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The Best TAFC drivers of all time is now up here. January 8, 2004 The top TAD Pilots of all time Thanks to the contributors for helping to compile the necessary data for this story, and for their astute picks. They include Mike Rice (Division 6 director), Jamie Clerf (SpeedZone Magazine Sportsman editor), East Coast Top alcohol expert Dan Lynch and West Coast resident expert Bob Wilson. Apologies go out to the racers in the list that don't have a photo in their profile. We were unable to get them by press time. Thank you to all the photographers for their contribution to this story. (Please note; The ET shown at the end of each driver's profile is the all time quickest time recorded by that driver at a sanctioned event. The note after it is the year they ran that particular ET and how it stacked up against the competition at that time. Thanks to TheDrag List and Steve Klemetti. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy but some may not be exact. Sorry for any incorrect numbers. Please email me and they can be corrected The top Tuners, Owners and Innovators in Top Alcohol is here This "Top TAD pilots of all Time"
is one of the most exciting stories SpeedZoneMagazine has ever challenged
itself to publish. It certainly ended up a lot more difficult than
expected. In order to qualify for this list a number of criteria were
involved. These are just some of the criteria used in determining who was where they were, and if you were in the elite or not. While this final list is certainly up for discussion, and we welcome the good and the bad, it is just our take (which we could not even agree with completely). The list started out with over 100 drivers and then short-listed to 50. From there narrowing it down to even 40 was very difficult. Then down even 5 more to 35 was excruciating. Finally, the 30 top TAD pilots was a painstakingly difficult as watching the interception win by Green Bay over Seattle on the weekend. That being said, we made the decision to change the format a bit. We have decided to have a list of 30 drivers in which #'s 21-30 will be in not particular order and then the final 20 will be in numerical order leading down to the top TAD driver of all time. We also have an honorable mention list of 12 that were soooo close to making the list!!! Here are a bakers dozen that just failed to make the final cut.
Roger Primm: Seven nat'l event finals.
Best ET/MPH 5.925/233.52 (The 6th quickest driver in 1992). Won a
division championship, was in the castrol five second club ( the only
car that did it with a roots style blower), won the last ever Top
Alcohol showdown, won 4 national events, finished #3 in the country
behind the great Blaine Johnson and Tom Conway. (Sorry no picture)
Jeff Rapp: Two div titles. East coast hitter. Best ET/MPH 6.045/231.95 (The 17th quickest driver in 1992)
Joey Severance Sr: Three nat'l wins, r/u Indy twice. Best ET/MPH 6.460/213.47 (The 3rd quickest driver in 1979)
Bubba Sewell: Three div titles. 12 nat'l final rounds. Best ET/MPH 5.875/240.70(The 74th quickest driver in 1995)
Honorable Mentions: In no particular order but alphabetically
Bruce McDowell: Could and possibly should be in the top 30 but that is the case with a few others as well. Won in Denver twice and was Div 6/7 champ in 1984. Best ET/MPH: 6.089/234.61(The 10th quickest driver in 1990)
The top 30. Numbers 21-30 in randem order (alphabetical).
Don Enriquez: This Californian has had one of the longest careers in the sport dating back to the sixty's. He has had success with owner Gene Adams driving injected nitro dragsters since the beginning. A winner of five national events over the years in Pro Comp and Comp eliminator in both A/Fuel and B/Fuel, he now runs a Jr. Fueler at Nostalgia event on the West Coast. He has run in the class when the 5's, 6's and 7's were the number of the day. Best ET/MPH: 5.964/239.51(The 94th quickest driver in 1995)
Right photo. The first side by side 5 second pass in NHRA history. Kosky file photos
The Top 10
Left photo Horsepowerheaven.com
Drum Roll!!!! The #1 TAD DRIVER of all time......
Go here for the top Tuners, Innovators and Owners in TA history Go here for the best Top Alcohol Funny Car drivers of all time Go here for the quickest ET's and MPH by both Alcohol Funny Cars and Dragsters
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Joe
Amato: Three div. titles. Five nat'l wins Best ET/MPH 6.44/211.76
(the second quickest driver in 1981). Photo could be of Bill Walsh.
