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1967 Indy – One for the Ages
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The 1967 Indy Nationals just may be the best ever
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Steve Reasbeck Photos by Steve Reasbeck and NHRA.com |
Indy. The words are magic to motorsports fans everywhere. The 500; the Brickyard; AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Maury Rose. It's the biggest single day event in all of sports. For drag racing folks, it has held a magic all its own. Back before it was the U.S. Nationals, and well back before it was sold to corporate America , it was known simply as the Nationals, the Big Go or the National Championship Drag Races. No explanation was needed. Once you sent in your entry for The Nats, everyone knew what you were talking about. In 1967, NHRA had four events. The Winternationals in Pomona, California, The Springnationals in Bristol, Tennessee, The Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and the World Finals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was it. Winning just one of the four was a real accomplishment, and winning Indy, well, that was the event that would absolutely launch one into drag racing immortality. You would see cars that ran once a year at Indy. You would see some of the West Coast cars that ventured off the coast once a year - to Indy. As a sportsman racer, you could be the baddest in the neighborhood, be running two-tenths under the National record in your local area, and go to Indy and not qualify. It was the show down - the best versus the best, every category, every class. For each individual racer in each individual venue, it was indeed the National Championship Drag Races. 1967 was a magic year. Perhaps because of the fantastic event, perhaps because it was the first time I would visit IRP. I don't now, but the race stands out, even today, as the single most memorable event I have ever witnessed. 1967 was the first year for Indy's famous "crossover" bridge (which was a real hoot if one was crossing it when the fuel cars were running below you), it was the first year for Funny Car as an official eliminator bracket, and, most memorable, it was the year "Big Daddy" shaved his beard off in front of 100,000 fans on the starting line. It had the storyline of a feel-good Hollywood movie, and Steven Spielberg could not have produced it any better. Drag racing then was much different than the sport we know today. Other than the big three automotive manufacturers, big corporations were just becoming involved. Smirnoff, the distillery that produces some of the world's most well known vodka, and A&W Root Beer were just two that were beginning to get their feet wet in the sport. Every category, from Top Fuel Dragster on down, was still mostly populated by regular working folk who had a passion for going fast in a straight line, and arriving at the end before one's opponent. A relative was involved with an aluminum-nosed ‘64 Dodge Hemi that had been fairly successful in NHRA Super Stock racing. It had won class at the Springnationals in Bristol , Tennessee , and they were looking forward to a good outing at Indianapolis . Being true "little guys," the car was flat-towed behind a 1948 Ford Pickup truck, with everyone riding in the bed. It was a long, uncomfortable ten hour tow, and several times the passengers in the back had to bail out as that old flathead Ford just didn't have the oats to pull everyone up over a hill. So, everyone had to get out and walk to the top, then retake their seats in the back. Remember, too, that this was mostly two-lane highway the whole way to Indy, as I-70 was not complete then, which made it necessary to take the old National Highway , Route 40. Upon arriving at the shopping center that served as NHRA tech, they were informed that a last minute rule change that no one knew about had bounced all of the aluminum nosed MoPars out of SS and into Experimental Stock, where they were at a tremendous disadvantage. Some things never change. However, to my recollection, Max made it to the second round before being beaten by a semi-funny Mustang running an injected small block Ford.
Although seemingly unfathomable in today's world of air-conditioned Top Kicks, what they did to get to Indy was not out of the ordinary. Competitors arrived in Indiana the Wednesday before in droves, many flat towing, with those better funded using single axle trailers. It was a different world then. Upon completing dinner, the highlight of everyone's evening was touring the local motels, as after each day's action the pits were locked down and the racers returned to their quarters, bringing their race cars with them for maintenance and changes. It was commonplace to see motel parking lots with several race cars of various classes field-stripped to the bare chassis. Drivers and crews were more relaxed, and one could strike up a conversation with some of the biggest names in the sport. It was a show that by itself was worth the trip. Also there, although no one took him seriously, was Seffner , Florida 's Don "Big Daddy" Garlits. Garlits was widely considered "washed up," as while all of the big names were running in the 6.80-6.90 range, he was lost in the 7.20's, and had yet to run his first "six." In fact, at Bristol , he could not even qualify, and those in the know stated that the greatest drag racer of all time was past his prime. He was being advised to "hang it up." In fact, Garlits had started a beard after Bristol , vowing not to shave until a six-second time rang up for the "Swamp Rat". Bets were being taken as to how long that beard would be before it finally came off. The “funnies” were there, enjoying their first year as being "officially" recognized by NHRA. It was a stout field, featuring the likes of Larry Reyes in the "Kingfish" Plymouth Barracuda, and Bill Lawton in the Tasca Ford Mustang. In spite of the quality field, though, everyone expected the domination of the Mercury Comets of Cleveland's "Fast Eddie" Schartman and "Dyno" Don Nicholson to continue their reign.
