This event was scheduled in September but due to rain was postponed till October 4th. We were greeted with a cool but very sunny early October day. The pits were full with bracket and exhibition cars. The event had late model nitro funny cars, nostalgia nitro funny cars, nostalgia alcohol funny cars and a jet funny car. Plus nostalgia top fuel cars, gassers and The Super Charged Thunder.

First round out pitted Rocky Ausec with the Solid Rock Mustang against the Rubber City Connection 79 Trans Am. It was all Rubber City Connection on this run as Rocky had problems keeping the front end on the track. 7.38 185 to 8.21 135. Next pair up was the 79 Omni Sharkeys Machine and The Fuelish Monza. The Monza was hurt in the warm-up and could not make the call, giving Lance a single. This was to be the first of several personal best for the group this evening. Lance clicked off a 7.21 @ 185. His best E.T. by at least a tenth.

Next pair The Horvath's Damn Yankee against the beautiful Mike Burkhart 68 Camaro recreation driven by Steve Timoszyk. Horvath's were first off the line and the first GLNFCC member in the 6 second zone with a flawless 6.96 196 run. Steve stopped the clocks at 8.32 156.

Winner Chris Gerber Driver of Rubber City Connection

Next pair was all thunder with Tom Mitchell's Blue Thunder Camaro taking on the Detroit Thunder 55 T - Bird of Bill Hallett. This was one close race from the beginning. At the end The Blue Thunder actually took the win with a slower 7.43 187 to a 7.41 183.

For the second run, night had come and the temperature was in the high 40's we all expected a less then manageable track surface, but The 131 staff did a superior job giving us a track surface that could handle the horsepower. First pair saw Detroit Thunder take on Sharkeys Machine. These cars proved the track surface was still there. Sharkys Machine continued in the 7.20's with a 7.26 173 and The Detroit Thunder almost picked up a tenth from the previous run with a 7.34 185.

Next up Solid Rock making a single. Still battling the uncontrollable Mustang Rocky was on and off the throttle several times stopping the clocks with 8.90. Next pair The Mike Burkhart car versus The Blue Thunder. The Blue Thunder was shut off due to a water leak. We were about to see another personal best as Steve went through the lights with an impressive 7.38 156 with the 116" wheelbase Camaro.

Last pair the six-second Damn Yankee takes on their rival The Rubber City Connection. This should have been a race as both drivers were on their game with the reaction times. Chris Gerber in the Rubber City Connection out first with a .048 light to Mark's .084. This gave Chris The Good Vibration Enderle Quick Reaction Time Award for this event.

Then it got exciting. The Vega pulled the front end up hard and when it landed the car moved towards the wall putting out a nice spark show as the left zoomie scrapped down the wall. The Rubber City Connection zoomed past with a 7.47 run. After the run we found the Damn Yankee was in good shape. Just a bent zoomie, and a little road rash on the side of the body.

This was great event with a lot of great action for the spectators. We hope to be back at this great track next year.

This is the last event for 2008. It has been a great inaugural year for The GLNFCC. The 2009 season looks to be even more exciting. We want to thank all of the people that have supported the GLNFCC and hope you enjoyed your trip back into the 70's for a night.

Winner Mark Horvath Driver of Damn Yankee

On Saturday September 6th. Bristol Drag Way held The Blast from The Past, which featured three nostalgia drag racing groups The Southern Slingshots, Classic Gassers and The Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit. Also on hand to sign autographs was Big Daddy Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney.

Running behind schedule due to a brief rain shower, the exhibition cars finally took to the track.

The first pair up for the GLNFCC was the Fuelish Monza taking on the Damn Yankee. Mark Horvath in the Damn Yankee was off first with a .052 R.T., which took the Enderle Quick Reaction Time award presented by Good Vibrations. The Damn Yankee also took the win with a 7.48 177.14 to the Fuelish 7.65 172.2.

Next pair up was The Dazed & Confused Camaro vs. The Detroit Thunder T Bird. Dazed & Confused took the win with a 7.64 173.2 while The Detroit Thunder was shut off due to a parachute malfunction.

