DALE PULDE: THRILL FAR FROM GONE
Wed, 2009-07-01 08:54
Getting thrilled is nothing new for Dale Pulde.
The Funny Car legend described being thrilled last month as he was inducted by Bristol Dragway into their Wall of Fame. Pulde joined drag racing icons Larry Carrier, Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Sox & Martin and Rickie Smith in the prestigious perch high atop the strip located in eastern Tennessee.
Pulde used to run hard in Bristol. Come to think of it, there weren’t many places where the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee left anything on the table.
Pulde’s heart demands that same ethic as he balances his time between doing custom motorcycle work and driving a nostalgia nitro Funny Car honoring his legendary War Eagle Funny Car even as he watches the world of drag racing constantly changing all around him.
The Funny Car legend described being thrilled last month as he was inducted by Bristol Dragway into their Wall of Fame. Pulde joined drag racing icons Larry Carrier, Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Sox & Martin and Rickie Smith in the prestigious perch high atop the strip located in eastern Tennessee.
Pulde used to run hard in Bristol. Come to think of it, there weren’t many places where the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee left anything on the table.
Pulde’s heart demands that same ethic as he balances his time between doing custom motorcycle work and driving a nostalgia nitro Funny Car honoring his legendary War Eagle Funny Car even as he watches the world of drag racing constantly changing all around him.
“I remember the first time I came down here in 1968 and we did tech inspection inside the round track,” Pulde said as he looked around Bristol Dragway from inside the palatial media center back in May. “I had never seen a drag strip like Thunder Valley before.”
Pulde has watched drag racing progress from hobby racing to big business with massive eighteen-wheelers lining the asphalt pit area. The reason Pulde was always fond of Bristol was that it was one of the few facilities back in the day to feature fully paved pro pits.
Pulde won a lot of races working from pits both paved and unpaved. He’s been there, done that and has the War Eagle t-shirt to prove it.
Wearing a recreation of his 1970s era War Eagle t-shirt is his way of traveling back to an era when the biggest argument was not over hospitality issues but who would take the left lane.
Pulde remembers the days when he was strapped into his War Eagle.
“That car was always something special in my heart,” Pulde admits.
Today Pulde drives a modern day equivalent of his 1977 Pontiac in various nostalgia events throughout the country. (Mark Hovsepian)
It was so special that he had a car built just like it albeit to modern specs. Thanks to John Powers and Powers Steel, Pulde gets the chance to race again like he used to in various nostalgia events across the country.
“There are a few cars out there, a Blue Max car driven by Del Worsham, a Stardust car like Don Schumacher used to have, a Bubble-Up Car and we do this just for fun,” Pulde explained.
Pulde is far removed from the NHRA tour where, for safety reasons, his beloved quarter-mile strip was replaced with 1,000 feet. The drag racing purist in him initially rejected the idea but in talking with those taking the risks, he understands and accepts.
“At first I thought it was a band-aid for the real issue,” Pulde said. “The guys who are racing it are starting to see the big difference with it. We all knew the engines were hurt by 1,000 feet but it didn’t show up until the 1320. Now they are starting to get better and closer races.
“I can’t see where it’s hurt the sport any.”
Pulde understands that safety is the real reason for the shortened distance. He understood long before Scott Kalitta’s fatal accident that nitro racing needed to change in order to save itself. Pulde even made suggestions how to achieve a slowdown both before and after, all of which, in his opinion, have largely fallen on the deaf ears of those responsible for making the decisions.
He might have a different viewpoint on how nitro racing needs to be but you’ll get nary an argument on how safe the once treacherous craft is now compared to back in his day.
Pulde test drove a few nitro cars for Don Schumacher several years ago and the cars of then and now are worlds apart.
“The cars now run as fast to half-track as we used to run to the quarter-mile,” Pulde said. “That’s getting it done. The cars today are getting it done in the first half of the track so there isn’t much happening in the second half. The last half they aren’t picking up that much but it is enough to get you hurt.”
Pulde believes the Funny Cars have evolved the most of the two nitro classes in the last quarter-century because of aerodynamic changes in the once fiberglass and now carbon fiber bodies.
“There’s only so much that could be done to a Top Fuel dragster,” Pulde explained. “The Top Fuel dragsters have been branded as the kings of the sport and while it pains me to say it, the Funny Cars barely portray a car like they used to.”
Pulde longs for a day when the cars raced on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series will more closely resemble their showroom counterparts.
“We might suffer some aerodynamics, but it would slow it down and make it safer,” Pulde said.
Pulde, who recently turned 59, admits he’s in the part of his life where he’s all for slowing down and living safer.
Much of his time is spent with his significant other Valerie Harrell, daughter of the late drag racing icon Dickie Harrell, participating in various musclecar projects related to her father. He also sells race fuel for Don Schumacher and operates a custom Harley-Davidson shop.
Pulde also sells a few t-shirts on his WarEagleRacing.com website. He remembers a day when the proceeds of those shirts, identically designed to the one he wore in Bristol, were what kept he and then partner Mike Hamby in drag racing.
“I don’t know if drag racing could ever be as colorful as it was back then,” Pulde said. “Many of the racers out here today enjoy coming out to the nostalgia races. They have a good time out there seeing how we used to do it. We had a lot of camaraderie back then. We’d race on a Saturday night and travel together. It’s just not like that anymore.”
Pulde said that and then looked down at his t-shirt seeking confirmation.
Then he smiled.
“Drag racing’s a thrilling sport,” he concluded.