Gassers were a big deal then, running the gamut of different race vehicles. The later body cars, such as Lutz & Lunberg's Olds 442 and Fred Hurst's Barracuda were coming into prominence and locking horns with traditional machines such as Kieth Ferrell's "DogCatcher" Willys' panel truck, and the gorgeous, black Thames panel of Ohio's Dick Shroyer, pulled by an equally gorgeous black ‘57 Chevy wagon. Of course, standing out among them was "Ohio George" Montgomery 's revolutionary "Malco Gasser" turbocharged SOHC Ford Mustang. Altereds, Street Roadsters, and Comp style dragsters filled the pits, as did many Super Stock cars, featuring local heroes and racing superstars such as Ronnie Sox and Dick Landy. In all, there were over 1350 cars on the grounds (1381, I believe), certainly making it the equal of any Nationals before or since.
Monday, race day, went pretty much as expected, with the FC Comets dominating, wading through the field to meet each other in the final. Schartman ran a jaw dropping 7.28 to beat Nicholson, and his world-record performance was well received by the fans. Although for many Indy has been relegated to just another stop on the tour, there is a magic regarding Indy that continues to this day. Perhaps it is the legends, the echoes if the past history. To many, the event of 1967 was one of the most magic, another glorious page in the long history of the Indy Nationals. The memories are vivid in the minds of those who were there, and it was recently voted one of the most memorable moments in Indy history. Nationals have been run, and Nationals will be run in the future, but the 1967 event will go down as one for the ages, one of the most stellar chapters in the sport's premier event.
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Indy had no corporate "sponsor," or even the name U.S. Nationals. It was simply the largest of the four NHRA national events, and the absolute National Champion was decided at Indy. It was simply known as the National Championship Drag Races, and although the World Finals winners were named the annual champ, everyone accepted that Indy was the true showdown, the event where the talking stopped and things were finally settled. 
Of course, the reason everyone was there was for the racing itself. Top Fuel had a thirty-two car field at that time, and it was the one event that the West Coast heavy hitters ventured off of the coast for. They were all there: James Warren in the Warren-Coburn-Miller "Ridge Route Terrors," Larry Dixon (father of the current NHRA Champion) driving the Smirnoff-sponsored dragster, Tom "the mongoose" McEwen, Don Prudhomme, now on his own and driving a new Ford SOHC powered dragster, Connie Kalitta in another Ford cammer, and Mike Snively driving Roland Leong's multi-Indy winning "Hawaiian". 
While the Pros of the time certainly held the prominent role, the sportsman cars far outnumbered them and were quite a spectacle, especially to this young drag race junkie. I may be mistaken, but there was arguably a much wider diversity of vehicles competing then - each home built and expressing the ideas of their owners. 
However, surprises were happening in Top Fuel. "Big Daddy" was wading through the thirty two car field, and all of a sudden at the end of the day, he showed up in the final round. He was slated to race the always-tough James Warren in the "Ridge Route Terror" for the National Championship. Always the crowd favorite, Garlits was still the heavy underdog in the final, as Warren had been steadily in the 6.90 range in the Indiana heat, while the "Swamp Rat" had yet to run a six, having relied on 7-teen elapsed times to get him to the trophy dash. 
However, the cream always rises to the top, and Garlits saved the best for last. He left on the Bakersfield ace and never looked back, and when the announcer broke the news of the old man's winning 6.77 time slip the many spectators present showed a reaction that has never been matched, to my recollection, to this day. The fences literally went down, as thousands spilled out onto the drag strip itself and toward the starting line to greet "Big" upon his return. Presently the old pickup pushing the "Swamp Rat" returned to the Christmas Tree area, and, among the thousands gathered, Garlits climbed on the hood. Someone handed him a razor and some shave cream, and there among his adoring fans the old man shaved his beard off to the delight of everyone. 
Many Indys have come and gone since that Labor Day weekend in 1967, and many more memorable moments have been added to the lore that is Indy. Garlits would be involved in many of them, his memorable win in ‘76, his famous "burn down" with Steve Carbone in ‘71. Many other legends have been added, Prudhomme's watching horrified as Jim Nichols' car disintegrating in front of him, Tom McEwen's upset Funny Car win over Prudhomme, the list goes on and on. Indy has not been without its tears, as well, as racers such as John "Zookeeper" Mulligan, Elmer Trett and Blaine Johnson met tragedy there. 