Bill
Ancona: 5.45 in a BAD in 1997 which was almost .05 quicker
than anyone else in BAD's. One div title. Best ET/MPH 5.45/256.84
( 2nd quickest driver in 1997). 
Bill
McCornack: Kentucky Thunder TAD. Two div titles. & nat'l
finals, two wins. Best ET/MPH 5.468/259.26 (50th quickest driver in
2003). 
Jay
Meyer: Eight nat'l wins. Two Div titles. Best ET/MPH 5.382/260.01
(The 20th quickest Driver in 2001). 
Randy
Parks: Nine nat'l final rounds. One div title. Ran the Johnson
Olds combo to the most success out side of Blaine and Alan. Best ET/MPH
5.556/255.97 9 The 13th quickest driver in 1997). 
Dave
Settles: Nat'l champ 1977. Ran injected nitro. Three nat'l
wins. One div title. Best ET/MPH 6.625/205.01 (The 5th quickest driver
in 1977). 
Gary
Scelzi: One div title, seven nat'l final rounds. Best ET/MPH
5.691/254.43 (The 34th quickest driver in 1997). 
Marty
Thacker: One div title. One nat'l win. Long time UDRA racer.
Just started full time in the NHRA three years ago. One of the top
three or four blown teams out there right now, but not enough years
beating their head against the big boys to sit in the top 30. One
Div championship. Best ET/MPH 5.293/270.70(The 9th quickest driver
in 2003). 
Jeff
Wilson: Two div titles. Three nat'l wins. Innovator. Best ET/MPH
5.394/264.55 (The 7th quickest driver in 2000). 
Tim
Baxter: Was one of the strong running Mid-West cars and the
"Jayhawker" won three division titles running the Arias
motor combo. Best ET/MPH 5.712/243.96(The 16th quickest driver in
1995). 
Cliff
Bozelli: If Bozelli hadn't left in 2002, he would probably
be in the top 30. Three divisional titles which included a perfect
full pull (5 div wins) in 2001 and a #5 finish nationally in 2002.
Best ET/MPH 5.415/262.23(The 28th quickest driver in 2001). 
Steve
Federlin: Quite possibly the best pure driver in the class
today. He would for sure be in the top 20 if he was in the class a
little longer. Three nat'l finals in 2002 and #3 in the world standings
that year. He is racing in the toughest division for the TAD's the
past threeor four years or would quite possibly have more wins. Best
ET/MPH: 5.392/263.56 (The 25th quickest driver in 2003). 
Dale
Hall: One of the most feared drivers in the 70's and early
80's, and ran a small block for most of his career, and won in B/FD
in 74. Was in 8 national event finals winning four and won two Div.
titles. Dale raced in the 1990's as well. Best ET/MPH: 5.829/234.27.(The
84th quickest driver in 1996, the quickest in his prime.1985). Jim
Hill photo
Above
Left... Dale Hall in the 70's kickin butt with his small block
fed. Left..... He switched to rear engine but still ran the small
block and still won a bunch. Photo by James Morgan 
Rich
McPhillips: another long time veteran and one who has raced
both Blown cars and currently an A/Fueler. He was Division 1 champ
in 1992. Best ET/MPH: 5.345/260.67.(The 16th quickest driver in 2003).
Darren
Nicholson: Much like Federlin, one of the best pure drivers
in the class has won with two different teams Jerry Maddern's Peen
Rite team and Edgecombe racing, finished a career best #4 in the world
in 2002. Has been two 10 national event finals winning six. Best ET/MPH:
5.399/263.10(The 24th quickest driver in 2002). 
Gary
Ormbsy Jr: Famous for the quickest two runs in TAD history
His 5.135 was quick enough for a four second pass if the Randy Meyer
owned/tuned car could have stayed lit for the full 1320. Has three
national event wins with Mike Johnson (2) and Randy Meyer(1). Best
ET/MPH: 5.135/269.08(The quickest driver in history). 
David
Wells: Another that could be argued higher up in the standings.
