Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Hey there. Hope this is the proper forum to put this in. The NHRA referred me to this site to see if I could get some help here. I am desperately trying to get my boyfriend the statistics from ALL races in the 1970's. He actually has notebooks from 1980 until today for EVERY race and the points totals after those races. He has been a fan since he was a kid in the 70's and he can't find this info. He can of course find the winners of divisions, but not ALL races. Can anyone help direct me to somewhere that would have this?

I would LOVE to give him this for a Christmas present! Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.:)

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

All race's covers A LOT of information! Could you be more specific? National Events or local? NHRA, IHRA, AHRA or another sanctioning body?
I've got a few Drag Racing Almanac's from the late 1960's, with a lot of information about who won what race, if that will help!

Lew

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Hey Lew, thanks for the response. It is the NHRA and primarily the 70's but any info you could share would be great as to where to find this. :)

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

I have a list of specifics now:

Top Fuel
Funny Car
Pro Stock
Pro Comp
Top Alcohol
Dragster & Funny Car
Top Fuel Bike
Pro Stock Bike

:) Is that enough?

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

hee hee, good luck

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Here's the score card for 1970, Winners and Runner-ups from each of the NHRA National Events - The points totals might be lost to history, but I've included a link to the rest of the results below -

Score Card for the Year:1970

CLASS WINNER / RUNNER UP GATORNATIONALS TG Gordon Collett D.A. Santucci FC Leonard Hughes Larry Reyes PS Bill Jenkins Ronnie Sox COMP Tommy Shinholster Jack Ditmars MOD Herb McCandless Carl Kirk SS Ed Hedrick John Tedder STK Tom Callahan Keith Hodge WINTERNATIONALS TF Larry Dixon Tony Nancy TG Don Hampton Bob Muravez FC Larry Reyes Gene Snow PS Bill Jenkins Ronnie Sox COMP Jack Ditmars Ken Dondero MOD Dick Landy James Thompson SS Barrie Poole Bill Allis STK Richard Charbonneau Keith Berg SUPERNATIONALS TF Rick Ramsey Gerry Glenn TG Don Cainyl Ray Hadford FC Gene Snow Larry Arnold PS Ronnie Sox Arlen Vanke COMP Don Enriquez Ray Rastetter MOD Jim Stevens Sunshine Kaneshiro SS Ray Allen Tom Crutchfield STK Marv Ripes Joe Allread WORLD FINALS TF Ronnie Martin John Wiebe TG Ray Motes Jack Jones FC Gene Snow Ed McCulloch PS Ronnie Sox Arlen Vanke COMP Ben Griffin Jeg Coughlin MOD Carroll Caudle Dave Armbruster SS Ray Allen Dave Wren STK Bobby Warren Bob Burkitt NATIONALS TF Don Prudhomme Jim Nicoll TG Jack Jones Roger Rowe FC Don Schumacher Leroy Goldstein PS Herb McCandless Arlen Vanke COMP Ben Griffin Gary Koehler MOD Joe Lemley Dean Lowery SS Ron Mancini Lou Downing STK Dave Boertman Ron Garey PB Larry Welch Boris Murray SUMMERNATIONALS TF Pete Robinson Jim Nicoll TG Larry Brown Al Bergler FC Gene Snow Vic Brown PS Dick Landy Herb McCandless COMP Tom Smith K.S. Pittman MOD Dick Shroyer Jim Elliott SS Ron Mancini Barry Poole STK Dave Boertman Wayne Dokken SPRINGNATIONALS TF Bob Gibson Jim Nicoll TG Ray Motes Norm Wilcox FC Leroy Goldstein Gene Snow PS Ronnie Sox Wally Booth COMP Ray Rastetter Jack Ditmars MOD Ralph Hope Francis Crider SS John Elliott Bob Lambeck STK Marv Ripes Bob Burkitt GATORNATIONALS TF Dave Chenevert Jim Paoli


Here's the link for the rest of the information from the NHRA website -

http://www.nhra.net/50th/resultslist.html

The internet is amazing! (and not just for pornography!) :D

Lew

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

you guys totally rock! I will find it somehow. just not for this Christmas, huh? :D

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

I LOVE this thread !

It's where I found the link to all the NHRA nat event winners.

I love to go thru it & ID all the Pontiac powered winners I can. Since the thread is 10 years old, I assume the OP won't mind if I hijack it.

