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Burndown Breakdown: Here’s The Definitive History Of The Greatest NHRA Burndown Ever, Carbone vs Garlits 1971

As the drag racing world still buzzes over the Mason McGaha/Bruno Massel starting line show at Topeka a couple weeks ago, NHRA’s Phil Burgess decided to do a deep dive into the greatest burndown of all time. The final round of the 1971 NHRA US Nationals was three years in the making. Don Garlits, the king of the sport by the time 1971 came around and scrappy Steve Carbone who had built himself into a champion level top fuel racer as well. There was one problem for Carbone, he kept taking lumps from Garlits. So, like any good competitor, he made a plan.

The detail and backstory shared here is incredible and really makes you understand why these two otherwise mentall tough racers went full psycho on each other. It was the final round of top fuel. It was a slingshot taking on a rear engine car, it was the biggest name in Garlits, and it was a guy who wanted to beat him so bad he’d do anything to try.

And he did.

Great read: The definitive story on the greatest burndown in NHRA history


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There was a whisper of something coming from Stellantis regarding EV cars a couple of days ago. But there was no way that anybody was prepared for the full-on battery of news that the company released today that spelled out the future of not just the North American brands, but every brand under the Stellantis fold. It’s not too surprising that EV powertrains are the focus…Stellantis, and previously FCA, have been viewed as lacking in electric vehicle innovation and like it or hate it, that is a part of the company that is necessary for business in today’s automotive climate. We’ll run you through the quick notes on the brands overall, but obviously we want to tackle the four main brands that we feel BangShift readers want to know the most about. The very short version goes like this: There will be four main platforms coming out soon (“soon” meaning about 2024, provided no more global plague, chip shortage, zombie apocalypse, what have you) and they will flow like this:

  • STLA Small, with up to 300 miles of range
  • STLA Medium, with up to 440 miles of range
  • STLA Large, with up to 500 miles of range
  • STLA Frame, with up to 500 miles of range

And this impacts every brand under the Stellantis fold. And just in case you didn’t know or weren’t aware, here’s the full list of brands and the associated taglines they are using for this EV push. Don’t shoot the messanger, we didn’t write these.

  • Abarth – “Heating Up People, But Not The Planet.”
  • Alfa Romeo – “From 2024, Alfa Becomes e-Romeo”
  • Chrysler – “Clean Technology For A New Generation Of Families”
  • Citröen – “Citröen Electric: Well-Being For All”
  • Dodge – “Tear Up The Streets, Not The Planet”
  • DS Automobiles – “The Art Of Travel, Magnified”
  • Fiat – “It’s Only Green When Green Is For All”
  • Jeep – “Zero Emissions Freedom”
  • Lancia – “The Most Elegant Way To Protect The Planet”
  • Maserati – “The Best In Performance Luxury, Electrified”
  • Opel/Vauxhall – “Green Is The New Cool”
  • Peugeot – “Turning Sustainable Mobility Into Quality Time”
  • Ram – “Built To Serve A Sustainable Planet”
  • Commercial Vehicles – “The Global Leader In e-Commercial Vehicles”

So, what are the new products that are coming? We’ll get to Chrysler, Jeep, Ram and Dodge in a minute, but here’s the cliff notes for the rest: Peugeot is taking the lead with their already decent-selling EV line. Fiat is going full EV, though there is no word on if that will continue to sell in the North American market. Lancia, a company many thought was on death row with a guaranteed date, is supposed to be whipping up at least three new vehicles. Opel/Vauxhall is projecting to have a crossover SUV tenatively named “Manta” and intends to be fully-electric by 2028. But we know what you came here for, so let’s get straight to it.

Chrysler

Not much was spoken in the way of Chrysler. But in the full Stellantis EV Day video (at the bottom of this story), during Ralph Gilles’ segment, you will see this concept that is plainly badged as a Chrysler. It comes off like a street-friendly AWD crossover, but the big story here is that something is happening at Chrysler that doesn’t involve further de-contenting the 300 sedan. It’s that one blip of heartbeat on an otherwise dead heart monitor. Now, let’s see if something comes from this. Stellantis promised that every brand had some time to prove their value before they were pruned off. Chrysler was vying with Lancia at the bottom of the pile for years. Let’s see if they can claw their way back into the market.

Jeep

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Ram

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Dodge

Jeep and Ram speak for themselves. But pour over the Dodge video carefully, because there are some surprising notes in here. Namely three items:

Item 1: A roofline that could either be Charger or Challenger (or, potentially, a new-named vehicle).

