Page 17 - NM Fall_2018

called and I jumped onboard as his CM – Let’s talk about some of the
crew chief. We won the NHRA Top differences between the funny cars
Fuel Championship in 2001 with you were crew chief on in the past
his Budweiser King dragster, his and the nostalgia cars of today.
second in that class to add to the
GT – To begin with, the nostalgia
four he won in Funny Car. After funny cars and front engine fuel
that I retired for a while and worked dragsters today are putting out
on my golf swing.
five-thousand-plus horsepower,
CM – (Laughing) And how long which is significantly more than we
did that last? had back in the day. We’re running
bigger 21-gallon fuel pumps
GT – “Skippy” Kennedy called now, and, with changes with the
and I joined Frank Pedregon’s team magnets in our mags, today we’re
with a funny car he had leased from firing with fifteen to twenty amps
Chuck and Del Worsham. The instead of five. We’re limited to
Guy Tipton is the young crew chief here next year, Skippy called me again 6:71 superchargers, but the rotors
on Mike Burkhart’s funny car in the late and from 2004 through 2006 I was
‘60s.” on Rit Pustori’s top fuel team. I are in an 8:71 case and are more
GT – Yeah, I was with Tom for efficient at pushing air.
four years, starting in 1989. The was working at a Jaguar dealership Pretty much all around we have
in Plano and the car was based
nostalgia craze was just beginning in Connecticut, but since we only better and beefier parts, like clutch
and we raced his ’57 Chevy-bodied raced five to eight times a season, I discs, more refined heads and
funny car as exhibition against the would fly out for the races. three-disc clutches instead of the
regular funny cars, mostly with two-disc we ran in the past. Rear
the IHRA. My third year we also In 2008, John Hale contacted me ends have to be bigger and better to
raced the Jack Clark Mobil One and I’ve been the crew chief for his take all that power. We’re running
top fuel dragster. I had been flying Nostalgia Funny Car operation ever sixteen-inch tires on the cars now
the cars may be back and forth from Dallas, but my since. Continued on page 19
“old school”... fourth year I lived with the ’57 on

the west coast.

but there’s nothing old school crew chief. We based the car in
In 1999 I was Cruz Pedregon’s
about the parts Texas at a shop in Addison, but

during the hot part of the racing
season we kept it at his house
in California. The next year I
became the team manager for Jerry
Mike Cook relies on Clevite engine bearings in his Stone-Woods-Cook tribute car. He knows Toliver’s WWF-sponsored funny
®
that the people at MAHLE Aftermarket understand nitro powered engines, and what it takes
in engine bearings to keep them running! – Clevite continues to lead the way with products car tuned by Dale Armstrong and a
like their V-Series Nitro-coated bearings. www.mahle-aftermarket.com second car driven by Tony Bartone
that had Gary “Skippy” Kennedy as
crew chief.

CM – And I believe the following
year was an important one for you
in your career.
Visit us at fabcraft.cool 800-208-8242
GT – Yes it was. Kenny Bernstein

Fall 2018 Nitro Madness Magazine 17