Bret Kepner
3 hrs ·
Well, another incredible Good Vibrations Funny Car Nationals, (the eleventh annual), is in the books. Bakersfield took back the title for 2018 by two cars, (for the first time since 2011), but twenty-seven Funny Cars appeared at Keystone Raceway Park in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania, for the biggest Funny Car meet on the planet OUTSIDE of California. The East-versus-West team challenge wasn’t decided until the twenty-fifth pair of Funny Cars (!) and the crowd saw fifty-two Funny Car runs in three hours prior to the final rounds for the individual championships for fifty-six total passes. I seldom state an opinion online but, to me, this race is the closest representation of a Funny Car event from the 1973-1979 era anywhere on Earth. This program does not present “modern nostalgia” cars. The machines in this race are, in most cases, the ACTUAL Funny Cars which ran more than forty years ago. They look, sound and perform exactly as Funny Cars did in that era and that’s what makes this event different than any other in the sport.

The field included racers hailing from the U.S. and Canada, from New York to California and from Michigan to Florida. The Easterners won the East-versus-West team title bonuses by two round wins...out of twenty-eight rounds! Congratulations to Chris Masserella who won his second straight Funny Car Nationals title at the wheel of his “Total Insanity” ‘77 Monza in the supercharged category by murdering Low Qualifier Bill Wall’s “NitroFlier” ‘79 Dodge Omni with a huge holeshot, 7.03 to a losing 6.87 to win by a mere fifteen thousandths of a second. Frank Bernard’s ‘77 “Poison Arrow” won its fourth Injected Funny Car individual championship in a great 7.97 to 8.03 battle over perennial favorite Willie Johnson in his “No Money, No Funny” ‘69 Nova. Good Vibrations Racing Reaction Time cash award went to Joey Haas who hit a stunning 0.002 RT in his “Nimrod” ‘71 Mustang Mach I. The Round One Burnout Challenge Money from Summit Racing went to Chris Massarella with a 700-footer, (under power), while the Round Two Burnout Challenge from Lightning Motor Oil was earned by Kevin Johnson’s “Quarter Pounder” ‘79 Trans Am with a 600-footer). The event was capped by another amazing twenty-five minute fireworks display courtesy of Keystone Raceway Park.

Speaking of which, track promoter Greg Miller once again provided a fantastic facility and crew as the site of the event for the second year. Greg takes great pride in the track, (and his fireworks show!), and makes the massive crowds feel welcome at every race. Without his fantastic crew, including fifty-year announcing veteran Jim Senkewicz and tower statistician Deanna DeRienzo, the event would never be able to meet the brutal schedule under which it is run. Of course, the Funny Car Nationals would never happen if not for its creator, Dennis Salzwimmer of the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit, who again turned a year’s worth of preparation into a simply amazing show. This event draws a truly amazing array of photographer talent including the dean of Pittsburgh-area drag racing imagery, Bill Truby, who is always considered a guest of honor. Likewise this race serves as the annual gathering of the fans of DragList.com froma round the country and it is always a huge treat for me to work with one of the greatest people I’ve yet met, my friend Bill Pratt of DragList. I announced this event completely from the starting line much as I do other races and Bill was out there with me for the duration. The entire event was streamed globally by Mark Walter’s Motor Mania TV and can be viewed in archive form. I’ll list the address and the round times in a separate post.

Credit is due all the event sponsors including Peak AntiFreeze, Summit Racing Equipment. Lightning Racing Oil and S&W Race Cars. Classic Carts, LLC, posted cash for Best Appearing Car in the Injected ranks, (Bob Daly Sr. and Junior with there "Nightmare" '74 Mustang II), and the blown category, (The Stambaugh's fabulous "Generation X" '78 Corvette. However, we owe the most to the title sponsor for the umpteenth year, Jim Maher and Good Vibrations Motorsports/Dragparts.com.

I offer my thanks to everybody involved from the dozens of Funny Car teams to the great compliment of sportsman racers to the crew to each and every fan who supported the 11th annual Good Vibrations Funny Car Nationals! See you all next year!