Item 2: The return of the “Fratzog”, the tri-point emblem that graced Dodge products from 1962-1975. Those hood creases have an interesting shape to them as well…

Item 3: As you can see in both the lead image and the video below, a car with a very 1968 Charger-esque front light design and the Fratzog symbol waking up all four tires with extreme violence, after Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis showed off tons of tire-torching muscle (and the car world’s version of a hiked-up skirt with that slight pullback of the covered car). Out of all of the announcements of Stellantis’s EV Day, Dodge has our full attention. Not for the battery car, not for the planet. EVs have proven to be daily-useable. They’ve proven to be blindingly fast…ask the dude in the stripped Tesla Model S who hustles Hellcats what that life is all about. What they don’t have is a soul. If Dodge can give an EV a soul, and provide that X-factor that no other EV really has for a gearhead, they win. Hands down.

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CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL STELLANTIS EV DAY VIDEO (start at 29:14).

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Romping Stomping Historic Video: Check Out This Amazing Footage Of Drag Racing Legends In 427 Comets And Thunderbolts

Like so many awesome developments in Ford’s 1960s drag racing history, Tasca Ford can claim some credit for the creation of what would be known as the Thunderbolt. They started by stuffing a 406 into a Fairlane in 1962 and followed it up with a 427 in another Fairlane in 1963 and ultimately that effort culminated in Ford seizing the chance to expand on the idea by creating the legendary Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt in 1964. These are my favorite factory drag cars of all time and they can still be found terrorizing the strip at NHRA national events and at other meets across the country. Back in the 1960s it was a matter of drag strip survival that these cars were made to exist. After being beat up by the Pontiacs and Mopars of the same time frame and seeing efforts like the lightweight Galaxies come up short, they had to do something. Boy did they ever.

Getting these cars into the specific hands of the best racers in the Ford fold changed the game. In this video you will see guys like Dyno Don Nicholson, Bill Lawton, Butch Leal, Ronnie Sox, Jack Chrisman, Al Joniec, and others plying the trade on drag strips large and small (mostly small) across the country.

The video is not just Thunderbolts, though. In fact it opens with amazing footage of Chrisman in the famed Sachs and Sons Mercury Comet with its blown engine smoking the tires of an eternity at the US Nationals. The 8mm footage is backed with some tunes but wow is this whole thing awesome. The Sachs and Sons cars is called the first funny car by many and when we look at what happened in 1965, it’s hard to argue. 1964 was awesome but 1965 was bonkers with multiple fuel burning, blown, stock bodied cars hitting drag strips and drawing massive crowds. About a half dozen of them showed up at the nationals that year and were relegated to the B/Fuel Dragster category because at that time, anything that ran on nitro was lumped into a dragster category and relegated by weight.

If you love the raw history of Ford performance, you will love this video. Seeing these OG 427 Comets and Thunderbolts throwing down is just great. Lots of Chrysler products in the other lane of these runs which is exactly what the Blue Oval gang was hoping for. It was drag strip war.

Press play below to see some of the coolest historic Thunderbolt footage ever –

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Awesomely Weird: This 1970s Chevrolet Parts Film Stars Evel Knievel And Literally Makes No Sense

We’re guessing someone lost their job for this one. You are going to watch this 1970s Chevrolet parts film which stars Evel Knivel and makes literally no sense at all. The theme of the film is “conflict” and it is illustrated by a series of scenes where animals eat other animals, black and white movies are shown, and Evel Knievel jumps stuff on his motorcycle, sometimes crashing, sometimes not. Throw in a dose of 1970s Anchoman-level hilarity with a bikini-clad woman, and you have yourself one of the most singular odd things we have ever seen.

Make no mistake, Knievel would never turn down a gig, especially one with Chevrolet that likely was a great payday for reading some cue-cards. The company definitely did not hire him for his suave acting ability because this dude is straight up stiff while narrating the action. By action, we mean the bizarre things we are shown on screen.

Oddly, while Chevrolet parts are mentioned a handful of times there’s barely (if ever) a Chevrolet car shown as a prop in the film. This whole thing is some weirdo theater of the mind that was likely schemed up by an executive’s kid. “Hey Johnson, get my son a job in the media department and let him run wild!”

Obviously, Knievel was majorly famous at this point and his star only grew bigger. Note that he mentions that someday, “I’ll jump a mile….” we all know how that quest ended.

You have to see this one to believe it.

Press play to see the weirdest Chevrolet Parts video ever made, starring Evel Knievel!