This was a break out year finishing in the top five (4th) for the
first time ever. I actually expected Wells to finish in the top three
with Norm Grimes tuning the car. His final round red light against
Alan Bradshaw at Brainerd cost him third place, and made me curse
a few unspeakable words. But, against all the tough A/Fuelers, he
was the top BAD in 2003. A four time divisional champion, it will
be interesting to see how he does in 2004 without Grimes. I for one,
wish him luck. He is truly one of the nice guys in the sport. Best
ET/MPH: 5.272/270.59(The 7th quickest driver in 2003). 
Ken
Winward: Winward earned an honorable mention not because he
won titles nationally or divisionally, because he didn't. He is on
the list because he has been in the class for a long time and was
not afraid to try a different mouse trap. He persevered with the Ford
Hemi in his TAD, a motor combo he ran since 1975 until 1999. He ran
at quick as 5.90's @ 235+ with the Ford. He now campaigns a BAE hemi
and has run in the 5.60's. Best ET/MPH: 5.580/251.10(The 70th quickest
driver in 2003). 
Al
DaPozzo: An easy choice for the top 30 of all time, just a
national title away from being in the top twenty. A racer who had
success in both Funny Car and Dragster, but was much more successful
in Dragster. He won 10 national events and two divisional titles in
the 80's. A prankster. Best ET/MPH: 6.305/216.86(The 5th quickest
driver in 1986). 
Steve
Faria: Steve Faria gets in for a couple feats. #1, he was the
first in the 5's back in 1989. #2 he played in the toughest division
in Alcohol racing, Division 7, and was a player at every event. He
ran both BAD's and A/Fuelers. Best ET/MPH: 5.445/258.91 (The 22nd
quickest driver in 2000) 
Art
Gallant: Long time racer gets the nod for one of the top 30
of all time for his world championship in 2002. He is the first A/Fueler
to win the title. The team perfected consistency in their A/Fuel car
something that had not happened before. Arthur won the Division championship
in 2002 as well. Art went from winning to not even trying to defend
the title in 2003, or he could have possibly been a top 20 inductee.
Best ET/MPH: 5.294/268.01(The 7th quickest driver in 2002).
Mark
Hentges: One of the new wave of TAD drivers coming up from
the Super Classes. Mark does it all with his team. Owner/tuner/driver.
His career year was in 2001 where he finished in 2nd place nationally
after a season long battle with Rick Santos. A winner of 2.99 divisional
titles (two actually, tied this year but lost it by virtue of head
to head competition vs Joey Severance Jr.) Has been to 12 national
event finals and won three. Best ET/MPH: 5.312/267.32 (The 5th quickest
driver in 2001). Shannon MacDonald photo
Shelly
Howard: She is not the token female in this list. She earned
every vote to place in the top 30. A winner of two divisional titles
and 3 of eight national events that she went to the finals at. She
runner-upped at Indy this year and has a career best of a 5.37. One
of the spoke persons for T.A.R.A., she is a strong proponent for the
class and she believes that the two types of cars can co-exist if
the NHRA would allow new technology for the BAD's. Best ET/MPH: 5.378/261.88
(The 18th quickest driver in 2001). 
Darrell
Russell: A Division 4 hitter much like Howard above, he is
one of the success stories who moved up in the ranks from TAD to TF.
Darrell won four divisional championships and seven national events
in 12 final rounds. They still hold the honor of having the quickest
Whipple charger pass in the class. A 5.48 back in 1998. A family operation
that saw Brother Chris call the tuning shots. Best ET/MPH: 5.480/256.11(The
12th quickest driver in 1998). File photo
Bill
Reichert: Bill Reichert is another one of the easy picks for
the "All Time List". Bill has had success with both the
BAD and lately the A/Fueler and is the second quickest driver in the
class history He also is one of the top five fastest drivers in the
class with more 270 mph passes than anyone. Bill has won four divisional
titles and has been to close to 20 final rounds at national events
according to my records. Bar's Leak has been a long time sponsor for
Reichert Racing. Best ET/MPH: 5.193/277.03 (The quickest driver in
2003). 
