Nitro Mania-The WInged Express Fuel Altered

It is the King of Nostagia Drag Racing, The WInged Express Nitro fuel altered has been delighting drag racing fans since the 1960's, catch a glimpse of the lastest version with driver Mike Boyd.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Nostalgia
• Drag
• Racing
• nitro
• fuel
• altered
• Winged
• Express

[eatshit311]

Why can't they bring back the aa/fa? I Guarantee if NARA did this, it would draw more people to drag racing.

[EmpEntTV]

@eatshit311 at the very least you would think that the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage series would have a class for these great cars but you never seem them at any of these events. Drag racing would certainly benefit by those awesome altereds.

[MrRonnieG]

This is EXACTLY how NHRA drag racing, in 2011, should be run. Reduce the capacity on fuel pumps, back off the overdrive on blowers and stop tossing money down the corporate sponsored black hole. Drag racing in the 60's was SO MUCH fun and it could be, again, today. Bring back quarter-mile runs burning down the tires the entire way. You could run 6.30 @ 240 MPH in a top fuel car and it could be competitive, safer, cheaper and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, it could bring back the excitement of yesterday.

[EmpEntTV]

@MrRonnieG ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!! could not agree more. I also vote to make it mandatory to do dry hops.

[MrRonnieG]

From 1964 until I was drafted (Feb 1969) I LIVED at SoCal dragstrips and can well rememeber the man with the beard who drove with one hand on the wheel. By 1968 the AA/FA's were a common scene at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. I was always a Chevy guy so I pulled for the altereds running the big block Rat Motor (Mondello & Matsubara, etc.) but the Winged Express was bad ass. Surprisingly, as I recall it, those guys only ran a 354 Chrysler block but it was a BAD BAD BAD fuel altered. (BAD)

[EmpEntTV]

@MrRonnieG Ronnie, got to agree with you! There was nothing like going to a Fuel Altered meet at one of the local tracks and seeing the likes of The Winged Express, Burkholder Bros., Blue Blazer, Mike Sullivan, Nanook and the host of other So Cal altereds. It was such a golden era of drag racing that has never been duplicated.

[malberts1954]

Mike has balls the size of cantalopes.

[foolaltered]

long live the altered roadsters........and thnks for the memories

[eatshit311]

Sorry. NHRA. Goddamn smart phones.

[MrRonnieG]

The best AA/FA race I ever witnessed was in the summer of 1968 at Irwindale. Wild Willie in the Winged Express vs. Sush Matsubara in the big-block Chevy powered Mondello & Matsubara altered. Sush put a monster hole-shot on Willie but Willie drove the shit out of that Chrysler powered altered and caught Matsubara at about 1,200 feet for the win. Willie ran 7.12 to Matsubara's 7:17 with the white-hot nitro flames shooting 10 feet high out of the Zoomies on both cars. Everybody was screaming!

[MrRonnieG]

There isn't a 1,000 foot NHRA fuel run that can equal the excitement of 60's drag racing. My favorite car was the AA/FD Yeakel Plymouth Special (Downey, California) with Tom "Mongoose" McKuen in the seat, Lou Baney running the deal and John Garrison turning the wrench. I remember watching The Goose set the top speed record at Lions (November 1964) with a 214.00 MPH blast. A 392 Chrysler block, GMC 6-71 supercharger and the 2,000 cfm Enderle 3-hole bug-catcher injectors.

[herbiesnerd]

@MrRonnieG The first nitro breather I ever saw was at OCIR with Sush Matsubara driving the Burgundy colored Pisano Matsubara Funny Car. It ran high 6's. Nothing compares to watching a AA Fuel altered. The single most amazing feat of driving I ever saw go down the 1/4 mile was at OCIR when the Mob did a solo run, pitched it sideways 3 times, on and off the throttle each time with both rear wheels off the ground even, straightened it out then finished the run WFO. Amazing. Sure miss OCIR.