Drag racing trivia...
01-01-2013, 07:24 PM
#1
Senior Member
RACING JUNKIE
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Emmett, Idaho
Posts: 7,334
Drag racing trivia...
Marcellus and Borsch 1969 AA/FA in Top Fuel? The following excerpt is from Brian Lohnes originally appearing on Bangshift.
www.RedLineShirtClub.com
Of all the legendary tales regarding this car that fill bench racing sessions, our favorite act of open defiance with respect to the Winged Express came at the 1969 Winternationals. The boys decided to try and qualify their AA/FA in Top Fuel. Unlike today with its restrictive rulebook, those were the days of experimentation and creativity. In that spirit, there was nothing in the book that disqualified a Fuel Altered from trying to run with the “kings of the sport.” There were two things outside of the rulebook though: logic and common sense. Neither would matter.
As the final qualifying passes of Top Fuel were being made, the Wing uncorked a 7.29, 207-mph blast that put them at the number 32 qualified spot in the 32 car Top Fuel field, literally bumping Don Garlits out on his keister. Cue the legend.
After that lap was made, and we can only assume the crowd went ape, it took few scant minutes for the assembled group of qualified Top Fuel drivers to circulate a petition stating that they would not race against Marcellus and Borsch. It was submitted to the tower and Garlits was reinstated into the field. The Wing was relegated to Comp Eliminator, where, on the first lap of eliminations, it made a crossed up pass that resulted in some of the most famous drag racing photos of all time.
Borsch is currently at the big Fuel Altered meet in the sky, but Mouse Marcellus is still around. In a 2004 interview at the March Meet he told us that the reason that the Top Fuel guys were afraid was vision. “They sat so far behind our car on the starting line in a slingshot, they could see it start to get sideways when Willy nailed it,” Marcellus said. We can only imagine what would have happened had the car been able to get into eliminations.
www.RedLineShirtClub.com
Of all the legendary tales regarding this car that fill bench racing sessions, our favorite act of open defiance with respect to the Winged Express came at the 1969 Winternationals. The boys decided to try and qualify their AA/FA in Top Fuel. Unlike today with its restrictive rulebook, those were the days of experimentation and creativity. In that spirit, there was nothing in the book that disqualified a Fuel Altered from trying to run with the “kings of the sport.” There were two things outside of the rulebook though: logic and common sense. Neither would matter.
As the final qualifying passes of Top Fuel were being made, the Wing uncorked a 7.29, 207-mph blast that put them at the number 32 qualified spot in the 32 car Top Fuel field, literally bumping Don Garlits out on his keister. Cue the legend.
After that lap was made, and we can only assume the crowd went ape, it took few scant minutes for the assembled group of qualified Top Fuel drivers to circulate a petition stating that they would not race against Marcellus and Borsch. It was submitted to the tower and Garlits was reinstated into the field. The Wing was relegated to Comp Eliminator, where, on the first lap of eliminations, it made a crossed up pass that resulted in some of the most famous drag racing photos of all time.
Borsch is currently at the big Fuel Altered meet in the sky, but Mouse Marcellus is still around. In a 2004 interview at the March Meet he told us that the reason that the Top Fuel guys were afraid was vision. “They sat so far behind our car on the starting line in a slingshot, they could see it start to get sideways when Willy nailed it,” Marcellus said. We can only imagine what would have happened had the car been able to get into eliminations.
