Dan Horan was the victor in the funny car category at the 2014 California Hot Rod Reunion and he also locked up the NHRA Heritage Series Championship with his victory, closing the deal that he could not close last year at the same race. John Hale got after Horan in the finals but ultimately could not keep with the streaking 5.72/254mph run out of Horan’s Mustang. While that snippet tells the tale of the final round action, it does nothing to talk about the excitement that happened throughout the weekend in the funny car class. Being that competitors in the category have two qualifying attempts (one Friday and one Saturday before eliminations start on Saturday afternoon) the pressure is ramped up pretty high from the first hit of the throttle. Bodies were flying, stuff was exploding, and everyone had their tune up knob cranked to 11 because being the last race of the year, the parts were largely at the end of their lifespan anyway. While no records were set, the racing was great and everyone continues to fawn over the great looking cars which conjure memories of yesteryear. We’re partial to the Nitro Nick Vega seen in the lead photo, even after being riveted, glued, and taped back together following a launch during the first qualifying session. It looks great at 200+

We’ll be keeping an ear to the ground over the winter for the latest in rumors and developments in the world of nostalgia nitro funny cars because the class is still evolving, growing, and with the IHRA’s massive infusion of cash into these cars, there’s lots of incentive to have a strong program with that type of money on the line. From east to west, cars are coming together, being torn apart, and made better for 2015. We can’t wait! Here’s an awesome collection of photos from a beautiful evening at the Patch  during the 2014 California Hot Rod Reunion –