1982 U.S. NATIONALS
Like the 1975 Supernationals, the surf was really up at Indy in 1982, meaning the times were ethereal. The race had super drama with Shirley Muldowney beating former crew chief/boyfriend Connie Kalitta in a superior Top Fuel finale. Frank Hawley drove the "Chi-Town Hustler" Dodge to a $25,000 win at the first Big Bud Shootout over favored Don Prudhomme, but not before Prudhomme had dynamited the all-time Funny Car elapsed time record with a 5.63 in qualifying. Going into the event, a 5.82 had been low e.t. for the breed. Ken Veney established a new NHRA speed mark for Funny Cars at 254.23 mph and Gary Beck ran the first 5.4-second time for Top Fuel in Larry Minor's dragster. To these eyes, this race was, for the most part, the last great Indy race. (Jeff Burk photo)
1984 COORS TOP FUEL CHALLENGE
In 1984, the Top Fuel class was in worse shape than it is now. F'r instance, at the 1982 NHRA Summernationals, just 11 cars showed up to qualify. In fact, 12th did show when a low buck racer named John Holcombe (not Richard) called the track to see if 16 cars had shown on Thursday of the race. When he heard there was just 11, he brought his "Cheap Thrills" dragster up from South Carolina and "qualified" it.
But between then and October, things had changed. Don Garlits and partner Art Malone had showed up at Indy with a four-year-old car and won the race in spectacular style. In addition, Joe Hrudka had announced his Mr. Gasket's Top Fuel Showdown to be run at the Pomona World Finals based on qualifying efforts for calendar 1985.
It remained for Charlie Allen and co-promoter John Durbin, to really test the waters and see if the Top Fuel dragsters were indeed back. They hosted an 8-car eliminator-style show at Allen's Firebird Int'l Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, featuring Garlits, Kalitta, Beck, Minor, Gary Ormsby, Frank Bradley, and others trying to qualify for the show. The race proved to be a staggering success with the crowd still backed to the Maricopa Rd. off ramp of the Interstate (a half-mile from the track) when time for the first-round began. Garlits won what this writer thinks just may have been the most important eight-car Top Fuel show ever.
1993 NHRA SEARS CRAFTSMAN NATIONALS
This, for me, was the last, great NHRA performance race. It was historic for two reasons. It is the only NHRA national event where two very significant elapsed time and mph barriers were broken; namely the first four-second Funny Car run and the first 300-mph Funny Car run. Eventual race winner Chuck Etchells' Kendall-backed Dodge logged a 4.987 to qualify No. 1,and Jim Epler's Rug Doctor Olds ran a 300.40-mph pass to net the speed history.
A brief anecdote on the Epler run. After Friday's qualifying where Epler ran 299-mph, National DRAGSTER office mate John Jodauga and I went downstairs to the Topeka, Kansas Ramada Inn's food court and dined at a fabulous New Orleans-style joint called Jimmy Cooper's Oyster Bar. After a few get-acquainted Silver Thunder Malt 40s, Epler and his crew chief Mike Kloeber sat down at the table next to ours and we began to converse. We all yahooed the 299 and I, fueled by 5-plus percent alcohol, said to the pair something along the lines of, "If you guys have it within your budget and whether you win or not, you definitely, absolutely should go after the 300-mph time. In terms of P.R., it will mean more than winning the race. It would even be worth a few burned pistons. I mean, look what mileage Chris Karamesines got out of his first 200-mph pass in 1960."
They said, they'd think about it ... half in jest I thought at the time. But, by God, the next day they went 300, and a round later they went up in flames. The car blew the engine and burned to the ground. I caught an early flight out of Topeka at that point.
Seriously though, folks, the above 10 are a rough attempt and open to
disagreement. I'd also rate the 1989 USCC Pro Modified race at Maryland
Int'l Raceway at Budd's Creek, Md. highly as I would the 1981 NHRA Gatornationals
or the 1966 Bakersfield Meet. But whatever, the damage has been done,
and I await your critiques. 
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