Buck
Campbell ran a series of cars called the Mongoose in the sixties. This
was the funny car in the Mongoose series. Based out of
Atlanta,
Campbell
raced the injected nitro car in match races around the
Georgia
area. (Photo by Buck Campbell, courtesy of David Dilbeck and www.georgiadragracing.com
; info from Draglist
files)
Hayden
Proffitt was one the great racers of the 1960s. Proffitt won many races
in Super Stock with a Chevrolet 409, and then jumped to a Ford when the
factory gave him a Comet A/FX. Proffitt built this Corvair funny car in
1966. It began with a top, but Hayden cut it off after the car wanted to
lift at speeds. Proffitt got the car to run 8.49 without the roof. He
sold the car to Randy Walls when the Grant/AMC deal came along and
Profitt was in the process of building a new Camaro. (Photo by L&M
Photos, courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories; info from Draglist
files)
Malcolm
Durham was first African-American funny car driver with his infamous
series of Strip Blazer machines.
Durham
started the 1966 season with the Chevelle he ran in 1965, but soon came
out with this Corvair. Malcolm ran the Corvair on the Eastern Seaboard
match race circuit from 1966 to 1968. Fletcher and Brown did the chassis
and
Durham
himself built the engine. According to December 1968 Super Stock &
Drag Illustrated,
Durham
had two Corvairs. He sold one to Gene Altizer, who ran the car as the
"Weasel" A/FC in 1969. (Photo by Bob Plumer, Drag Race
Memories; additional text by Dennis Doubleday and info from Draglist
files)
Pete
Seaton was one of the first funny car racers in the United States with
his wild Chevelle. In 1966, he upgraded to this injected fuel, 115 inch
Jay Howell built Corvair. Del Heinert drove the car for the rest of 1966
into 1967. When Heinert left in 1967, Jay Howell drove the car,
eventually adding a blower to it. Chip and Howdy Bartlett purchased the
car later in 1967 and ran it through 1968. An Irwindale ad late in 1966
says the car ran 8.80 at 160, although promoters tended to round off
numbers for the ads. (Photo from Draglist files; additional text by
Dennis Doubleday; info from Draglist files)
Dick
Bourgeois and Earl Wade inherited Doug Thorley's second Doug's Headers
Corvair when Thorley got backing from American Motors to build his
ill-fated rear engine Javelin. Bourgeois ran sevens in the little car by
1969 when they replaced the Corvair with Thorley’s Javelin. (Photo by
L&M Photos, courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories; info from
Draglist files)
Randy
Walls sold the original Super Nova and bought Hayden Proffitt’s former
Corvair. Walls inserted his blown big block Chevrolet backed by an
automatic transmission. Randy got the car to run a known best of 8.41
before totaling it in a crash. (Photo by L&M Photos, courtesy of Bob
Plumer/Drag Race Memories; info from Draglist files)
Gene
Altizer bought Malcolm Durham's famed Strip Blazer Corvair and became
one of the East Coast's best injected nitro funny cars. Altizer got the
Weasel to run a great 8.04 known best before replacing the car with a
Nova. (Photo by Bob Plumer/Drag Race Memories; info from Draglist files)
Ken
Poffenberger had the famed Logghe Bros. build this primo Corvair in
1968. The Poff's Super Puffer featured an L-88 427 Chevy for power
backed by an automatic transmission. Poffenberger ran 7.49 at 190 to
become one of the quickest Corvairs ever. Poff sold the car to Ray
Aniana and it became the Showdown. (Photo courtesy of Big Bob Snyder;
info from Draglist files)
Barry
Kelly was one of the first African-American funny car pilots in the
sixties. Kelly built this wild Corvair to race on the West Coast. Barry
later moved to the East Coast and continued racing floppers into the
70s, but ended his funny car career in a two-car accident at New York
International. (Photo by L&M Photos, courtesy of Bob Plumer/Drag
Race Memories; info from Draglist files)
Bob
Skukert raced this little Corvair as an AA/Altered in Competition
Eliminator. The car resembles the Fiberglass Trends Corvair that Rusty
Dellings raced in
Southern California. Skukert was based out of
Iowa
but little else is known about the Corvair at this point. (Photo by Al
Booton; info from Draglist files)