Second round brought the two quickest cars from the first round, Damn Yankee vs. Dazed & Confused. Again the Damn Yankee was off first and the first to the strip. 7.44 187 to an out of the groove 7.86 139.6.

Last pair had the Fuelish Monza paired up with the Detroit Thunder T Bird. The T Bird was off first but veered toward the wall at about the 1,000-foot mark. The Monza took the win with a 7.67 167 to a 7.85 166.8.

Next up is The Funny Car Nationals at U.S. 131 in Martin, Mi., on October 4th.

Photos courtesy of Damon T. Atherton

The Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit made their way to Louisville, KY for the O’Reilly Live Nation Thunder Jam on August 23rd.

Since we did not get to run the finals at MCIR due to breakage we had a rematch for the first run. Horvath's Damn Yankee Vega took on Mike Little's Mutiny Mach I. Horvath's took off first with a .002 light and barely hung on at the end. Horvath 4.65 at154 to Damn Yankees 4.66 at 148.

Next Pair was the Rubber City Connection Trans Am against the Visionary Cuda. The Connection broke on the launch while the Visionary ran through with a 4.86 at 144. Next up was the Fuelish Monza against the Dazed & Confused 69 Camaro. Off first was the Monza but beaten to the stripe by the Camaro. 4.55 at 157 to a 4.69 at 148. Last pair was the Old & Fuelish Corvette against the Detroit Thunder 55 T Bird. This was a very close race as the T Bird stopped the lights first at 4.80 with the Corvette right behind with a 4.82.

Photos courtesy of Damon T. Atherton

Winner Mark Horvath Driver of Damn Yankee

Second round brought out Old & Fuelish against Dazed & Confused. The Camaro moved first with a red light and hung on with a 4.63 at 150 versus a 4.84 at 148. Next pair was the Fuelish against the Detroit Thunder. This was another close side by side race. The Fuelish took the win with a 4.71 at 147 to a 4.75 at 145.

Last pair was the Visionary Cuda against the Mutiny Mach I. This was all Mutiny with a 4.64 at 149 against a 4.86 at 144.

Damn Yankee was the last car up but drew a single since the Rubber City Connection could not make the call. The Vega clicked off a 4.71 at 150. The two fastest cars for the night came back to declare a winner. The Dazed & Confused Camaro was low ET with the first round run of 4.55. His opponent was The Mutiny who qualified with a 4.64.

Both cars did long smokey burnouts and approached the line. The Camaro moved first with a .004 light but the Mustang was not far behind with a .008 light. At about half track the Mustang moved out of the groove and was close to crossing the centerline. At that point the Camaro moved on and took the win with a 4.68 at 154 to a 4.71 at 147.

Thanks to the crew at Ohio Valley for a great track. Next race is Sept 14th at Bristol Dragway. Be sure to check out the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit at www.glnfcc.com.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

On August 16th The little town of Larue, OH stepped back into the late 70’s. The inaugural Marion County Nostalgia Funny Car Nationals was held at Marion County International Raceway (MCIR).

MCIR was the site of many funny car battles between legends such as Don Prudhomme, Jungle Jim, Tom Hoover and countless others. Back in the seventies these fiberglass warriors would travel from town to town making a living during an era that would launch legends and leave us memories that we longed to relive.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

In recent times there has not been traveling shows like that, plus the funny cars of today do not resemble their street counterpart as they did in the 70’s and 80’s.

Enter The Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit. (www.glnfcc.com) This is a group of period correct funny cars that match race throughout the eastern half of the US. The GLNFCC together with MCIR has put together a yearly event that would once again capture the excitement of the funny car scene that was the 70’s.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

By 10:00 the pits at MCIR were overflowing with nostalgia funny cars. Just like in the 70’s these cars have nicknames and personalities. There were cars like Tweety’s Rat, The Detroit Hustler, Red Baron, Fuelish, Mutiny and many more that would make you feel like the year was 1978 not 2008.

Along with 17 running funny cars there was also many on display. Some were barn finds like the 1968 Sikora Brothers built Corvette, the 1972 Cuda Wheel Stander that was once owned by Bob Perry who ran the Hell On Wheels Tank. Plus there was even a 1965 Dodge Altered Wheelbase car. The car that some say was the beginning of the funny car class.

