Question: When is a record not a record?
Answer: When the record books change and they toss out whatever existed before the change.
What the fuck am I talking about? Well, in this case I am talking about Kent Chatagnier. It is doubtful many of the extremely small amount of YB folks that actually like drag racing heard of him, but he's important to the sport. He is documented as being the first guy to make a 200 mph pass and back it up within 2%, so why don't the NHRA record books credit him? Here's the story...
In the late 1940s immediately after WWII, when modern drag racing was in its most formative years, the rules and governing bodies were very flexible. And by this I mean that that shit was pretty much non-existent. Hot rod clubs were everywhere at the time, and those groups pretty much made their own rules. Partly due to decommissioned air fields, which were everywhere and provided a place to race that the cops didn't screw with, coupled with a surplus of young men with newly honed mechanical skills often taught by the military, young men who had a desire to tinker on cars and had a need for speed as a side-effect competitive spirit of the war effort in addition to fast, faster and fastest of the time, drag racing became a thing. Just about every kid was racing something then, but there were little to no rules to be had. People made that stuff up as they went. It wasn't until 1951 with the formation of the NHRA, that rules, records, sanctioning bodies and governing bodies started to be anything that resembled uniform, but even then there was a lot of flex and flux, partly because the NHRA was strictly regional at the time, and would continue to be for several more years to come. Additionally, the NHRA wasn't the only game in town.
Look at the early 1960s for example, and the first 200 MPH run in drag racing. Several racers claim to have been the first to make a 200 MPH pass, but the official record belongs to Don Garlits, with a record set on August 2, 1964, a run of 7.78 at 201.34 at New Jersey’s Island Dragway at an NHRA race. But, but...wait! Connie Kalitta made a 200 MPH pass a few months before this, right? Yes, and at an NHRA event, too. But he didn't back it up. And just a bit before before Kalitta's run, there's evidence of Frank Cannon making a pass of over 200 MPH at Lions Drag Strip. And if that's not enough, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines ran 204.54 in his car at about 2:15 p.m. on April 4, 1960, at Illinois' Alton Dragway in his famous T/F car called "The Chizler". (Chris Karamesines and The Chizler have an awesome history, by the way.) Wait. 1960?! Damn! That's a four years prior to these other guys! Yeah, I know. Hell, even Don Garlits himself credits Karamesines with being first over 200 MPH, for all that is worth. But Karamesines' run wasn't backed up in that event. (He did run 199 MPH a week later, though.) A major reason why Karamesines doesn't get credit for his runs is that timing on his run was handled by Fosdick. Fosdick clocks had a reputation for being very spotty in performance, so spotty that many people doubted them. They have an interesting history in drag racing...
And then there is Kent Chatagnier. Chatagnier was a racer out of Port Arthur, Texas, a guy who stayed local to the Texas and Louisiana coast when he raced. He is another guy who lays claim to the "First 200 MPH" title. He ran 8.43 at 201.78 MPH on June 19, 1960 at Houston International Dragstrip in Dickinson, Texas. (I pretty much live on top of that old drag strip, btw. I've many fond memories of it.
) Wait. June, 1960? That is after Karamesines, so what gives? Well, Chatagnier backed his run up with a 196.92 MPH run and then a 197.36 MPH run on the same day. The car, which was named Blown Maniac, was powered by a supercharged, fuel injected, 430 cubic inch Pontiac engine that made 825 horsepower and weighed about 1,325 pounds and...had no parachute. So why doesn't Chatagnier own the record? Well, I mentioned flux and flex within drag racing earlier, right? Records were loosely kept by the publication called Drag News in a list called The Standard 1320 records. In early 1961, Drag News wiped all The Standard 1320 records clean and started over. WTF? Yes. They made new and universal official record requirements which were: 2% back-up of the record the same day/same track and another 2% back-up the following week at a different track. Chatagnier did that, but the line in the sand had been drawn.
