Those Wild Fuel Altereds: Drag Racing in the Sixties

The most exciting and unpredictable cars in drag racing just had to be the Fuel Altereds. These race cars were short wheelbase coupes and roadsters powered by the same high horsepower engines found in the Top Fuel Dragsters. That combination produced some wild,exciting and memorable racing.This book tells the story of the Fuel Altereds. It begins with the 1957 fuel ban when both nitro and alcohol were outlawed from drag racing. However, like Prohibition, the rule makers could not completely shut off the nitro.The rebirth of the Fuel Coupes and Roadsters in the early 1960s was the foundation of the Fuel Altered class.Much publicized performances by several Fuel Coupes and Roadsters quickly generated more competition and improved performances.By 1965 drag strips in Southern California were scheduling Fuel Altered Eliminator programs. The late 1960s were terrific for Fuel Altered racers and enthusiasts.There were numerous cars and lots of Fuel Altered Eliminator programs.Some racers went on national tours.It was wonderful but it only lasted for a few years. By the early 1970s the changes in drag racing resulted in the demise of the Fuel Altereds.This book tells about the rules changes,controversies,illegalities and perfomances that were the Fuel Altered story. Gone but not forgotten.

Before the 1957 ban on running alcohol and nitro fuels the author ran a very successful Fuel Coupe.After the ban he gave up and switched to competing in the Supercharged Gas Coupe class.Before that in 1956 he put together the Fuel Coupe Invitational at the Santa Ana drag strip. It was the first drag race eliminator program for any individual,non-dragster class.It was a big success but the fuel ban was introduced only a few months later.Although the author had moved on it was exciting to see the fuel guys come back in the early 1960s.Several of them were cars that the author had previously raced such as the Gene Mooneyham '34 coupe.In the late 1960s the author was organizing B/GS Supercharged Gasser shows and would often be scheduled to run with Fuel Altered shows.It was always fun to run with the Fuel Altereds because they were so unpredictable and exciting to watch. The author knew many of the guys and wanted to give them credit for their accomplishments with this book.