Before the racing began the funny cars were towed down the track with each team being introduced to the excitement of the crowd. This scene was reminiscence of the big 32 and 64 car funny cars shows that were common in the 70’s.

The first round highlights were the Damn Yankee laying down a career best pass of 7.19 at 176 m.p.h. the Blue Thunder 69 Camaro of Tom Mitchell laid down a first time out pass of 7.56 at 167 M.P.H. The Good Vibrations quick reaction time award was handed out this round to the crew of The Mutiny 69 Mach I. with a .543 r.t.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

The first round was finished out with Scott Burton bringing out Bill Linigers 1972 Don Hardy Vega to do a burnout. This car is powered by a 392 iron Hemi and is the same as it was the day it was retired from racing somewhere back in the early 80’s.

Second round brought even more noise and unpredictable runs. It was after dark so the late summer dew was setting in which would prove to present a challenge to the drivers.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

The breakout run in the second round was by The Detroit Thunder 55 T Bird of Bill Hallet. Bill ran a 7.41 at 182 M.P.H. against the nitro burning, up on two wheels Satellite driven by Eric Martin.

The last run pitted the two fastest cars from the first round. The Damn Yankee 77 Vega went up against the Mutiny 69 Mach I. Both cars did very wild smoky burnouts. While backing up The Vega developed an oil leak and had to be shut off. The Mutiny staged ready to take a single run. When the tree turned green the Mach one let out a big bang, shuddered and came to a stop. It was later determined that they broke the rear end pinion.

We had several companies provide special awards. There were as follows.

Winner Rob Pfeister Driver of Mutiny

Best Under Pressure/Most Consistent
Ram Jet Racing Products in Hamilton, OH
14.1 Blower Restraint
Winner: Scott Hohensee (Visionary) 7.62 & 7.67

The E.T. and M.P.H. awards
courtesy of Len Hughes Magneto in Bristol, IN
2nd. Quickest E.T. Rob Pfeister (Mutiny) 7.29 $100.00
3rd. Quickest E.T. Bill Hallet (Detroit Thunder) 7.41 $50.00
2nd. Fastest M.P.H. Rob Pfeister (Mutiny) 181.30 $100.00
3rd. Fastest M.P.H. Chris Gerber ( Rubber City Connection) 177.84

Best E.T.
By Fowler Racing Engines
$200.00 credit toward parts and service
Mark Horvath ( Damn Yankee) 7.192

Burnout Contest award
by North Coast Rods Ashtabula, OH
$100.00
Rob Pfeister (Mutiny)

Enderle Quick Reaction Time Award
Provided by Good Vibrations Whittier, CA
$200.00
Rob Pfeister (Mutiny) .543

Photos courtesy of Jeff Unfried & Bob Wenzelburger

Diversatech Racing Products from Pennington, N.J. provided burst panels for #2 to #12 qualifiers.

Clear One Racing Products from Columbus, OH provided $25.00 certificates toward future orders.

Mickey Thompson Tires and Summit Racing Equipment also provided give away items.

Along with the funny cars, there was 4 nitro burning front engine dragsters that flirted with runs near the 6 second range. To round out the show over twenty cars that represented the gassers era of the 50’s and 60’s also invaded the track.

Mark August 15th 2009 on your calendar as this event is already scheduled for next year and should be even bigger and better. For more info on the Great Lakes Funny Cars be sure to check out their website: www.glnfcc.com.

Photos courtesy of Paul Welsh

Skyview Dragway in Tioga Center, NY was the latest stop for the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit. Eight cars made the trek for the Live Nation Thunder Jam Event.

First round action had John DeCort in the "Old& Fuelish" ’78 Corvette winning over Chris Gerber in the Rubber City Connection Trans Am. Jerry Streb in the "Dazed and Confused" '69 Camaro got past Lance Good’s "Sharky’s Machine" Omni.

Rocky Pirrone made his debut with the circuit in his awesome '77 Trans Am "Screamin Eagle" and put down a 4.57 to take a win over Scott Hohensee in the "Visionary" Barracuda running a 5.07.Last pair were also new additions for the circuit in Keith Davidson and the "Bits & Pieces" Monza and Drew Sweetman in the "Sweetman Bros." Citation. Davidson got out of the gate first and never looked back as he ran a 4.65 to Drew’s 5.18.