One I especially like is an all Pontiac(I think) final. I'm not absolutely sure. Arlen Vanke was the winner, & Bill Abraham was RU. I know that both guys drove other brands. But I THINK that for that race, Arlen was driving a Knafel Pontiac '66 GTO, & Bill was driving a Knafel '65 GTO. But, they had two '66 models. So, both cars could have been '66 models.

Does anybody know what car each guy was driving, in the '66 Spring Nats ?

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1966

Also notice the Jr. Stock finalists at the World Finals race. I know Jay Hamilton raced at least 2 different '58 Pontiacs. Assume he drove one in this race. Bill Abraham was RU in that race, also. So, it MAY have been another All-Pontiac final. So, anybody know how to find out what car all these guys were driving in those 2 Stock finals ?

Hey, there were only 4 nat events that year. So, if both those were All-Pontiac finals, that means that half the nat events in '66 had All-Pontiac Jr. Stock finals, How cool is that, for a Pontiac Freek, like me ! :cool:

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Another All-Pontiac Stock final was in 1977, @ Indy. Mike McKinney won it, in the original Truman Fields '68 Bird that had also won in '73.

Mick Leiferman was RU, for the 3rd year in a row.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1977

There were also 3 Pontiac powered SS winners that year ! John Herslow won the Grand Nats. Bob Michael won the Spring Nats. Sonny Ray won the Sports Nats.

John Herslow would have been driving the Herslow & Morlock SD455 '73 T/A record holder. Sonny Ray would have been driving his '72 GTO record holder. Bob Michael has had so many Pontiacs, I don't know what he was driving. I assume it was his '73 SD455 T/A, before he sold it to Don Kennedy.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

There were back-to-back Pontiac Indy Stock winners, in '73 & '74. Truman Fields in '73 & Al Vanis in '74

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1973

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1974

In '75, Mick Leiferman scored his 1st of 3 in-a-row RU's @ Indy, in his '71 GTO. These results show that Jack Mullins won 3 nats & was RU at another. I knew about the Indy & Sports Nats wins, not the other. Can't verify all these results.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1975

Pontiacs got on the board again in '76. Jack Mullins got a win & 2 RU's, in his big wagon. Charlene Wood went across the border to win the Grandnationals, in the Tons-a-Fun '72 Lemans wagon. Mick Leiferman got 2 RU's, and Rock Running got 1 RU, in his '71 T-37.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1976

Only '78 score I can see is another RU for Rock Running, @ the World Finals.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1978

Sonny Ray won the Cajun Nats in '79, in his SS '72 GTO.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1979

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

In 1980, Phil Szupka got 2 RU's in SS. I assume he was driving the former Herslow & Morlock '73 SD455 T/A.

Bob Michael got 1 SS RU. Ray Stover got 1 Stock RU. Don't know if he still had his '70 GTO, "Kathy's Clown". Since no car brands are given, I can't be sure of all these cars.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1980

In '81, Sonny Ray got RU @ the Gators. Larry Maxwell was Stock RU @ the World Finals. He MAY have been driving his '74 GTO. Rock Running got a win & 1 RU. He switched to another brand somewhere around this time. But I don't remember if he was still running Pontiacs at that time, or not.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1981

For '82, I'm not sure of some of these. Bob Michael got 1 SS RU. Larry Maxwell got another RU @ the World Finals. Rock Running got 1 RU, but I think he'd already switched brands. Maybe some of the guys who do the all the research can ID what brand/year cars these guys were driving each year.

Billy Joe Moravits was Stock RU @ the Cajuns. He was Stock RU @ the '78 IHRA points race in Tyler TX, where my wife TJ won the bracket race.

