One of the coolest on-going stories we have been following here at BangShift over the last couple years has been the creation and evolution of The Hard Guys nostalgia nitro funny car team. Lead by car owner Dana Hard with expert help and driving ability by Mike Smith and a dedicated volunteer crew, what the guys have been able to do over a couple seasons has been nothing short of awesome to anyone who has been paying attention. They’ve also kick started a kind of wild funny car craze of their own up here in New England as their successes have inspired others to get in on the old school flopper fun.

One of the things that we have long praised the team for is their measured approach to performance and how they have decided to make the car incrementally quicker and faster, avoiding the urge to swing for the fences like some guys have done in search of heroic numbers. Those guys have looked past that and concentrated on making parts live, keeping race tracks dry, and getting a little better and a little quicker each time they appear at a track. They have been rewarded with elapsed times in the 5.70s with a pretty basic tune up that they have some plans to step on a little harder in 2014. Primarily a team that ran around New England, the guys ventured out to Maple Grove for their nostalgia “Geezer” event last year and promptly set the place on its ear with a number three qualifying spot due to a 5.815/237.59 mph laps which drew a collective, “Who the hell are THOSE guys?” From the rest of the racers in the joint.

You have certainly seen and heard Dana Hard’s name on the pages of BangShift before as we’ve shot lots of photos at his machine shop (Custom Automotive Machine – Weymouth, Massachusetts) and he has been a huge help on engine stuff with Project Buford T Justice. Outside of the Mustang, the guys run a blown altered and Dana’s right hand man Jon Wall campaigns his own blown alcohol nostalgia funny car the “Fireball Monza”. 

With a bunch of fresh bullets, a newly acquired 48′ trailer, and confidence that they have enough car to be competitive at venues around the country, Dana and the boys are setting up their schedule to show the world what they are capable of in 2014. We’re pretty pumped up about that because it has been a loooong time since there was a New England based funny car team of chowderheads out there mixing it up with racers from other parts of the country. We’ll keep you posted on their schedule and progress. We’re planning to make The Hard Guys our “house car” for 2014 and provide you with a real world look at what its like to campaign a funny car on a “budget”. (Dana laughs maniacally when that word comes up). If you are around an area where the car will appear, you owe it to yourself to check it out because we’re maintaining that the machine is one of the, if not the finest looking nostalgia nitro funny cars in the world. Truth!

Here’s some great footage from the 2013 Geezers at the grove event. You can see the Hard Guys car several times, including the freaking awesome opening scene –