[Stanwood_Dave]

Bigger than life? Sure, there were big names like the "Jungle Jim,"A.K.A. Russell James "Jim" Liberman (September 12, 1945 - September 9, 1977), the Snake and Mongoose, Shirley Muldowney, A.K.A. also known professionally as "Cha Cha" Muldowney and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American pioneer in professional auto racing. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980 and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She has won a total of 18 NHRA national events.

And the Best of the Best in my humble opinion, Big Daddy Don Garlits, and his "Swamp Rat(s,)" he actually gave one to The Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC. Personally I think he was nut's for doing that, but hey, that's just me, and I'm a nobody, anyhow.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Garlits

In 1970, Garlits was driving Swamp Rat XIII, also called the Wynnscharger, a front-engined slingshot rail, when the vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. The two-speed transmission Garlits was developing exploded and took a piece out of Garlits' right foot;

It was this/that event, that all {Dragster} builders, started to put engine's in the back/rear of Dragsters!

Unquestionably this fan will always remember Raymond Beadle and the Blue Max, and the interview he gave Playboy magazine, a big buildup to get ready for a run, and at the end of the interview something like "you ask yourself just what the f*!k (Hockey Puck) am I'm doing sitting here (in the driver's seat)."

PRICELESS

[West Texas Chuck]

Very interesting remark about the trans that blew off half of Big Daddy’s right foot. If you are ever in Ocala, FL, hit the Museum of Drag Racing. They have a photo of him leaving the line with the car splitting in two pieces, cockpit pointing straight down, and pieces of the transmission in a display case. Seared into my memory.

America, F*** Yeah!