Jerry Stealy was SS RU @ a race. He had some Pontiacs, including a '72 SS wagon. Don't know what he was drivimg in '82.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1982

In '83, David Rampy won SS @ the Cajuns, in Sonny Ray's '72 GTO. Roy McKinney got a SS RU, as did John Angeles. Larry Maxwell got another Stock RU.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1983

@ the '85 Spring Nats, Mike McKinney won Stock & Sonny Ray got SS RU. Jerry Stealy also got another RU. Car brand unknown.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1985

In '86, Gary White won stock @ the Northstar Nats. Don't know if he was driving one of the White bros Pontiacs, or not. At that same race, Glen Tinsley was SS RU. Assume he was still driving a Pontiac. Mark Yacavone won Stock @ the Summer Nats. He drove so many different cars, I have no idea what he was driving at that race. Maybe he'll see this & let us know.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1986

In '87, Mike McKinney scored 2 SS wins. Harry Axemaker got a Stock win. I suppose he was driving the Axemaker '72 GTO. And John Schloe got RU @ the Mile-High Nats, I assume in his '69 Bird.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1987

In '88, Harry Axemaker got another Stock win. Ken Shawver got a Stock win. I assume he was driving the former Rock Running '71 T-37. Mark Maxwell was Stock RU @ a CA race. If he was kin to Larry Maxwell, the car may have been a Pontiac.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1988

Mark Maxwell won Stock @ the '89 Spring Nats. Would like to know if he was kin to Larry Maxwell, the Pontiac racer, & if so, what he was driving for that win.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1989

In '90, Sal Biondo got a SS win. I just learned that the car he was driving was the former Herslow & Morlock '73 T/A. Then Phil Szupka ran it for a while. Then, as the story goes, Phil Monteith bought it, changed it over to a '74 model & put a 400 engine in it.

Mick Leiferman got a SS win & RU. So, I'd REALLY like to know exactly what he was driving. Since he was a multi year nat record holder & got lots of nat event RU's, I'd like to think his SS ride was also a Pontiac. But I don't know. Somebody please help me ID the cars these guys were driving !

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1990

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

In '91, Mick Leiferman got another SS win, in an as of yet unknown car. Art Peterson got a SS RU in his '69 GTO.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1991

In '92, Mike McKinney got a SS RU. Sal Biondo got a SS RU. Don't know if he was driving a Phil Monteith Pontiac, or not. Mark Maxwell is on the list again. If I find some of these guys were not driving Pontiacs at these races, I'll come back & edit them out, in order to have a more accurate account.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1992

In '93, Sal Biondo got 2 SS wins. Car unknown. Mark Maxwell Stock win. Car unknown. Mike McDonald got a Stock win & RU. Seems that name rings a Pontiac bell. Will have to do some checkin on that. If anybody knows about the car, please post your info.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1993

In '94, Art Peterson won SS @ the Winter Nats. Peter Biondo got a SS win. Don't know if he was driving a Phil Monteith Pontiac or not. John Clegg got a SS win. He may have switched to Chevy power by then. Don't know.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1994

In '95, Peter Biondo got 2 SS wins. I assume that maybe he was driving the Phil Monteith '82 GT Bird. Don Elgin won Stock @ the Northwest nats, I assume in his '74 Grand Am.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1995

In '96, Peter was definitely driving Phil Monteith's '82 "Hatari" Bird. He got 2 nat event wins & 1 RU, on his way to a div 1 & National SS Championship !

Lee Bannister got a Stock RU, in his '72 Bird. Mick Leiferman got another SS win, in an unknown car.

http://www.nhra.net/50th/results.asp?mYear=1996

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

I REALLY love the DRC files. Beginning in '98, you can see what car all the drivers were racing, at all the nat events.

It begins with the Winter Nats. The Stock Q-list includes 5 Pontiac drivers. #18 was Jack Matyas, in a '74 Pontiac, which I assume was his GTO.

Larry Maxwell is #19, listed driving a '72 Bird. Barbara Maxwell is #73, driving a '73 Bird. I assume Barbara was Larry's wife, or at least some kin.

#89 was John Schloe, driving his '69 Bird. #90 was Bryan Phillips, driving his '67 Bird. Both these Birds later became strong Stockers, running well down into the 10's.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop

The SS Q-list includes 3 Pontiacs I find interesting. At #17 is Don Kennedy, driving his '92 GT Bird. I think it was SD455 powered. Don helped write the original GT rules. I think this was his 1st GT car.

@ #20 is Keri Angeles, driving her Dad's '69 Bird. This is the car that she drove into the 9's, later on.

@ #49 is an extremely rare SS car. It was a '67 GTO, driven by Jay Cason.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop

Since all the DRC files can be seen by anyone, I'll just mention one more '98 race. It's always interesting to see what happens @ Indy.

