard the PA announce Fitt taking a solo run we were mad as hell, but had to keep working on getting the engine back together.  While we were thrashing, Bill Doner [long time race promoter at Seattle Raceway] and his pal, not sure of his name, but everyone always called him Father Duffy, walked over to see us.  Bill was good pals with Steve Evans [commentator at OMS], so I got them to go to the tower and raise hell with NHRA about Fitt running out of order.  The result was Fitt got tossed, and I ran a solo into the next round.”
Also getting a solo into the quarter finals was John Wiebe on account of Roger Gates’ no-show.

FUNNY CAR ROUND 2

Don Schumacher used a top end speed of 214 mph with a 6.84 ET to negate Leroy Goldstein’s slight startline advantage and 6.92 ET.  But showing how to really apply a quicker reaction time, Jim Dunn used his second holeshot of the event to defeat Jake Johnston - a winning 6.91 beating a quicker 6.86.

Bill Leavitt’s 6.99/200mph was not quickie enough to defeat Larry Arnold’s 6.86/210mph but Leavitt did have the distinction of running Funny Car’s first 6.4 two weeks later at Lions, an amazing achievement for a cast iron 392.  Bill’s shoestring budget meant he was still using the same Byron Blair chassis (with its unusual A arm and shocks front suspension) 4 years later - albeit with Mustang II body and Donovan power – to great effect.
As for the remaining quarter final, when Tharp stropped away after shutting off the Blue Max, Snively received a get-out-of-jail card when the Big John car smoked its way into the semis.  Observers noted that although it had dropped a valve, the Blue Max could’ve beaten Snively if Tharp had stayed in the car rather than blow his own gasket.  Then again drag racing has always been full of could’ve, should’ve and would’ve’s . . .

FUNNY CAR SEMIS

Probably the biggest surprise in Funny Car came when the favoured Schumacher came up against Larry Arnold. We’ll let Larry tell the story . . .
“So what happened?  I beat Schu’s new car with his old car!  No-one thought I could do it - but I did.  6.93 beat his smokin’ 7.04.  I got calls from all over the country about that - astounded folks calling to congratulate me.  It is my very favorite memory from that 1971 race.”
While British fans will know Don Schumacher came to England in ’73, more senior readers might recall Larry Arnold also came to these shores, 7 years prior to Shoe, when he was part of the visiting US Commandos.  Larry has promised to share some memories of his ’66 visit when he raced his Lawman Anglia at Santa Pod Raceway and we shall find a way to bring that to you at a later date.
Back to the racing . . . with one of his cars now in the final (Schumacher and Arnold both used Pink power) Ed Pink watched the other semi-final with keen interest.  As can be clearly seen over Ed’s shoulder, Jim Dunn blazed the tires setting up a Black versus Pink finale with Mike Snively in the Mazmobile racing Larry Arnold.

TOP FUEL QUARTER FINALS

Jeb Allen ran a 6.64/221mph to beat a shutting off Norm Wilcox, John Wiebe and Tony Nancy both ran in the 6.5’s with Kansas John using another 6.53 to hold off Nancy’s hard charging 6.59/223mph.  Nancy stuck with his slingshot for another year, but even though running in the 6.3’s at the subsequent Supernats, The Loner was on the outside looking in on the all rear engine field in ‘72.  Despite being one of the last hold-outs for the FEDs Nancy eventually succumbed to the inevitable and debuted a RED - Revell-liner - at the start of ’73.

Another team evidently unconvinced that the RED’s were the way to go was Peebles & Williams, with Chip Woodall driving their new slingshot.  Note in the other lane Dixon had removed the front bodywork since his previous round and also note the severe angle of Woodall’s canard wings.  Whether that had any bearing on the outcome we’ll never know, but Chip beat Larry Dixon 6.64 to a 6.66.  It was also the end of the road for Dave Uyehara as Hank Johnson dispensed with the Oswald & Uyehara car, 6.68/223mph to a 6.74/214mph.  Today Hank has no specific memory of the quarter final against Uyehara, simply: “I left good and the rest was up to the car set up. I still see Davey once in a while.  He’s a genuine nice guy and a talented fabricator.”  Hank is of course referring to the chassis building business Uyehara  started when he ended his racing days.  Uyehara-built cars are now known across the drag racing world.