Duane
Shields: Duane Shields much like Mark Hentges is one of the
new breed of Owners/Drivers/Tuners in TAD. Duane just missed out in
2002 from being the world champion when Art Gallant took the title.
In 2002, Duane went to seven final rounds in Div/Nat'l competition
in 2002 and won four times. He also won the 2002 division seven crown.
In 2003, he joined a number of other owners and switched to A/Fuel.
2004 will be an exciting year for both Duane and the rest of the class.
Best ET/MPH: 5.263/269.13 (The 4th quickest driver in 2002). 
Bobby
Taylor: One of the young guns in the 1990 that benefited from
an owner (Gary Turner) who had an open check book. Bobby was a very
good driver who won the world championship in 1996. He also won three
divisional titles and had an outstanding 14-1 won/lost record at national
events. Best ET/MPH: 5.502/254.74 (The 8th quickest driver in 1997).
20.
Mark Niver: A 30 year veteran that has built almost every piece
for his A/Fuel dragster. He finally got his second Wally in 2003,
after a 20 year drought. He ran a Donovan combination for a long time
and was the first driver to try the PSI Super Charger back in the
80's but decided A/Fuel was where he wanted to hang his hat. He had
a good chance to win the Div 7 title until his crash at Sonoma. Innovations
and a do it yourself attitude, including building his own heads, plus
his 30 year career in the class gives him the first spot in the "all
time" top 20. Best 
ET/MPH:
5.375/264.29 (The 15th quickest driver in 2002. He was also the quickest
car in 1988 (6.06) with the all new PSI). 
19.
John Shoemaker: Another 30 year veteran of the class that has
quite possibly done the most with the least. Has one division title
and two national event wins. With a real budget he could easily have
won a bunch more races. One of the true sportsman racers in the class,
and wife Judi makes this team click even more. John's longevity and
success with a shoe string budget gives him a historic spot in the
top 20. Best ET/MPH: 5.606/252.99 (The 65th quickest driver in 2000).
18.
Chess Bushey: In the mid 90's, no one wanted to race this guy.
A 25 year veteran in the injected nitro ranks, he ran 5.44 back in
1997 and mentored many of the top A/Fuel racers that are kicking everyone
butt in present day. His setup was simple but effective. He won three
national events in 1997 and paved the way for the success the A/Fuelers
now have in the class. His performance with the A/Fueler and longevity
gives Chess a spot in the top 20. Best ET/MPH: 5.448/253.23 (The quickest
driver in 1997). 
17.
Chuck Baird: The "Wild Side" Top Alcohol Dragster
pilot was on of the most feared drivers in the early to mid 90's.
A former super quick driver he won the 1992 US Nationals and 11 more
national events in 17 final rounds. While he did not manage to win
a national title during his run Chuck had numerous top 10 national
finishes and three divisional crowns running Division three. 12 National
wins and three div titles in a relatively short career puts him into
the top 20. Best ET/MPH: 5.590/253.73 (The 8th quickest driver in
1996). 
16.
Darrell Gwynn: Darrell Gwynn was one of the first to have success
driving in the sportsman ranks before moving up to the fuel classes.
In the Pro Comp days he worked with his father who raced with a funny
car in Pro Comp. His father won a total of four Divisional titles
and numerous national events. In 1980, at the age of 18, Darrell ran
his first national event in a TAD and runner-upped to one of history's
best Billy Williams. He went on to win ten national events between
1981-1984, three divisional titles and the national championship in
1983. In 1984 "The Kid" switched to Top Fuel and ended up
with a total of 28 national event 
wins.
Three div. titles, one world title and ten national wins in 16 final
rounds in a four year span gives Darrell the nod into the top 20.
Best ET/MPH: 6.272/218.44 (The quickest driver in 1984). 
15.
Mike Gunderson: Mike Gunderson is one of the South East's most
dominant TAD drivers in history. Starting his TAD career in a blown
alcohol dragster back in the mid 90's, 1997 was his breakout year,
as he won his first divisional title, and continued his streak through
1999. In 2000, he switched to A/Fuel dragster and never slowed up
winning two more division titles making it 6 in a row. 1998 was a
great year nationally for the "Under the Gun" team as they
went to four final rounds at National event and ended up winning three.
