Early Funny Cars: A History of Tech Evolution from Altered Wheelbase to Match Race Flip Tops 1964-1975

Blast through the evolving early years of Funny Car drag racing when doorslammers morphed into flip-top rail monsters. The era features historic mounts from Arnie "the Farmer" Beswick, Al “the Flying Dutchman” Vanderwoude, "Jungle" Jim Liberman, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and many more!

The metamorphosis from doorslammers to fiberglass flip-top dragsters wasn’t ever a cut and dry plan. As drag racers pushed the envelope for more speed, a series of innovations quickly evolved and refined the genre.

Funny Cars cut their teeth in the A/Factory Experimental (A/FX) and Experimental Stock (X/S) classes in 1964 with the 2-percent Mopars that looked funny with their axles moved forward. However, it was Jack Chrisman’s supercharged, nitro-fueled 427 Supercharged Factory Experimental (S/FX) Comet Caliente that trailblazed the class on which the NHRA turned its back and the AHRA fully accepted. Showmanship became the draw in the dawn of Funny Car with half-track burnouts and flame-throwing headers that packed fans five deep at the fence.

By 1969, the NHRA had no choice but to create a class for these nitro-breathing, flip-top-sporting rail bruisers, indoctrinating the Funny Car (F/C) class at the Winternationals with 40 cars vying for 16 places in the field. The rest, as they say, is history!

Lou Hart has always been a devoted car nut, as he grew up with the first sights and sounds of the muscle car conception. Attending his first drag race at Lions Drag Strip at the age of 9 with his trusty Kodak “Brownie” camera in hand, he loved to document his visits to the strip. Hart’s views are seen through the eyes of the fan, and he strives to give back, re-living drag racing’s golden era. He previously authored, Early Funny Cars 1964–1975: A History of Tech Evolution from Altered Wheelbase to Match Race Flip Tops as well as “The Hawaiian” Roland Leong: Drag Racing’s Iconic Top Fuel Owner & Tuner for CarTech.