TOP FUEL SEMIS

Semi-final Top Fuel time and with the afternoon sun now in descent it was also a premature end for Jeb Allen’s fairy tale debut in NHRA national competition.  Much to the chagrin of the California crowd, the Praying Mantis was unable to catch Kansas John Wiebe, the new Donovan proving unfailing and fast with another six-five - 6.56 to a losing 6.68.
Hank Johnson meanwhile took a single when Chip Woodall broke, but Hank’s 6.78 ET coupled with an early shut off 167mph gave Wiebe some indication of how potent his final opponent would be . . .

FUNNY CAR FINAL

And so to the Funny Car final.  The burnouts were good, even though NHRA did not allow burnouts to be performed across the startline in 1971 (under pressure from the popularity of the funnies, the rule was changed the next season) the nitro loads were high and the header flames were strong but it’d been a thrash for the Armenian Army who had chipped in to help Big John repair the damage from the previous round - the semi-final had been won on just 6 cylinders.  In spite of the eager party of helpers, no-one noticed that the rear end was damaged until it was too late.  At the green both cars were away but Mike Snively’s engine quickly over-revved as the rear end expired and Arnold crossed the finish line unopposed in 6.84/212mph.
Larry has three simple words for his victory . . . “It felt great.”
As a well-liked driver and one everyone felt deserved a break after many years in the sport, Arnold’s win was popular both with the fans and fellow racers.

Larry’s wife Jan takes us through the winners circle line-up beginning on the right with OMS Queen Debbie Presto “ . . .next to Larry (wearing his winners jacket) is Mike Lieby with his arms folded.  He helped Larry work on the car.  Mike's girlfriend is next to him - name is lost.  Bob Filler is next to her - from Filler Safety Equipment (firesuits, parachutes, etc).  We can't recall the others.”
After winning Ontario Larry put the “ancient” Kingfish up for sale (asking price $5500 complete) and debuted a new Kingfish the following season.  The old car was later reported as sold to singer and actor James Darren [Goodbye Cruel World, Guns of Navarone and 60’s TV ‘The Time Tunnel’], and partner Mike Still.  We asked Larry about this odd story but Larry says, “First I've heard this rumor!?  I sold it to a kid in Irvine, CA for $800.00.  Sappy me!!  I’d love to see that car again.”
And following on from the ’72 season?  Jan Arnold again takes up the story:
“Larry retired in 1973 and sold all his stuff.  He planned to go into the crank business.  Racing was too expensive to stay in . . . even more so today!  Larry returned to driving in 1975 in Mickey Thompson's Marine car.  Larry quit Mickey (irreconcilable differences) and hooked up with Roland Leong in 1976.  They started the season and Larry left in August 1976 - and officially left racing.  Larry then pursued the crankshaft business initially with Bill Smallwood, later he took over ownership and LA Enterprises was born.  Larry stayed in cranks until he sold the business in 1998.”
Today Larry and Jan are enjoying retirement spending time between California, and Colorado in the summer.
As Jan says with pride and joy, “Real retirement! Larry does acrylic paintings now - he is an awesome artist!”
As for Mike Snively, he might not have rekindled the success he’d had enjoyed in the '60s with the aforementioned  Leong but his place in history would be assured one year later when he recorded drag racing’s first five second pass in Jim Annin’s Top Fuel car.  We shall pay tribute to Mike on the third page of this Supernationals feature.

Funny Car completed, after five rounds of action it was time for the final of Top Fuel - and the last all front engine TF final in NHRA history.