In Stock, Bob Michael's '78 Bird qualified #12 & won the M/SA class. Don Holmes' '78 Bird was #29. Bill Rink's '74 GTO was #47. Alton Minchey's '71 Bird was #76. Todd Kuhn's '70 GTO was #103. @ #140, Lee Bannister's '72 Bird missed making the 128 car field. 4 of these Stockers are still active, today. Don't know about the other 2. I'm not familiar with the name Alton Minchey, or his '71 Bird.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1998#indextop

In SS, Peter Biondo was driving what I assume was Phil Monteith's 1st Hatari 4th gen GT Bird. Ken Shawver is on the list, with his '78 Bird, which would later win class at Indy multiple times & would be the #1 SS qualifier one year ! Roy McKinney & Stacy McCarty missed the 128 car SS field.

I found Mick Leiferman on a '98 nat event SS Q-list, driving a SS/AX '92 Bird. So, what did the X stand for ? Don't see that class today. I assume a '92 Bird would have had to run in a GT class, in order to run a Pontiac engine. But, for some of you guys who were around back then, what was the X for ? In other words, what engines would have been legal in a '92 Bird running SS/AX ?

Well, I always enjoy seeing what the Pontiac powered cars did, up thru the years. This thread was started, lookin for 1970 results. So, I'll go back now & look up some results from the early years, when I get around to it.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Per Boyce's book on pg48, Vanke drove Tin Indian V, a Ram Air therefore I assume a 66 GTO, in C/S=9.50. Also says Abraham drove a 63 (MaxWedge wagon in B/SA=8.70.

I dont have a compilation for the World Finals, but I'd guess Hamilton was still in his 4dr 370/330-6v running F/SA=11.90 class. He set a record in F/SA that year.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

"...says Abraham drove a 63 (MaxWedge wagon..."

Aw, Shucks ! :(

"...I'll go back now & look up some results from the early years.."

There were certainly some '56 thru '59 Pontiacs racing. But, I like to start with the 1960 models. There were several of these which did real good. I've mentioned this on several other threads, but not on this one, I don't think. :)

At the 1960 Nats, Jim Wangers drove the Royal Pontiac "Hot Chief #1" '60 Pontiac to the Stock title, making him "Mr. Stock Eliminator". In the picture that I always think of as being the Stock final, it shows two '60 Pontiacs running against each other. Don't know if that was just a class run or for all the Stock marbles ?

I've read that for those who wanted to upgrade the performance level of their '60 Pontiac, they could order a certain package, & along with the new car would come engine parts to upgrade it to 389SD specs. I'm sure the Hot Chief had all the latest Pontiac "go fast" parts on it, plus a Royal super tune.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'61 would be a good year for Pontiac drag racing. I think Lloyd Cox won the S/SA class @ Indy. According to a '61 Winters list I just saw, Pontiacs won D/S & C/SA, I believe it was. Not familiar with either drivers' name. I'll try to go back & find that article & post a link.

In that article I saw something for the 1st time, that I should have known. I knew that Mickey Thompson had lots of Pontiac powered drag cars. But, this article shows him actually driving his X/D Pontiac 4-cyl powered front engine dragster. And, he actually won his class AND "Middle Eliminator". Says he had 3 of these 4-cyl dragsters entered in that race.

For any who don't know, that Pontiac 4-cyl was known as "Half a 389". It indeed did have one bank & head of a 389. I had one of these in my shop for a few years, storing it for a friend. It came out of a dragster that ran at our local track. But I don't remember ever seeing it run. Anyhow, IIRC, it had aftermarket forged rods, hi-comp dome pistons, either a RAIV head or an SD455 head, & a healthy lookin solid roller cam.

This was also the 1st year of the 421SD engine. Hayden Profitt drove a M/T SD421 powered '61 Pontiac to the OS/S class win @ Indy that year. I've read that the OS/S class became the FX class in '62.

https://www.nhra.com/news/2021/421-n...n_proffitt_jpg

Maybe some of you guys can help with a couple of the Pontiac Stockers on the list. D/S winner is Allen Hart. No year or model listed. C/SA is Bob Battelle (sp?) 4th letter don't look like a t or an l. Just assuming it's supposed to be a t, or maybe an i ? Anyhow, would like to ID what Pontiacs they drove. Notice all the Stock class winners that were DQ'd.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'62 was another great year for Pontiac.

NHRA let females drive in the nat events. So, Carol Cox won S/SA at the Winters & @ Indy, In a '61 Pontiac.

