Back in the day, the NHRA presented its drag racing through syndicated
Diamond P broadcasts. This video features the first round of
eliminations in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock. As you can see, drag
racing is vastly different than what we enjoy today. This is a continuing episode and this selection features the second round of Top Fuel and the second is the semi-finals in all categories.

In 1979, Jeg Coughlin Sr. was riding high in the drag racing world. He had a
top-10 race car and was vying for the trophy at every event he attended. But the
founder of JEGS High Performance hit a big hurdle, literally, at his home
racetrack of National Trail Raceway in Columbus,
Ohio, when his parachutes failed to deploy
after a 250-mph pass and he ended up crashing into the top-end catch net. It was
a harrowing accident, but one Coughlin immediately emerged from completely
unscathed.

His JEGS racer wasn't so
fortunate, however, as the severe damage caused by the incident reduced his car
to a twisted bit of wreckage that was deemed undrivable by Coughlin and
crew.

This week's classic drag racing clip from YouTube.com features the final of the 1980 Popular Hot Rodding Nationals at the then U.S. 131 Dragway in Martin, Michigan. Adding to the greatness of this clip featuring Ron Colson and Gary Burgin is a post-run interview with Dave McClelland.

Today's video classic comes from the 1985 IHRA Winter Nationals in
Darlington, SC, when early ESPN drag race coverage (before NHRA was on
the network) did a profile on a true drag racing legend - Tom "the
Mongoose" McEwen. This is a pretty neat  clip dating back to the Coors
Corvette days.

Dale Pulde had one of the more unique Funny Cars in the 1980s with his
Miller-sponsored Buick Sommerset Regal. Pulde won the IHRA world
championship in 1985 before parking the car. This video clip was filmed
at Maple Grove Raceway and if you look closely, you'll see former NHRA
announcer turned DSR executive Mike Lewis.

Dennis
Geisler provided graphic proof why many Funny Cars were built with the
engine in the front. Famed journalist Woody Hatten capture this video
clip of Geisler's launch at the 1975 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona,
Ca. The crash of the "Hindsight" also ended the era of the rear-engine
funny car in NHRA national events. Bert Berniker had the "Hindsight"
Duster Funny Car built in late 1973. Jim Adolph was the original driver
of the "Hindsight" in shakedown runs. (Photo by Steve Reyes)

In our quest for research information to supplement our recent Lee
Beard-Gary Ormsby feature, we happen across this video on YouTube.com
showing footage of the team's Sonoma crash and two weeks later in
Brainerd, Minn. This comes from DiamondP's Decade of Thrills II.

Back in the day, the NHRA presented its drag racing through syndicated
Diamond P broadcasts. This video features the first round of
eliminations in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock. As you can see, drag
racing is vastly different than what we enjoy today. You'll see the
legends like Big Daddy Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Raymond Beadle,
Roger Lindamood, Bob Glidden and Larry Lombardo.

Billy Meyer is a little over two decades removed from the driver’s
seat
of a fuel Funny Car, yet his legacy remains as a driver, drag strip
innovator and one time, sanctioning body owner/president.  That’s a
pretty full resume for a guy from Waco, Texas.

Meyer believed he could achieve anything through the power of positive
thinking and an insatiable desire to succeed, a credo he learned at the
feet of his father, Paul, who made his fortune through the Success
Motivation Institute (SMI). 

As a drag racer, Billy was one of the best both in terms of driving and
marketing. He was also, according to those who witnessed his racing
career and competed against him, one of the wildest young men to have
ever tried his hand at drag racing.

Here are a few videos that we found.