In 2003, Mike made history, when he took his A/Fueler into the 280
mph zone at Reading. It stands at the fastest (280.54) He backed it
up with a 278 mph shot. His six consecutive divisional titles put
him into the top 20. Best ET/MPH: 5.232/280.54 (The 4th quickest driver
in 2003).
14.
Mike Troxel: One of the true legends of the class. A Blown
Alcohol dragster competitor literally until the day he died. Mike
won the world championship in 1988. Surprisingly he never won a divisional
title as he was up against a couple other top 20 competitors from
the 'High and Mighty', Brian Raymer, Tim Baxter and Denny Lucas. Mike
went to 14 national event final rounds in TAD and won seven. With
backing from his company MTI Inc. (an automotive tool manufacturing
company which manufactured the torques sprk plug wrenches and the
head on valve spring tester). His first National event win was the
big one, the 1987 US Nationals. That set up one of the most dominant
years in TAD where he went to seven final rounds and won six of them
to clinch the 1988 TAD championship. Almost a decade later, in 1996
he went to three final at national event to prove his longevity in
the sport. Mike, unfortunately died in 2000 after a long battle with
bone cancer. His daughter Melanie carried on the family torch, running
the family business and winning in Top Alcohol Dragster. She finished
# 2 in the world in 1999 before going into the fuel ranks. Best ET/MPH:
5.664/249.16 (The 24th quickest driver in 1996). 
12.
Mike Kosky: This East Coast runner started racing the Top Alcohol
Dragsters in 1974 and has won division titles in his home division
(Div 1 in 1993) and three titles in division three (1989-1991). He
was been to over 20 national event finals and won 8 in his 35+ year
career. A long time Rodeck and Olds runner, he has been a perennial
top 10 finisher in his three decade career and he has seen the class
evolve and he has moved with it. In 2003, he had a career best 5.39
to be one of only 22 BAD drivers to run in the 5.30 zone. He went
to the finals at Reading and would have gotten his first national
win since 1999. His 31 years in the class makes him (at 60 years old
no less) one of the longest and oldest competitors in the class. His
four Divisional titles and 20+ final rounds in national competition
puts him into the #10 spot in the top 20. Best ET/MPH:
5.396/261.32
(The 31st quickest driver in 2003). 
11.
Dale Armstrong: Dale Armstrong is a true legend in Drag Racing.
In the top 5 in NHRA's top 50 drag racers of all time, his records
began in the Pro Comp Alcohol ranks. Dale won three divisional titles
in the mid to late seventies. Teaming with longtime friend Ken Veney,
Armstrong made the most of his opportunity and won the season-opening
Winternationals with Veney's A/Fuel Dragster by defeating none other
than Veney in the final. Armstrong also won the U.S. Nationals in
1974 with Jim Foust's AA/Altered. In 1975 he drove Foust's BB/FC and
won the US Nationals and world title. Along the way, Armstrong
became the first to break the 6.7, 6.6, and 6.5 second barriers. Armstrong
won eight more national events in his last three years in Pro Comp,
including the U.S. Nationals in 1977. If he had stayed in the class
a few more years he would be a top five driver. Look for him in "Top
Innovators and Tuners" as well. After his Pro Comp days he moved
to the Nitro Funny car ranks and the rest they say is history. Most
notable is his decade and a half stint with Kenny Bernstein which
produced four consecutive Funny Car championships. Best ET/MPH: 6.445/214.79
(The quickest driver in 1977,'78). Top, 
10.
Bill Walsh: One of only four driver to win more than one
world championship in the class, Bill dominated TAD with three consecutive
world titles from 1984-1986. He also won four division championships
in division one from 83 - 86. The Pennsylvania driver had a 12 - 5
win/loss record at national events during his relatively short career.
His competitors are probably glad he moved up to the Fuel ranks working
for Joe Amato. His domination in just a short period of time puts
his into the top 10, but because he did not have a long career he
is not farther up the ladder. Best ET/MPH: 6.282/219.51 (The 5th quickest
driver in 1987). Photo courtesy 
9.