Photos courtesy of Paul Welsh

Winner Scott Hohensee Driver of Visionary

A light shower came over the mountain before the second round delaying action briefly. When racing resumed Jerry Streb took the win light over Chris Gerber, Lance Good got a win over John DeCort. Drew Sweetman out ran Scott Hohensee and Keith Davidson was a winner over Rocky Pirrone.

The Mickey Thompson Burnout Challenge was won by John DeCort, and Scott Hohensee won the Good Vibrations Reaction Time Award.

Thanks to Mickey Thompson Tires, Good Vibrations, DJ Safety for their support. A thanks also goes out to the great people at Skyview for enduring the weather and packing the places once again.

Next race is the Funny Car Nationals at Marion County International Dragway in La Rue, Ohio on August 16th. For more info visit our website at www.glnfcc.com.

Photos by Chris Little

On July 12th The GLNFCC ran at Marion County International Raceway for their Night Of Fire race. We brought six funny cars to represent the GLNFCC and also on hand was Kevin Martin with his jet powered motorcycle and The Extreme Machine jet truck.

We started off with a dry day but that changed about early afternoon. The rain came and went several times. We finally made it on the track for our first pass at 8:30.

This pass was not going to be one for the record books as the rainwater was seeping up through the track past the ¼ shut down area. It was decided that we would run a weak 1/8-mile pass.

Winner Rob Pfeister Driver of Mutiny

The Detroit Thunder and Rubber City Connection was the first pair out with the Detroit Thunder getting the win light.

Next up came the Old & Fuelish Corvette against the Mutiny Mustang, with The Old and Fuelish crossing the finish line first.

The last pair was the Dazed & Confused 69 Camaro versus the Damn Yankee. This one wasn't even close as the Damn Yankee had some mechanical issues.

Photos by Chris Little

The three pair of cars all did great crowd-pleasing burnouts. Due to the inclement track conditions no one was able to hook up the big slicks on this night.

Rob Pfeister driving Mike Little's Mutiny Mustang was the winner of The Good Vibrations Quick Reaction Award.

With the cars in the staging lanes waiting to make their second pass the rain came and put an end to racing for the night.

Photos by Bob Wentzlberger

The Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Cars made their first appearance at Quaker City Raceway in Salem Ohio June 5th.First round of the evening had Jerry Streb’s 69 Camaro getting by John DeCort’s 78 Vette 7.49 to 7.61. Mark Horvath in the Damn Yankee Vega out ran a slowing Lance Goods Omni 7.62 to 8.01. Chris Gerber put down a 7.76 over Steve Timoszyk who shut down early the ex Mike Burkhart 69 Camaro .Bill Halletts 55 T-Bird got past Scott Hohensee’s Visionary Cuda 7.85 to a 7.91.

Photos by Bob Wentzlberger

Second round action had the Visionary Cuda on a single and he ran a 7.88. Bill Hallett ran past the Rubber City Trans Am 7.56 to a 7.98. Jerry Streb took out Mark Horvath 7.40 to a 7.82 and The Old and Fuelish Vette ran past Sharkys Machine 7.61 to a 7.82.

Thanks to Mickey Thompson Tires,Good Vibrations, DJ Safety and Quaker City Raceway for a great event. Next race for the Circuit is July 12th at Marion County International Raceway for their Night Of Fire.

For more info on the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Cars visit our website at www.glnfcc.com.

Photos by Chris Little

The pits starting to fill up early Friday afternoon for what promised to be a great showing of pre 75 muscle cars. At the end of Friday six of the GLNFCC cars were in the pits ready to do battle. On Saturday morning three more showed up, putting the total GLNFCC car count to nine. This was the first race of the season and there were several that were burning the midnight oil to repair injuries sustained during preseason testing.