Mickey Thompson's 421SD powered A/FX '62 Tempest won the class @ the Winters & @ Indy. Hayden Profitt drove @ the Winters. Lloyd Cox drove @ Indy.

Lloyd Cox also won SS/SA at the Winters.

And, of course, the M/T Pontiac powered dragster beat Don Garlits for the dragster crown @ Indy.

The 421SD was legal for Stockers in '62. So, there were several that did real good.

Right now I can't remember all the classes won by a Pontiac @ the '62 nat events. Maybe some of these stats guys can chime in with that info.

Note: Pic #7 reminded me of something. Since I've been lookin up these old pics, I've been seein the D-A on the tower @ Indy. Have wondered what those D-A letters stood for. Well, while lookin up some of these old pics, I accidentally ran across a pic of an ad for D-A Speed Sport motor oil. Seems I remember hearing that name, but don't ever remember seeing it for sale anywhere. I used Vavoline racing oil when I started.

Here's a D-A can for about $90, on Ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264487575362

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'63 was the year of the "Swiss Cheese" 421SD Pontiacs. Weren't enuff made to be legal in the lower Stock classes. But, they could run in the upper FX classes. I think the B/FX final @ Indy was between 2 '63 421SD Pontiacs. Jim Wangers drove the winner.

Arlen Vanke drove one in A/FX.

There were several 421SD '63 Tempests built. IIRC, Pontiac built & shipped 8 of 'em, 2 of which were wagons. The quickest were those which had the stock Tempest type rear driveline replaced with with a Pontiac chunk type rear end like those that came in the big Pontiacs. They were much stronger & more reliable.

The M/T 421SD '63 Tempest that won A/FX @ the Winters was driven by Bill Shrewsberry.

Jess Tyree eventually had one of these Tempests.

Arnie Beswick eventually had a '63 Tempest, Tempest wagon, & a big Cat, all with 421SD power. Ran several different classes with 'em.

Don Gay eventually ran one of the wagons, for a while, along with his '62 421SD A/S Cat.

Right now, I can't remember if I've seen a class winners list for the '63 nat events, or not. So, the above mentioned wins are all I can list, for now. If I come up with more, I'll edit & add it.

Here's the video of part of the '63 Indy nats. Between the 2:00 & 3:30 points of the video, are the A/S & A/SA class finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TZNx3TJ_JI

The 1st part of this video also shows glimpses of some Pontiacs @ Indy '63.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Dal06yiu8

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Of course, '64 was the year of the GTO. Don't know how many were raced across the country, that year. But, "3 deuces & a 4-speed & a 389", in a mid-size A-body, had to be very inviting to a lot of young guys.

I was too young to buy one. But I sure liked 'em. Plastered GTO ads & pics all over the walls in my room. Kept adding pics of the new models up thru at least '67. It was '69 before I could buy my own GTO. I was going to college & workin all the hours I could at the Pizza Inn, for $1.50 per hour. Total price was a bit over $3400. My monthly note, including ins, was only around $125.

Once the GTO came out, I can't find evidence that there were very many '64 & later big Pontiacs raced, after that. But, there were a few.

May add more later.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

For '65, there were probably lots of new Goats on tracks across the country. Don't know who had the quickest ones. I figure some the dealers, such as Knafel & Packer, had the quickest.

There were also some 421 powered big Pontiacs out there. Most were probably 2+2 models. They came with either an AFB 4-barrel or Tri-Power. Guessing that most big cars & Goats that spent lots of time on the track were Tri-Power equipped. Most of the Goats probably had a 4-speed, since the only auto trans was the 2-speed. But the big car auto trans was a TH400.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'66 was the last year of Pontiac Tri-Power. And the '66 Tri-Power is said to flow a bit more than in the previous years.

Lots of '66 Goats were raced. I assume the winningest was raced by Knafel Pontiac. I know it won at least 1 nat event, with Arlen Vanke driving. I call it the "Trophy Car", because of the famous pic of it, with trophies sittin all over it. They actually had 2 '66 Goats. I assume they ran the same set-up.

Royal Pontiac also ran a '66, as well as other Pontiac dealers. Right now, I can't think of a single '66 Big Pontiac drag car.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

Big changes for Pontiac '67 models.

