Dago Red needs new wing

[FENCELINER]

Golden Gate Nationals 1983

[sierra fox]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

COOL!!!! What's the story behind this? (driver,owner,etc...)

[FENCELINER]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

COOL!!!! What's the story behind this? (driver,owner,etc...)

In Top Fuel, Gary Beck, who had wheeled Larry Minor's dragster to a best-ever 5.391 in winning the Golden Gate Nationals, equaled that number in qualifying and backed it up for a national record with a 5.43 in round one. Grabbing the other half of the Top Fuel record was a surprising Rocky Epperly in Frank Taylor's Dago Red dragster. Epperly twice ran 257.14 mph to set the national speed mark.

[t-dub]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

Golden Gate Nationals 1983

Reprinted from the Oct. 14, 1983 issue of National DRAGSTER
NHRA GOLDEN GATE NATIONALS -- Here come the superlatives, ladies & gentlemen.

If you weren't at Baylands Raceway for the third running of the Golden Gate Nationals, you made a very serious racing spectator error. An error on par with missing the '75 Ontario World Finals or the '82 U.S. Nationals.

Despite a grim beginning which saw Friday's qualifying completely rained out and the pits reduced to a mushy quagmire, the Golden Gate Nationals rebounded into two days of sunshine and clear, cool moist air ideal for racing. It produced the finest drag race of its kind ever held.

When we say of its kind, we place special emphasis on the fact that there were 8-car fields in the Pro and alcohol ranks rather than 16 like at the U.S. Nationals, Winternationals, etc.

The Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Alcohol Funny Car fields were the best all time 8-car fields. It took a 5.725 to qualify for Top Fuel; an incredible 5.911 to make Funny Car; a 7.783 to get in Pro Stock; and a 6.618 to make Alcohol Funny Car. Top Alcohol Dragster's "bubble" was a 6.56, short of last year's all-timer at Baylands, a 6.51.

But that's just the beginning.

Gary Beck did something that race fans have waited for all year; he ran the sport's first ever 5.30 in Top Fuel. The blue Larry Minor entry was catapulted off the line to a sizzling 5.39, 252.10 to beat Gary Ormsby's super runner-up effort of 5.54, 230.76. That was the quickest and fastest Top Fuel race ever held and netted Beck the NHRA Winston World title. It was the capper to a superb string of great final-round contests.

In Funny Car, Billy Meyer rebounded from an awful yearlong slump to drive his 7-11/Chief Auto Parts Firebird to a brilliant win over Raymond Beadle's "Blue Max." The word "brilliant" isn't rhetorical here either. Meyer set Low E.T. with a spine-crushing 5.75 at 245.90 mph to edge Beadle's 5.78, 246.57 ... the quickest Funny Car race of all time. The Funny Cars, like all the cars at Baylands, were in "hog heaven" as the air was cool and moist and the race track warm and tacky.

Funny Car at Baylands also saw Frank Hawley win his second NHRA Winston Funny Car title with the "Chi-Town Hustler" of Farkonas-Coil-Minick. A first-round loss suffered by Mark Oswald and the Candies & Hughes Pontiac at the hands of Meyer coupled with Hawley's beating of John Force in round one secured the title.

Pro Stock produced the quickest final of all-time with Frank Iaconio retaking the Winston points lead on a 7.69, 179.64 to 7.68, 175.78 win over Lee Shepherd and the Reher & Morrison Camaro. Frank also ran a 182.18-mph pass in qualifying, but was unable to back it up. It was the best mph by a Pro Stocker in a national event.

Rivaling Gary Beck's antics in Top Fuel was Vern Moats in Alcohol Funny Car. Vern ran two 6.36s en route to his fourth straight Alcohol Funny Car win of the year. That was the first time any TA/FC has ever entered the 6.30 zone and equalled the 6.36 T/AD best set by Darrell Gwynn at Gainesville. Moats' Hamm's Beer Datsun was awesome in every respect, qualifying number one at 6.40 and setting Top Speed at 216.34 mph.

Dennis Forcelle won Top Alcohol Dragster over a red-lighting Jerry Darien. Darrell Gwynn looked like.the favorite going into their race on the strength of a 6.40 Low E.T. qualifier, but red-lighted against Troy Buff in round one.

The remainder of the Sportsman action was also record-paced with Bob Kaiser (Comp), Ron Zoelle (Super Stock), Glenn Wann (Stock) and Dan DiVita (Super Gas) the remaining Sportsman winners. DiVita was of special interest as he captured the Quaker State Sportsman Cup on the strength of that win.

[AT-6chino]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

Frank Taylor had a hangar at Chino where the air racer Dago was kept and they used to do burnouts on the ramp in the Top Fuel car. I guess he burned through all his money and sold his toys. Now he is back at Chino building a Lancair IV or the like.

[Pick]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

Does anyone have a copy of the Hot Rod magazine that had the article with the Fueler and the Unlimited in it? I have searched through my archives of Hot Rod's and can't find it.

[Gary Osif]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

What year was Dago(the plane) in the pits at the Winternationals(Pomona)???

Gary

[t-dub]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

In the March 1985 Hot Rod magazine, there's an article on Frank Taylor's Dago Red dragster and P-51 together. The mags on ebay for $7.99. Maybe they were in Pomona at the Winternats in Feb. of that year???

[t-dub]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

In Top Fuel, Gary Beck, who had wheeled Larry Minor's dragster to a best-ever 5.391 in winning the Golden Gate Nationals, equaled that number in qualifying and backed it up for a national record with a 5.43 in round one. Grabbing the other half of the Top Fuel record was a surprising Rocky Epperly in Frank Taylor's Dago Red dragster. Epperly twice ran 257.14 mph to set the national speed mark.

The records in question were all set at Pomona during the World Finals of 1983 (two weeks after the Golden Gate Nats)

[70Mach1]

Re: Dago Red needs new wing

I hope this works I never uploaded a photo Here.This is Dago Red at Pomona in the pits. My Father took this picture, I dont remember the year.