The first pair was The Hustler Duster from Mn. Taking on The Solid Rock Mustang driven by Rocky Ausec. Rocky was the president of The Midwest Injected Funny car Association ran out of Il. Back in the 80's and early 90's. This was Rock's first time out in the recently finished Mustang. The Hustler took the win 8.37/158 to 8.57/161. The second pair was The Detroit Thunder 55 T- Bird against The Damn Yankee 76 Vega. This was a close race with the T-Bird taking the win with a 7.50/175 over a 7.58/172. The third pair was The 77 Fuelish Monza taking on The Chasing My Childhood II 70 Duster, which is powered by an Iron 392. The Duster took the win, 7.88/163 to The Fuelish's 8.08/172.

Photos by Chris Little

The final pair was The Minnesota Maniac 70 Cuda against the Mutiny 69 Mustang Mach I. The recently finished Mutiny Mustang got every ones attention with an out of the box 7.27/183 to The Maniacs 7.88/163. These two guys laid down one mean pair of burnouts. The Missouri Raider 280 Datsun had brake issues and sat this round out.

Before the second round was to begin, we were told that they had a timing equipment problem and that we would have to run with a flag start. The group was excited about this. This would have been just like the old days. Unfortunately the rains came and the evening racing was called off. It was decided on Sunday that we would not make up the rained out run from Saturday night. So we would only make one run on Sunday afternoon.

Photos by Chris Little

We paired up the cars and headed toward the staging lanes. The first pair was The Hustler against The Detroit Thunder. They both did a great burnout. The Hustler lost fire and had to be pulled off the track. Bill Hallett made a single in the T-Bird; this was a second career best at 7.35/184.

The second pair was Solid Rock Mustang against The Damn Yankee. The Damn Yankee lost power after the burnout and had to be pulled off the track. After firing back up Rocky took off and put the car in the air, then proceeded to bounce it down the lane like a basketball. It wasn't a pretty run but it was fun to watch. The third pair was The Mutiny against The Chasing My Childhood II Duster. The Duster had some starting issues and The Mutiny took a single, which was a 7.24/184. The next pair was The Minnesota Maniac against The Fuelish Monza. These two can make some smoke. They both stepped up from their first runs. The Maniac took the win 7.37/183 against a 7.85/175.

The Missouri Raider was up next with a killer burnout. While backing up the front end did some wobbling which eventually turned violent enough to smack a tire into one of the fire bottles setting it off. It was later determined that a heim end had failed.

Next up was the Hustler and The Damn Yankee, these two had lost fire on their run, and came back to show that was a fluke. Again after two great burnout they both proved they still could get down the track. The Hustler took the win with a 7.11/187 against a 7.62/172. To say we had a tense second round would be a under statement, but everyone came back and bettered their runs from the previous day. The fans seem to enjoy the show and we hope to head back to St. Louis next year.

The group would like to thank Don Eckert. Don has been a photographer following funny cars for many years. Don was generous enough to put up a cash reward for the best burnout. Don gave that to The Mutiny Crew of Mike Little and Rob Peister.

Dyers Blower Service put up gift certificates for Best Et, Best MPH and Best Reaction Time. Steve Elliot driving The Hustler won the Et and Mph. Mark Horvath driving the Damn Yankee won the best Reaction Time award.

Next Stop Quaker City Drag strip on July 5.

Car Driver Rct ET MPH WIN FIRST ROUND Hustler Steve Elliott 0.115 8.37 158 W Solid Rock Rocky Ausec 0.567 8.57 160 Detroit Thunder Bill Hallett 0.233 7.5 175 W Damn Yankee Mark Horvath 0.204 7.58 172 Chasin My Childhood II Mike Kurz 0.442 7.88 163 W Fuelish Tracy Klingerman 0.684 8.08 172 Mutiny Rob Pfeister 0.097 7.27 183 W Minnesota Maniac Rick Lawrence 0.187 7.88 163 SECOND ROUND Solid Rock Rocky Ausec ------ ------ ------ Single Detroit Thunder Bill Hallett 0.139 7.3 184 Single Mutiny Rob Pfeister 0.158 7.24 184 Single Fuelish Tracy Klingerman 0.557 7.85 175 Minnesota Maniac Rick Lawrence 0.251 7.37 183 W Damn Yankee Mark Horvath 0.124 7.62 172 Hustler Steve Elliott 0.129 7.11 187 W