(1) The new Firebird

(2) New 400 cube engine

(3) New Q-jet carb. Actually it wasn't the 1st year a Pontiac engine used a Q-jet. Some OHC Six engines had a Q-jet. Also, not every '67 Pontiac V8 used a Q-jet, if 4-barrel equipped. The 326HO had an AFB.

(4) TH400 trans in Birds & Goats. The '64-'66 Goats were limited to the 2-speed auto trans, called a Super Turbine 300, by some. But for '67, a TH400 came behind the auto equipped 400 engines. It resulted in quite a few auto trans Pontiac drag cars.

(5) New 428 engine. A 428 Pontiac engine would not be a big player in drag racing, 'til the GT classes came along & the Edelbrock heads were made legal.

For sure, the Limelighter GTO(pic #1) & the Stan Long Bird(pic #6) were nat record holders.

I suppose the biggest '67 Pontiac winner of all time is the '67 Bird that Randi Lyn Shipp has been driving for a few years. Think she has at least 7 nat event wins in it. Bryan Phillips has also been running a 10 sec '67 Bird Stocker, for quite a while. These are the 2 quickest '67 Bird Stockers I can think of. Joel Larkin runs the only '67 SS Bird I've been aware of, in recent years.

Of the pics below, I suppose the SS GTO is the most recently active. I found it on a Winter Nats Q-list early in this century.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

1968 @ Pontiac

(1) New round port RA2 400 engine, with 041 cam.

(2) New A-body design.

(3) Open chamber D-port heads.

(4) New 350 engine, including a 350HO.

The '68 Birds have probably been the most popular drag Pontiac body, ever. No telling how many '68 Birds have been used for Stock racing.

I suppose the most famous were driven by Truman Fields & Mike McKinney. Between them, they have several big race wins, class wins, & nat records, driving '68 Birds.

There have been several '68 Bird Stockers run mid to low 10's. Some are still active. Have also been some '68 GTO Stockers, thru the years. None active that I've seen on any Q-list, lately.

Not many big '68 Pontiac Stockers, that I'm aware of. The "Walton's Mountain" car is the only one I have a pic of.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'69 @ Pontiac

(1) RA4 engine in Birds & Goats.

(2) There came the Judge !

(3) Last year of the 428.

Quite a few '69 Birds & Goats raced in their early years, especially the orange Judge models. Very few, in recent years.

Bruce Noland is the latest '69 Bird racer. He has the T/A tribute car. John Schloe still runs his Stocker. Keri Angeles still drives the '69 9 sec SS Bird.

There were quite a few '69 Pontiac nat event class winners, back in the early years.

Art Peterson has the only active '69 GTO I know of. It runs SS.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'70 @ Pontiac

(1) Birds get a new body style, referred to as the 2nd gen Birds. Had new Formula & Trans Am versions available.

(2) 1st year of the 455 Pontiac engine, but not available in Birds.

(3) The GTO got a slight body style change, tho it still used the '68-'69 hood. Judge continued, but with a taller rear deck "wing".

(4) RA4 engine continued.

(5) Some hp Birds got the Chevy 12-bolt rear.

(6) Some Pontiacs got a real Powerglide trans, with a dual pattern case. They are now quite rare. I saw 2 of 'em. Bought 1. Not a high performance option, just mentioned it because it was unique, for a Pontiac.

The most famous '70 Bird had to be the RA4 powered Formula, raced by Scott Burton. Before he sold it, it was the quickest Pontiac powered Stocker, ever, having turned some real low 10's, & even dipping into the the 9's, in legal Stock trim, but at a bracket race.

When new, Knafel Pontiac did real good with a '70 GTO, running mostly in AHRA events, IIRC.

Bill Eadelis has a '70 SS Goat. I'm sure there would have been lots more '70 Bird Stockers, if the 455 had been available.

Todd Kuhn has been racing the only active '70 GTO Stocker I'm aware of, for quite a few years now. It has qualified for the US Nats.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'71 Pontiacs

(1) Compression lowered.

(2) 1st year of the the round port 455HO engine. RA4 engine dropped. The 455HO engines have won lots of races, beginning back when they were new.

(3) Last year of the Judge

(4) Completely different hood & nose on GTO.

(5) Some A-bodies were T-37 & GT-37 models. I've seen the T-37 described as a "Poor Man's GTO".

(6) Bird bodies had very few changes. Non-T/A models had short rectangular front fender vents. A 1-year-only item.