The Funny Car legend described being thrilled last month as he was inducted by Bristol Dragway into their Wall of Fame. Pulde joined drag racing icons Larry Carrier, Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Sox & Martin and Rickie Smith in the prestigious perch high atop the strip located in eastern Tennessee.
Pulde used to run hard in Bristol. Come to think of it, there weren’t many places where the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee left anything on the table.
Pulde’s heart demands that same ethic as he balances his time between doing custom motorcycle work and driving a nostalgia nitro Funny Car honoring his legendary War Eagle Funny Car even as he watches the world of drag racing constantly changing all around him.
Getting thrilled is nothing new for Dale Pulde.
Dale Pulde is a member of the Internationals Drag Racing Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into Bristol Dragway's Wall of Fame.(Roger Richards)
The Funny Car legend described being thrilled last month as he was inducted by Bristol Dragway into their Wall of Fame. Pulde joined drag racing icons Larry Carrier, Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Sox & Martin and Rickie Smith in the prestigious perch high atop the strip located in eastern Tennessee.
Pulde used to run hard in Bristol. Come to think of it, there weren’t many places where the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee left anything on the table.
Pulde’s heart demands that same ethic as he balances his time between doing custom motorcycle work and driving a nostalgia nitro Funny Car honoring his legendary War Eagle Funny Car even as he watches the world of drag racing constantly changing all around him.
“I remember the first time I came down here in 1968 and we did tech inspection inside the round track,” Pulde said as he looked around Bristol Dragway from inside the palatial media center back in May. “I had never seen a drag strip like Thunder Valley before.”
Pulde has watched drag racing progress from hobby racing to big business with massive eighteen-wheelers lining the asphalt pit area. The reason Pulde was always fond of Bristol was that it was one of the few facilities back in the day to feature fully paved pro pits.
Pulde won a lot of races working from pits both paved and unpaved. He’s been there, done that and has the War Eagle t-shirt to prove it.
Wearing a recreation of his 1970s era War Eagle t-shirt is his way of traveling back to an era when the biggest argument was not over hospitality issues but who would take the left lane.
Pulde remembers the days when he was strapped into his War Eagle.
“That car was always something special in my heart,” Pulde admits.
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Pulde's 1977 Pontiac may be considered his trademark War Eagle but this Buick Somerset Regal in the mid-1980s rivaled the Trans-Am for popularity amongst fans. (Auto Imagery)
Today Pulde drives a modern day equivalent of his 1977 Pontiac in various nostalgia events throughout the country. (Mark Hovsepian) “There are a few cars out there, a Blue Max car driven by Del Worsham, a Stardust car like Don Schumacher used to have, a Bubble-Up Car and we do this just for fun,” Pulde explained.
Pulde is far removed from the NHRA tour where, for safety reasons, his beloved quarter-mile strip was replaced with 1,000 feet. The drag racing purist in him initially rejected the idea but in talking with those taking the risks, he understands and accepts.
“At first I thought it was a band-aid for the real issue,” Pulde said. “The guys who are racing it are starting to see the big difference with it. We all knew the engines were hurt by 1,000 feet but it didn’t show up until the 1320. Now they are starting to get better and closer races.
“I can’t see where it’s hurt the sport any.”
Pulde understands that safety is the real reason for the shortened distance. He understood long before Scott Kalitta’s fatal accident that nitro racing needed to change in order to save itself. Pulde even made suggestions how to achieve a slowdown both before and after, all of which, in his opinion, have largely fallen on the deaf ears of those responsible for making the decisions.
He might have a different viewpoint on how nitro racing needs to be but you’ll get nary an argument on how safe the once treacherous craft is now compared to back in his day.
Pulde test drove a few nitro cars for Don Schumacher several years ago and the cars of then and now are worlds apart.
“The cars now run as fast to half-track as we used to run to the quarter-mile,” Pulde said. “That’s getting it done. The cars today are getting it done in the first half of the track so there isn’t much happening in the second half. The last half they aren’t picking up that much but it is enough to get you hurt.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
 |
Click to visit our sponsor's website
Pulde and his significant other Valerie Harrell spend time traveling the country and participating in various musclecar projects related to her father Dickie Harrell's storied career. (Roger Richards)
“There’s only so much that could be done to a Top Fuel dragster,” Pulde explained. “The Top Fuel dragsters have been branded as the kings of the sport and while it pains me to say it, the Funny Cars barely portray a car like they used to.”
Pulde longs for a day when the cars raced on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series will more closely resemble their showroom counterparts.
“We might suffer some aerodynamics, but it would slow it down and make it safer,” Pulde said.
Pulde, who recently turned 59, admits he’s in the part of his life where he’s all for slowing down and living safer.
Much of his time is spent with his significant other Valerie Harrell, daughter of the late drag racing icon Dickie Harrell, participating in various musclecar projects related to her father. He also sells race fuel for Don Schumacher and operates a custom Harley-Davidson shop.
Pulde also sells a few t-shirts on his WarEagleRacing.com website. He remembers a day when the proceeds of those shirts, identically designed to the one he wore in Bristol, were what kept he and then partner Mike Hamby in drag racing.
“I don’t know if drag racing could ever be as colorful as it was back then,” Pulde said. “Many of the racers out here today enjoy coming out to the nostalgia races. They have a good time out there seeing how we used to do it. We had a lot of camaraderie back then. We’d race on a Saturday night and travel together. It’s just not like that anymore.”
Pulde said that and then looked down at his t-shirt seeking confirmation.
Then he smiled.
“Drag racing’s a thrilling sport,” he concluded.
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