Keith Stark: Is the only A/Fuel racer to make the top 10
on this list, and he did it by making huge runs starting in the mid
90's. While he does not have a national championship to his name he
has been to 16 final rounds at national events and won 7 of them.
One of the classic quotes I will always remember it at the 96 finals
where Keith Stark (
start
with A/Fuelers becoming the dominant car in the right conditions.
Stark is still running an A/Fueler even though he though about Top
Fuel. Rumor has it he even did some testing with clutch management
in his A/Fueler in hopes of running a "4". He has helped
a number of current racers who are trying to perfect their injected
combination. For his success in developing the current crop of A/Fuelers
he gets the nod in the top 10. Best ET/MPH: 5.266/275.90 (The 6th
quickest driver in 2003). 
8.
Brian Raymer: The first in a wave of Colorado TAD competitors
that dominated the class. Brian won the first ever TAD world championship
in 1981 and won six division championships in a row from 1980 to 1985.
He went to 12 national event finals and won seven. He had all his
success running a Donovan combination early in his career and then
going to an Arias later. Being the first post Pro Comp national championship
and winning an unbelievable six consecutive division crowns puts him
into the eight spot in the top 20. Best ET/MPH: 6.263/221.55 (The
3rd quickest driver in 1986). 
7.
Billy Williams: In the late seventies and through the 80's
no one from the west coast was a bigger power house than Billy Williams.
In 1979 he won 5 national events and even won three in a row to end
the season including Indy, Seattle and the finals to give him the
world championship. Once Dale Armstrong moved on to the fuel ranks
Billy benefited from Dale's potent combination and became THE hitter
from the west. His record in NHRA national event competition is 10
wins in 16 final rounds. Surprisingly, with all his success he never
won a 
divisional
title. He competed right up to and including 2002, but a bad crash
that year at an IHRA national event put him in the hospital in serious
condition, and he has yet to recover from his injuries. The entire
drag racing community is hoping he can recover. Best ET/MPH: 6.400/216.84
(The quickest driver in 1979 and '80). Above photo, 
6.
Bill Barney: One of the first corporate cars to run in
a sportsman class. Bill had the backing of Castrol Motor Oils and
was part of "Team Castrol" along with John Force and Gary
Ormsby Sr. Barney did everything but win a championship with his TAD.
He won three divisional championships and was in 36 final rounds at
national events. While he raced on the divisional trail he concentrated
mostly on national events. He won 23 national in his 10+ year career.
Rumors of him running a stroker motor were prevalent in the early
90's and it was rumored he left the pits with car in tow, before tech
could tear him down. Whether it was financial or he just lost interest,
he 
dropped
out of the TAD scene as quick as he came into it. Best ET/MPH: 5.755/248.20
(The 24th quickest driver in 1995). Top photo 
5.
Don Woosley: The winningest driver in the 70's and 80's
from the North Central (Div3) with seven div. titles in a nine year
span from 1977 - 1985. He also won the world championship in 1982.
During his run in 1982 Dan went to five finals and won four of them,
he had a 10 - 9 win/loss record in 19 final rounds. His seven div.
titles and national championship put him in the top 5. Best ET/MPH:
6.245/218.02 (The 18th quickest driver in 1989). 
4.
Jay Payne: Jay is an easy pick for the top 10 and will
be possibly near the same position in Alcohol Funny Car as well. He
amassed 15 national event wins in just over 30 final round with the
'Thunder Slug" TAD. He won five divisional championships in TAD
in three different divisions (Div.7 in1987-88, Div.6 in1991 and Div.2
in 1995-96). In 1995 he capped off his dominant run in the class with
a world championship. In 1997, he made the switch to funny car and
has had great success in that class. Wife and co-crew chief Shelly
Anderson has been a big help along the way as has her
dad Brad Anderson of BAE. Whenever new technology is introduced to
the class Jay is first in line to try out the new parts. For his dominating
run in the mid 90's Jay sits #4 in the top 10 of all time drivers.
Best ET/MPH: 5.481/257.95 (The 5th quickest driver in 1997). 
3.