There were probably lots of '71 models raced. The most famous T-37 I can think of was raced by Rock Running. It was later raced by Ken Shawver. Don Turk is racing it now.

Most famous '71 GTO had to be the one raced by Mick Leiferman. It was a nat record holder for at least 5 years, & he was RU @ Indy, 3 years in a row.

Scott Underhill held the E/SA record a few years back, in his T-37.

Some of the most famous '71 Birds were raced by Max Sterling, Gary Moore, & the Green Brothers. The Axemakers had a nice '71, driven some buy Sam Reuland, and still active by new owner. Scott Burton may be the most famous Pontiac racer who ever raced a '71 Bird. He actually claimed several year models, with his early '70's Bird. Not sure exactly what year it was, from the factory. For racing purposes, it was pretty easy to change from '70 thru '73 model body, by making just a few minor changes. Don't have a pic of his Bird when he was claiming to have a '71, but there are records of it @ Indy, on DRC.

Here are pics of just 4 A-bodies & 5 Birds.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'72 Pontiacs

(1) 455HO continued pretty much unchanged.

(2) GTO got a slightly different front cap, with fender vents, just behind the wheel well opening.

(3) Birds pretty much unchanged. Fender vents dropped. Grills had "honeycomb" pattern.

(4) 455 D-port heads had better flow.

Lots of 455HO Pontiacs have been raced, from their 1st year. I suppose the most famous '72 GTO may be the one Sonny Ray ran in SS. He won several nat events with it, & David Rampy won his 1st nat event with it. It was also a nat record holder. We saw it race at the '78 Cajun Nats.

Todd Hoven won a nat event & class @ Indy, with a 455 D-port '72 GTO Stocker.

The Axemaker '72 GTO Stocker did pretty good. Larry Maxwell had a strong 455HO '72 Lemans Stocker. A lady from Canada drives it now.

Truman Fields ran a '72 GTO for a while. Held a nat record with it.

Gary Wood ran a '72 GTO, a couple of '72 Lemans wagons, as well as a '72 Bird. The Wagons got some class & division wins. Charlene Wood won the Grandnational race, in Canada, one year, with one of the wagons, which were named "Tons-a-Fun". Gary got a class win with the Bird.

The most famous '72 Bird is probably the 455HO Formula, driven by Brad Burton. He won lots of races with it & won 2 nat Stock championships with it. Before Brad started racing, Scott Burton also claimed a '72 Bird at some races, including Indy.

Lee Bannister won several nat events with his '72. It had a Formy hood & T/A fenders, but apparently passed tech at the big races. Bill Foder has it now. Last pic I saw of it, it had T/A fenders & hood, but no T/A wheel flares. At recent races, I think he's been claiming a '73 model.

Gary Moore set the SS/J nat record with a '72 Bird.

Have lots of pics of nice '72 Stock & SS Pontiacs. But I'll just add the single post limit of 9.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'73 Pontiacs

(1) 1st year of the SD455 engine. They've won lots of races thru the years.

(2) The A-body got a radical body style change, which most Pontiac fans did NOT like, & still don't.

(3) No major change in the Bird body. They got grills with a large rectangle pattern. The SD455 Formy used the T/A shaker hood.

(4) The X-body Ventura got a Pontiac 350 as an option.

Because of the unpopular look, not many guys have run a '73 GTO. I suppose the most famous Pontiac racer to run one was Mick Leiferman.

But, from the time they 1st came out, there have been lots of SD455 powered Birds raced. John Clegg bought one new & got the D/S win @ Indy, that year. He soon switched it over to SS. They updated it a couple of years back & J.B. Clegg still runs it. It has run some mid 9's.

Bob Michael built an SD455 powered '73, raced it a while, then sold it to Don Kennedy.

One of the most famous '73's was the Herslow & Morlock SD455 powered T/A. It was a nat record holder as a Stocker, & made the cover of SS&DI mag. They switched it over to SS. It ended up being a multi-year record holder. A later owner was Phil Szupka. Then Phil Monteith got it & switched it over to a '74 model. Sal Biondo got a nat event win in it.

Michael Brand has been running a D-port '73, but in the last couple of years has switched to an SD455. His wife drives it some.