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Welcome to Spring! Flowers, trees, birds…allergies. Whatever…it’s another year and the season is already underway! So if you are just now crawling out to the garage and you don’t live in Alaska, or Wisconsin, or Wyoming after that last blizzard, then just like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland says, you’re late! So get on out there, get your ride back in shape, and get moving! The sun is out, the weather is getting better, and we’re going to take full advantage of it. So, to get started on the right foot, here’s another serving of Scrapple…enjoy!

1. Now give them the “muffler up the tailpipe” treatment.

2. Um…that’s actually kind of good!

Nobody asked for what a restomod, EV take on a Dodge D-50 could or should be. I have fond memories of the mini-Ram that I learned how to drive stick with, but I wouldn’t want a modern take on it. Or…well, hell, would you look at this. It’s called the Alpha Wolf. Alpha Motor Corporation is a startup EV group that is pre-planning their whole model range before going live (which is expected to happen in 2023). The other vehicles include the Ace, a two-seat little coupe that looks like a shrunken Datsun B210 from certain angles, and the Jax, a larger take on the Ace with suicide-hinged rear half doors (think the Saturn SC coupe) and an off-road, Porsche Safari-like vibe. The cars? I’m not sold. But the truck? That thing looks like a proper early 1980s mini truck in off-road spec, like a Chevy LUV Mikado or a Datsun 720.

3. Well, it will go on a trail, if you insist!

So, a couple of things about the new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer: One, they’re pricey. Two, they are supposed to be a “sub-brand” within Jeep. Don’t get that? Look straight at Ford, who has decided to try this out with the Mustang and Bronco nameplates. That’s why there is no actual Jeep badging on them. Is that a problem? According to Jeep, no…because of the Wagoneer name, the are “obviously Jeep”, and not some Americanized Range Rover. And finally, no…they are not Trail Rated. The Trail Rated badge means 10 inches of ground clearance, skid plates, tow hooks, off-roading rubber, and are a trail-sized vehicle. Because the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer are the automotive equivalent of the teacher the kids call “Miss DumpTruck”, Jeep isn’t even bothering. You’re paying at least $60 grand, and potentially as much as six figures, for a school bus with pedigree. Even they doubt you’ll see much more than a well-groomed gravel road.

4. Oh, that’s why…gotcha.

Heard anything about this “chip shortage” lately? If not, here’s the short take: there is a global semiconductor chip shortage that is affecting just about everybody. Well, count the Chevy Camaro in on that problem…due to the shortage, the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant has been paused due to the parts shortage. Twenty bucks says that this is what’s keeping Cadillac’s barely-distinguishable crossovers pouring out of the plants. Just don’t forget to slap the badge on the back so we know which squinty-eyed lump it is, okay?

5. Who the hell died and made you Technoking?

Yeah, we couldn’t make up that title if we tried. Earlier this week, Tesla Inc added a couple of new titles to some of the upper management: Elon Musk is now the “Technoking” (oontz-oontz-oontz), and CFO Zachary Kirkhorn is now the “Master of Coin”. While this is probably only done to irritate nerves within the Securities Exchange Commission, a government group that Musk himself has zero trouble mocking (from a Tweet: “SEC, three letter acronym, middle word is Elon’s”), you have to wonder just what was going on in the meeting where these new titles were actually thought up. Actually, no, you don’t. The answer is simple. Joe Rogan sent over some more choice weed.

 

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The 2022 Ford Super Duty Updates Get it Right – New Looks, More Tech, Same Big Engine!

(By Tom Lohnes) – With a refresh for 2020, the Ford Super Duty pickup truck has proven itself a great choice in the field, with its only drawback being tech. Well, for 2022, the Super Duty received what its needs and some more.

Starting out with the small things, the Super Duty receives two new appearance packages. The STX sport appearance package, available on both XLT and Lariat trims, basically color-matches everything that was chrome. This does so on both trims, making them barely distinguishable. Next in the list of updates comes the big one: Sync 4.

With GM utilizing a brilliant system in a smaller screen, and Ram essentially strapping an iPad Pro on to the dashboard of their trucks, Ford has added the option of the new system on the XLT trim, and from there on it is standard. Powertrain changes are at a minimum, the only notable thing is the “Godzilla” 7.3-liter V8 makes 430 horsepower now, up from 428.

So, will this update to the Gargantuan Ford sway you to buy one? The Super Duty not only looks good, performs good, and is built good, but now it can keep up with it’s competitors computer-wise. Pricing for the Super Duty ranges anywhere from $34,000 to $115,000.


