Lots of BangShifters know the name Jason Rupert through his success in the nostalgia funny car world, but Jason has a long history in alky cars out on the west coast and this video shows him “back home” in the seat of an alky funny car. As a drag race announcer, I am normally telling people how busy the driver is in an alcohol funny car. He’s got to manually bring the revs up for the launch, he has to swap feet to get the car off the starting line, he has to punch buttons to shift the machine, and all of this is happening as he is planted into the seat with the force of several Gs on his chest. These ain’t stab and steer cars, they require lots of skill and many a drag cars has been humbled just trying to stage one, let alone actually get it down the track. We know two people who took days at a drag racing school just to get the staging process down!
Les Mayhew made this video which shows Jason Rupert at work in the car, wrestling it down the track, fighting through tire shake, and generally being the gnarly driver that he is. One of the reasons that Rupert has been so good in the old school funny car is that it is a similar beast to an alky machine. He’s right at home in both, much to the chagrin of his competitors. The camera angle that is down low shooting up at Rupert’s noggin is great. We see his foot work, his steering work and how things can get weird in a hurry with tire shake.
Want to drive an alky funny car? Here’s a lesson on what you have ahead of you!
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE JASON RUPERT MANHANDLE AN ALKY FUNNY CAR DOWN THE STRIP – GREAT VIDEO IN A BUSY COCKPIT
