In this blog I want to talk about a few of the pioneers that have been involved in the sport of drag racing. I will talk about Bob Glidden who has the most championships for a pro stock driver. Kenny Bernstein who is the first top fuel racer to reach 300 mph. John Force who is the winningest funny car driver in history. Last but not least Don Garlits is the one responsible for designing the first rear engine dragster.
Bob Glidden did a lot for the sport and was known for working harder than anybody else. When Glidden was racing he hand made his intake manifolds which made a lot of other driver to get more creative in order to keep up. With all of Bob’s accomplishments his family was always there with him even when he made it big time. He wasn’t born with money he was a driver that had to work for everything he had. Bob Glidden helped to innovate the pro stock class in the beginning when the class was just getting started and played a key role in making it turn into what it is today.
Kenny Bernstein whose nickname is the “Bud-King” was the first driver to reach 300mph in a top fuel dragster. Kenny got his nickname since throughout most of his career he was sponsored by Budweiser. He was always known for pushing the limits and being a fierce competitor. Before he made the first 300mph run everyone had said there was know way it could happen, but Kenny was persistent and made it happen.
John Force is the winningest professional drag racer in history in terms of championships and event wins. Force like Glidden started from nothing he first got into racing with his moms four-door sedan and eventually made it all the way to the top. After this past year John was able to become the first driver to have over 150 national event wins along with 16 national championships. Even with all of his prior success he is still racing and competitive as ever even though he is 70 years old.
When it comes to top fuel racing I don’t think anyone did as much as Don Garlits did. When top fuel started all the motors sat in front of the drivers which turned out to be very dangerous. As the sport evolved the clutches would explode in the cars and cause the cars to split in half. Don Garlits had that exact situation happen to him and he ended up losing half of his foot. After this happened he invented a new dragster that placed the motor in the back and completely changed the class. Without this innovation cars would never be as safe as they are today.
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