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No Mercy 11 Action Photo Coverage: More Awesome Cars, Awesome Launches, and Awesome Images From SGMP

(Photos by Wes Allison) – It does not take a doctorate degree to figure out why people love drag radial style drag racing. Simply flip through these photos and you will see a load of killer cars that look…LIKE CARS. From Tommy Youman’s Pontiac GTO to Shane Stack’s Monte Carlo and a host of others, this are identifiable cars and they are all that plus they’re haul ass fast.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the original running of the Sweet 16 was pushed back to effectively butt right up against No Mercy so it was dubbed “Duck Week” at SGMP and all indications are that a good time was had by all. Lots of competitors stayed to run both races and by doing that, got a lot of runs in through test sessions and qualifying for the two events.

We were there for the No Mercy portion of the extravaganza and as you’ll see here, the cars were flying, the track was prepped, and drag radial fans sure got their money’s worth from the stands. Good stuff!

Hit the images below to expand them and then scroll on to see them all!


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Upgrading the spindles that underpin your car and play and integral role in the function and performance of your car is a pretty easy job that can have massive effects on the driving dynamics of the vehicle. Choosing the right material, choosing the right construction, the right drop, and the right fitment are super important. If you are going for a max effort style car, a cruiser, or simply looking to get the front end down a coupe of inches, Chris Alston’s Chassisworks has what you need.

They offer spindles in a variety of heights and construction methods for the most popular Ford and GM models you can think of. These are not one size fits all solutions. The offerings are designed to reach a wide range of potential customers.

Spindles that are designed with the latest analytical software modeling to make them the strongest and lightest that they can be are the pieces that anyone who competes in autocross or even track day fun would want. Improving the geometry and making the car work better are the goals, all while reducing weight along the way. There are high quality drop spindles as well that get you that aggressive look that you want, all while making sure that the driving element of the car is not reduced.

Hit the image of the spindle below to check out Chris Alston’s Chassisworks spindle selection. It’s huge!

Hit the image of the spindle below to see the vast offerings from Chassisworks!

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Got A 2020 C8 Corvette Stingray? Be Careful Of The Junk In Your Frunk – Some Cars Being Recalled

(By Tom Lohnes) – The new-for-2020 C8 Corvette has made a name for itself as a supercar killer, even though only the stingray model is available right now. As good as the launch has been, GM overlooked an issue with the front trunk that is rather concerning.

The “frunk” likes to open unexpectedly at really any speed. They have fixed this for 2021, but are currently recalling the current ones that fall victim to this issue. With a top speed of 194 miles per hour, it is a rather scary thought to have your front trunk fly open when you are going that fast. Sure, it isn’t as potentially severe as Ford’s door latches, but this is still concerning and serious. Thankfully, nobody has gotten hurt because of this yet, because the recorded cases of it happening all ended with the driver being able to get the car pulled over and stopped without incident.

The 8 complaints lodged thus far all seem to indicate user error is to blame for this but Chevrolet is actively taking cars in and altering the warning system that alters driver’s that the frunk is not secure. Bottom line, just make sure you give that frunk and extra push when you are closing it and everything will be ok. Also, close it like you mean it, not like a weenie.


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Speed and Sound: Watch A Late 1970s F1 Car with a Cosworth DFV V8 Engine Attack Goodwood!

It’s a pretty familiar story in the world of racing, right? Son of operator/owner of large successful company is a talented race car driver and wants to compete at highest levels, company invests money into program, program not that successful, program goes away. Such was the nutshell explanation of David Purely and the LEC Refrigeration Formula One outfit that competed in 1973 and 1977. The car you are going to see here is the 1977 era machine that is powered by an absolutely symphonic sounding Cosworth DFV V8 engine. These cars are some of our favorites with the “big n’ little” tires and cool shovel nose pieces.

Purley’s relatively undecorated Formula One career is less known for podium finishes and more known for personal toughness. It was in 1973 at the Dutch Grand Prix that David Purley stopped and got out of his car to try and prevent fellow racer Roger Williamson from burning to death in his overturned car. The famous footage shows Purley trying to get track workers and fellow racers to help him, all to no avail. Williamson died in the car. In 1977 Purley and his team made their own F1 entry, the CRP1. This car was a good one but at the British Grand Prix Purley suffered a stuck throttle and piled into a wall at 108mph, coming to a stop 26 inches after impact and experiencing nearly 180 Gs of force. Shockingly he lived but was badly injured.

This car ripping up Goodwood and doing so in “low ET” fashion is just amazing. It may not have won much on the track but this baby is a ripper!

Press play below to see some 1970s vintage F1 action on the hill at Goodwood –

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