TOP FUEL FINAL

All eyes were on Wiebe (especially Ed Donovan’s, seen on far right of top left photo) as he’d relentlessly eliminated his opponents with ET’s that were nearly a tenth quicker than the opposition.  With the Donovan 417 proving uber-reliable how could he go wrong?  Did someone utter the phrase ‘over playing your hand’?  Certainly Hank Johnson was not fazed by Wiebe.  The one thing the commentators and soothsayers were neglecting was a Johnson versus Wiebe race had form.  Both regulars on the AHRA circuit, this would not be the first time they had raced each other and as Hank recalls their prior encounters had not been without a little psychological mind play.
“Wiebe did have a history with me for trying various (but unsuccessful against us) tactics.  I had beaten him at the AHRA races at Puyallup and most recently Fremont before Ontario and at those races he told me what he was going to do burnout wise and staging wise and then went ahead and did something entirely different.  So my approach to the final at Ontario was business as usual for me, whatever his game plan was.”
And what was Wiebe’s game plan?  Well evidently Ontario was about to get its own version of that Carbone-Garlits burndown.  Wiebe even performed a fire burnout just like Garlits (and just as illegal under NHRA rules) and then lit the first bulb, and waited . . .
Hank takes up the story
“I wasn't aware that he even did the fire burnout until now.  For 40 years I never knew that!  When he decided to not stage I more or less took a rest.  The longer he waited, the louder the old 426 was getting.  That thing loved heat.  If the Goodyears would hang on once more he was done for."
With Hank’s engine idling at a hefty clip the tension began to mount and sensing the game play - and danger - Buster Couch signalled everyone to move away from the startline and then stood back as far as the wire on his switch box would allow.
Eventually a minute went by before Wiebe broke the deadlock and staged.  The burndown hadn’t been on the scale of Carbone and Garlits but it was still too long for Wiebe’s Donovan and just long enough for Hank’s Elephant, with the inevitable consequences - Wiebe went up in smoke and Hank Johnson ran a 6.61 to take home the title.
In the post race interviews Hank was reported as saying “He (Wiebe) played right into my hands” while Wiebe suggested “I didn’t think it (the burndown) took too long”.  But always a great journalist with a ready punch line, Mike Lintern ended his report best by quoting Wiebe’s words and replying . . . “It did. Ask Don Garlits.”

Looking back at the photos as Hank chatted and waited for the post-race ceremony, he reminisces and takes us through his roll call of his friends and helpers.
“It’s hard to imagine it’s been four decades.  I remember when we got back to the starting line, somebody presented me with a big bottle of champagne.  I'd never drank the stuff before but it went down well and was passed around to all.  That didn't last long and shortly after a lot more showed up, and we drank that too . . . I’ve never drank a drop of champagne since.  As for the photos, so many of these guys aren’t with us anymore . . . from left to right that’s Bob Smith, Pennzoil’s rep with his back to the camera in the blazer.  Behind me is Marc Danekas of Danekas Blowers, and Dan Ferguson in the white T-shirt, both sat on the hood of our El Camino tow truck.  Dan was from North Seattle and part of our crew, he was an absolutely tireless worker.  Back then your crew was usually two guys, sometimes three.  If you needed more help we would recruit a likely looking spectator for a tire wiper, oil drain, help with the chute.  That’s Holly Hedrich, then General Manager at Keith Black’s in the KB jacket, and the maestro himself Keith Black tucked behind Holly.  No ID on the guy in the white baseball cap but that’s Steve Evans on the left in the second and third photos.  Where Jim Dailey was when these photos were taken, I have no idea!”

Hank went onto race for another 15 years, adding a Funny Car to his stable in 1977 and winning another NHRA Wally in 1984 when he’d switched to campaigning a Top Alcohol FC.  Today Hank still lives in Washington State and the ’71 winning fueler has been restored by Bucky Austin and regular appears at the reunion events.  Hank has also returned to racing due to his acquaintance with Bucky and helps out on the Bucky Austin Funny Car.  True to his nickname Hank has been a real gentleman with sparing us the time to ask about his memories of the 1971 Supernationals, and we are very grateful for all the help and support he has given us. For more of Hank’s story click here.

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(First posted on 20 November 2011)
 

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