Tom Conway: Tom is one of the true elite players in the
class. His two world championships; one in 1989 and one in 1994 shows
he was not just a one hit wonder. Surrounding those two national titles
were eight divisional crowns. Seven of them in a row from 1987 - 1993.
His last title div title was in 1995. Between 1989-90 he won eight
divisional races in a row. Talk about domination. He was in 33 national
event finals and won 18 of them. Only three driver won more times
than Tom. He had a total of 152 round wins at national events,and
was the #1 qualifier at 23 events. The dollars it took to compete
at that level took its toll and he decided to put his effort into
building and tuning for other teams. Many current teams have benefited
from his expertise including Shelly Howard, Jay Meyer, Doug Foley
and Jason Cannon to name a few. Best ET/MPH: 5.685/248.55 (The 30th
quickest driver in 1996). 
2.
Blaine Johnson: For as tough as it was just picking who
would be in the top 30 in this "Best of….." story,
it was even harder to pick between the two top dogs. The final reasons
for putting that Northern Californian #1 instead of Blaine, well you
can read it in their story. For now let's talk about Blaine Johnson.
He was flat out good! With brother Alan calling the tuning shots this
team was almost unstoppable. Starting in 1989 where he went to three
national event final and won the Division 7 TAD championship and ending
in 1993with his fourth national championship and fifth divisional
crown ask any competitor who they did not want to face and it would
have been unanimous, that red Johnson car. He amassed 26 wins in 40
final round appearances in that short span. And they did it while
running a non hemi power plant. Alan and Blaine developed their own
Olds wedge combination that became as good of a competitor to the
standard Brad or Veney heads out there. They weren't easy to 
tune
or get a handle on or they would have been seen on more cars. Randy
Parks probably had as much success with them as anyone. If Blaine
and brother Alan had not switched to the big show, who knows how many
titles and races they would have won. Even running in Top Fuel until
Blaine's tragic crash and death they were becoming one of if not the
strongest team in the profession ranks, one of drag racing's biggest
tragedy's. Best ET/MPH: 5.805/240.77 (The 8th quickest driver in 1993)
.
Top two photos from 
1.
Rick Santos: The driver from Brentwood California has amassed
the best record in the history of the class. Over 50 final round appearances,
36 wins and over 200 round wins. Oh ya, did we mention the small block.
George, son's Jeff and Rick made a statement to the class when they
started out running a small block Chevy back in the mid 80's. Another
brother, Steve was actually the first to drive the fabled small block
power plant way back in 1985. Rick went to his first final in 1991
at the finals and that was the start of history. The Santos business
S & S Automotive was a performance shop in San Leandro California
that specialized in small block 
Chevy's.
They perfected the 388 cu.in. combination so well, that they decided
to take advantage of the weight breaks given to the small wedge motor
and built themselves the lightest possible car out there. It performed
so well that the NHRA in their misguided wisdom basically ruled the
motor out of existence. The team preserved with the combination until
1995 when the ruled made it too difficult to be competitive. George
Rick and Steve sat out until long time boat racer and gear-head Jack
O'Bannon came knocking and said let's beat these guys at their own
game. So instead of working all week at the shop and tinkering all
night long to find more power in the Chevy, They work during the week
and flew into races with a fully stocked and prepared race car courtesy
of Jack and crew chief Norm Grimes. The team clicked right away and
within 6 month's, I think everyone in the class had wished they had
stayed with the small block. For the next six years the O'Bannon Oakwood
Homes TAD team terrorized every inch on the continent winning almost
at will. And when the driver in the other lane had a car that seemed
to be equal in power, well Rick just out drove his opponent. I remember
one year at Woodburn in the sweltering heat that the car (small block
version) shook the tires so hard, the steering wheel broke in Rick's
hand and at the end of the 5 second run, he just 
shook
his head like it was no big deal. That and five national titles and
7 divisional crowns later, well the #1 was on the car and in this
"Top 25 best of feature". The team's longevity, dedication,
ingenuity, and probably the best damn driver ever to sit between the
frame rails is why Rick Santos is the #1 driver of all time. Best
ET/MPH: 5.278/267.16 (The 3rd quickest driver in 2001)