In recent years, the '73 455 D-port had the NHRA hp factor lowered, & some of the 455 D-port powered Birds have been running strong. One of these Birds has been passed to several different owners, beginning with Adam Davis. & is now being raced by C.W. Hoefer, in div 7.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'74 Pontiacs

Pic #1 is the H-O Racing Specialties SD455 '74 T/A. In '77, it set the SS/KA nat record @ 11.31. That sounds real slow in light of today's 10 sec Pontiac powered Stockers. We saw the H-O Bird @ the '78 Cajun Nats.

#2 is the Al Vanis '74 Ventura, which won Stock @ Indy '74. At that race, Rock Running won his stick class, in a '74 GTO.

#3 is the Bill Rink '74 GTO Stocker. It ran real strong 'til NHRA noticed & gave the combo a big hp factor hit. Bill then switched the car over to SS. It's won class @ Indy, several times.

#4 is Brad Koivisto's '74 GTO. Since Bill switched to SS, this is the quickest '74 GTO Stocker. It's run some high 10's. Probably the ONLY '74 GTO Stocker to ever do so.

#5 is Don Turk's '74 Grand Am, which he has sold. Don Elgin has been running one, out on the West Coast, for years. The 4X head 400 engine has proven to be very competitive, thru the years. So, there have been lots of A-bodies & Birds that have raced it.

#6 is probably the most famous '74 Bird Stocker. It is the Mulry & Aceves 400 powered record holder. It actually set records in J/SA, K/SA, & L/SA. They had to swap the body parts over to make it a legal Trans Am, in order to set the L/SA record. This pic shows it in the T/A trim. Bob Mulry qualified it at the top of lots of Q-lists, many @ more than 1.5 sec under.

#7 is Carroll Warling's '74 Super Stocker, with a GA nose. It set the SS/MA record, in this trim. He also runs it with a Lemans nose. I think he currently runs it in GT, with an iron head 428.

#8 is a Duncan & Michael Lemans. I assume that's Johnny Duncan & Bob Michael.

#9 is a McCoy & Michael GA. Bob Michael has had a hand in LOTS of top Pontiacs, thru the years.

There have been lots of competitive '74 Pontiacs. Several are still competing. So, I have plenty of '74 pics. But I'll just post these 9, for now.

Re: Looking for 1970's statistics
 

'75-'78 Pontiacs

Only have pics of one '75 Stocker & one '76 Stocker. The '75 is a Formula Bird & is still being raced by Ryan Warter, up in the Northwest. He's won the Northwest Nats, & some smaller races with it.

The '76 Bird was raced by Mike Morgan. He made the show at Indy a few times, & got a class win there. Last I knew, Kevin Love, from Canada, owned the car.

The '77 & '78 Pontiacs have been quite competitive, at times. In recent years, the '77 models, with the base 400 engine, have been competitive. NHRA has given that engine a big hp factor hit, if you run it in a Bird. But, it's still 260hp, in all other Pontiac bodies, in which it is legal for Stock.

So, in recent years, there have been some '77 Lemans Stockers running the base 400. Bob Michael built one, sold it, then built a '77 Catalina, running the same engine.

There have also been some competitive '77 Birds, running a Pontiac 350, in both Stock & SS. Dave Ribeiro owns the former Michael '77 Lemans. He also ran a '77 Bird record holder. He says that since the 400 powered Bird took such a big hit, the 350 is probably now more competitive. I've read that Tibor Kadar ran good in a 350 powered '77 Bird Stocker

The most famous 350 powered '77 Bird is probably the gold Formula Super Stocker that was raced by Sal Piacentini, then by Mike Morgan. I think Mike ran some mid 10's & won class @ Indy one year. Was RU in class, to Bill Rink, a couple of times.

The most famous '78 Bird is probably the Ken Shawver SS Bird. He won class with it several times & was #1 qualifier @ Indy one year. Monte Howard also drove it to a couple of Indy class wins. Jack Good owns it now. Monte recently drove it again, @ Indy.

In '79, the only 400 was in a stick Bird. Haven't known of any '79 400 powered Stockers. Billy Nees & Don Himes are the only guys I know of who have fooled with '79 301 powered stuff. If there were(are) others, Billy would know. Of course, the 301T cars were in the '80-'81 model Birds. There were several that were very competitive. Rick Unterseh has one now. He said he bought another & will build it for his wife to race.

I have LOTS of these pics. But here are 9.