From left to right: John Scotti, Jacques Marier, Bob Aubertin, Terry 'Zeke' Maxwell, Graham Light, Jim Rini, Dan Rini, Louis Desjardins and Alban Gauthier. Photos courtesy Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
Just like us, our neighbors to the north really have a thing for drag racing. It's got a long history that spans virtually all of the Canadian provinces and territories. The organizers readily admit that Canada has been ready for a long time to have its own hall of fame for drag racers. Now it does, and the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame has just inducted its first class, consisting of 38 individuals, many of whom will be known to serious U.S. drag scholars.
The hall of fame will be based in Montreal, Quebec, and was founded by John Scotti, president of the John Scotti Automotive Group. To be selected for induction, candidates must have been actively engaged at the top levels of drag racing for at least 25 years, have been a major contributor to the sport, and be either a Canadian resident or expatriate. Again, however, American fans should immediately recognize a lot of the inductees' names.
Let's start with the late Dale Armstrong, who died last year at 73. Born in Holden, Alberta, he migrated to Southern California in the early 1960s and began campaigning a series of cars including an early Chevy II Funny Car, Canuck. He was a top competitor in the Pro Comp category, and a major technical innovator, before he quit driving in 1981. He then moved over to the crew chief side, most memorably with Kenny Bernstein. The pair won a slew of races and championships in both Funny Car and Top Fuel. Armstrong was the first tuner to wind-tunnel test a Funny Car body, one of the first to employ data acquisition, and guided Bernstein to the first 300 MPH run in history.
Gordon Bonin came out of Red Deer, Alberta, and became a major figure in Funny Car during the 1970s, when his Pontiac Firebird regularly teased the 240 MPH barrier, earning him the nickname "240 Gordie." Among his accomplishments were nine NHRA national event wins in Funny Car, capped by the U.S. Nationals in 1979. Bonin died in 2013.
Graham Light came from Edmonton, Alberta, where he ran in Comp Eliminator before moving to Top Fuel and scoring a runner-up finish at the 1977 NHRA World Finals. At the same time, he was operating Edmonton International Speedway, until he joined the NHRA in 1984. He worked his way from Division 7 director to technical director and ultimately, to senior vice president of racing operations, a post he still holds.
Bernie Fedderly should need no introduction to U.S. fans. Also from Edmonton, he is a hall of fame crew chief, best known for tuning John Force to more than 100 national events wins and 13 season championships in Funny Car. He previously teamed with the late Terry Capp, a fellow inductee from Sturgeon County, Alberta, to win Top Fuel at the 1980 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Fedderly and the famed Austin Coil have shared tuning duties during much of Force's unmatched career.
The stock-bodied categories haven't been ignored. F.J. Smith of Cayuga, Ontario, was inducted in large part for his work during the 1990s in creating a new breed of Super Stock, the SS/GT class, that involved converting front-drive cars such as the Oldsmobile Calais and Pontiac Grand Am to rear-wheel drive while remaining in compliance with NHRA rules. The late Sandy Elliott of Chatham, Ontario, was a terror racing Cobra Jet Mustangs on both sides of the border, along with his son, John, both of whom were inducted into the first class. Also inducted was Barrie Poole of Montague, Prince Edward Island, who made history in 1970 by becoming the first Canadian to win an NHRA national event in any category by taking Super Stock at that year's Winternationals in a Cobra Jet Mustang, a feat he backed up the following season.
For more information, including a complete list of the first inductee class, visit CDRHF.com. More information can also be found on the group's Facebook page.
from Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1Mxovj8
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