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The 1966 World Series of Drag Racing – See The First Rear Engine Dragster To Break 200 In Action


The 1966 World Series of Drag Racing – See The First Rear Engine Dragster To Break 200 In Action

When I find some barely watched old school drag racing video on YouTube my little heart usually skip a beat but when we find video with a crazy car we have never seen before, consult drag racing’s ultimate “knower of things” Bret Kepner and he calls the footage “Ungodly Rare” we know that we hit pay dirt. This video is from the 1966 World Series of Drag Racing held at Cordova Dragway Park. It contains footage of a BUNCH of cool top fuel cars and some drop dead awesome gassers (dig the ’63 split window ‘Vette with a leaf spring front end and a nose high stance!) it also contains footage of the first rear engine dragster to ever break 200mph…wait, what? A rear engine top fuel car breaking 200mph in 1966? You bet!

Picture 5The car in question is sitting over there on the left side of the page and Kepner gave us the skinny on the machine. Owned by Chicago native Bob Lindwall the car was known as “Re-Entry” and in this video the car is being driven by a guy named Wayne Hill. The chassis builder is a piece of information that is currently unknown by me but we bet one of you out there knows who welded this wild looking piece together. Re-Entry was certainly not a world beating monster like the “perfected” rear engine machines of the early 1970s but the car did earn one particularly awesome feather in its cap and that was accomplished the day after this video was made. On Sunday (this video was made on Saturday according to Kepner) the car became the first rear engine dragster to run 200mph. A week later it suffered a crash after crossing the traps at 201 during the second round of eliminations at the US Nationals against Connie Kalitta. Like many early rear engine dragsters, top end stability and manners were its major foe and the car was (as best I know) no rebuilt after the Indy wreck. This is the only known video of this car actually racing. We have to believe that someone had an 8MM camera the following week at the US Nationals but as of yet, nothing has come about with regard to video and Re-Entry from that weekend.

More than the performance the thing I love about stuff like this is the fact that there were guys like Bob Lindwall in drag racing back then. The guys who weren’t afraid to roll into a race track with a car that looked absolutely nothing like anything else there. A car that basically shared a block, rods, pistons, and cylinder heads and nothing else with any other car in the place. A veritable rolling island of risk and innovation. A complete “EFF OFF” to conventional wisdom and a pair of double middle fingers to the status quo. Ultimately it was a flop, sure. But for one shining weekend, those guys made history. They probably sat on a tailgate with cold beer backslapping and hollaring at the moon as well. There’s nothing cooler than that.

PRESS PLAY TO SEE THIS ZEN-LIKE VIDEO!


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14 thoughts on “The 1966 World Series of Drag Racing – See The First Rear Engine Dragster To Break 200 In Action

  1. Pat McIntyre

    I ran across this a couple days ago, amazing stuff. Cordova is my “home” track been going there since I was born in 1970,so this was a little before my time but I know my dad was there.

  2. Justin Calkins

    At 1:27 is a digger named Rogue. It looks to be one of the Kent Fuller built Magicars. I believe only three were made, the Fuller-Trapp-Winkel “MagiCar”, the Albrich-McCulloch-Krieger “Northwind”, and one for “The Greek” Chris Karamesines.

  3. Bret Kepner

    I don’t usually jump into these conversations but, for Justin Calkins’ sake, it should be pointed out this is equally rare footage of Steve “Laddie” Fromelius in the “Rogue” from Pennsylvania.

    It’s only important because it was Fromelius’ only year in competition; he went to the third round where he lost to Karamesines, 7.72/211 to 7.74/210 in a truly spectacular performance.

  4. truckdr

    Karamesines (the Chizler)was the first driver to exceed 200 mph on April 4, 1960, with a clocking of 8.82 at 204.54 mph at Illinois’ Alton Dragway. Don Garlits, Frank Cannon, and others who were among the first to break the double-century barrier did not do so until 1964.
    this was set at an lod drag strip (now a trailer court) in my home town of Alton Il.
    though they say he was unable to back up the time that day. I would have loved to be there but I was only 3 days old and couldnt catch a ride.

    1. Brian Lohnes Post author

      So you clearly missed the part where we talked about this being the first REAR engine dragster to break 200.

  5. JOHN DOSTAL

    Brent larry and laddie Fromelius were from Lisle Ill and I believe still live there the Rogue was Sponsered at WESTGROVE AUTO PARTS WESTMONT ILL

  6. Bruce Wheeler

    While not quite reaching 200, the rear motor digger out of Kensington, Maryland’s Modifications Unlimited, “Nasty II,” driven by Paul Osmond, was running high 190’s in ’65. They held the NASCAR A/FD speed record of 198.something for much of ’65, and into ’66 (NASCAR didn’t have a AA/FD class.)

  7. Bill Warbuton Sr.

    What A cool video .At the 66 Nats. I saw the “Re-Entry “car run . I would of loved to have been down in the shut down area when Connie Kalitta spent some “quality Time ” with the “Re-Entry ” driver after they had collided . About Don Garlits red car this mat have been Carl Schiefer driving for Don .Because I know for a fact that a week later at Indy Carl was driving “the Swamp Rat ” ,I never knew the reason why . . Carl Schiefer was probably the least known driver who drove for Garlits

  8. Kevin Hunt

    It took over a year of me bugging the owner of this rare film to let me convert it so we could all enjoy it. It amazing whats out there tucked away in a shoe box in a closet.

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