Readers, every time I’ve asked for your help in providing me with information, you’ve come through. So once again, I’m asking for your help in locating some information for me that I wouldn’t normally find on a web search. Because, trust me, it’s not quite 2:30 in the morning and I’ve done plenty of Google searching on this particular subject.
Here’s what I’ve got…after throwing my name into Google for a lark, I got a link to a book called “Match Race Mayhem: Drag Racing’s Grudges, Rivalries and Big-Money Showdowns” by Doug Boyce. The book claimed that a Bryan McTaggart was the owner-operator of an alcohol Funny Car Opel GT called “Turn Me Loose”. What I’ve determined is that the man behind the wheel of said race car was either Jerry or Jerome McTaggart, and that he met his end in that car when the Opel “disintegrated” after crossing the finish line in November 1973.
Except for an uncle who loved to street race on my mother’s side who passed on in 1981, I am the closest thing to a full-fledged racing driver in my family tree. I’ve never heard of this guy until this morning, and I’m interested in learning more. Do you know anything?
(Photo: dragstripdeaths.webs.com)
Jerry was a match-race regular on the east coast. He was killed in a racing accident at the now-defunct Shuffletown Dragway in charlotte, NC.
I remember going to a Thanksgiving Day race (1974?) at the now-defunct Spartanburg Dragway, that was advertised as a memorial race and fund raiser, for Jerry\’s family. I was a big fan of the circuit that he ran with, but don\’t remember much about the car or the circumstances. There is at least one other Bill Truby photo of the car at the Pittsburgh International Dragway website, that I recall. I remember this circuit as being tight knit and fun to watch.