So Chris Karamesines had the first 200 MPH run, and Kent Chatagnier had the first backed-up 200 MPH run, and Don Garlits had the first NHRA certified record 200 MPH run. Connie Kalitta is noted as being the first to run 200 MPH at an NHRA event, but he didn't back it up. (Frank Cannon is mentioned by the "Hell, I was There crowd".) No one backed up an over 200 MPH run until Garlits did it in 1964...well, except for Kent Chatagnier, who did it first but had his record tossed when the rules became, well, requirements that he already had met.
This issue still isn't settled. What say you...?
This is Kent Chatagneir's A class dragster called Blown Maniac...
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Answer: When the record books change and they toss out whatever existed before the change.
What the fuck am I talking about? Well, in this case I am talking about Kent Chatagnier. It is doubtful many of the extremely small amount of YB folks that actually like drag racing heard of him, but he's important to the sport. He is documented as being the first guy to make a 200 mph pass and back it up within 2%, so why don't the NHRA record books credit him? Here's the story...
In the late 1940s immediately after WWII, when modern drag racing was in its most formative years, the rules and governing bodies were very flexible. And by this I mean that that shit was pretty much non-existent. Hot rod clubs were everywhere at the time, and those groups pretty much made their own rules. Partly due to decommissioned air fields, which were everywhere and provided a place to race that the cops didn't screw with, coupled with a surplus of young men with newly honed mechanical skills often taught by the military, young men who had a desire to tinker on cars and had a need for speed as a side-effect competitive spirit of the war effort in addition to fast, faster and fastest of the time, drag racing became a thing. Just about every kid was racing something then, but there were little to no rules to be had. People made that stuff up as they went. It wasn't until 1951 with the formation of the NHRA, that rules, records, sanctioning bodies and governing bodies started to be anything that resembled uniform, but even then there was a lot of flex and flux, partly because the NHRA was strictly regional at the time, and would continue to be for several more years to come. Additionally, the NHRA wasn't the only game in town.
Look at the early 1960s for example, and the first 200 MPH run in drag racing. Several racers claim to have been the first to make a 200 MPH pass, but the official record belongs to Don Garlits, with a record set on August 2, 1964, a run of 7.78 at 201.34 at New Jersey’s Island Dragway at an NHRA race. But, but...wait! Connie Kalitta made a 200 MPH pass a few months before this, right? Yes, and at an NHRA event, too. But he didn't back it up. And just a bit before before Kalitta's run, there's evidence of Frank Cannon making a pass of over 200 MPH at Lions Drag Strip. And if that's not enough, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines ran 204.54 in his car at about 2:15 p.m. on April 4, 1960, at Illinois' Alton Dragway in his famous T/F car called "The Chizler". (Chris Karamesines and The Chizler have an awesome history, by the way.) Wait. 1960?! Damn! That's a four years prior to these other guys! Yeah, I know. Hell, even Don Garlits himself credits Karamesines with being first over 200 MPH, for all that is worth. But Karamesines' run wasn't backed up in that event. (He did run 199 MPH a week later, though.) A major reason why Karamesines doesn't get credit for his runs is that timing on his run was handled by Fosdick. Fosdick clocks had a reputation for being very spotty in performance, so spotty that many people doubted them. They have an interesting history in drag racing...
And then there is Kent Chatagnier. Chatagnier was a racer out of Port Arthur, Texas, a guy who stayed local to the Texas and Louisiana coast when he raced. He is another guy who lays claim to the "First 200 MPH" title. He ran 8.43 at 201.78 MPH on June 19, 1960 at Houston International Dragstrip in Dickinson, Texas. (I pretty much live on top of that old drag strip, btw. I've many fond memories of it.
) Wait. June, 1960? That is after Karamesines, so what gives? Well, Chatagnier backed his run up with a 196.92 MPH run and then a 197.36 MPH run on the same day. The car, which was named Blown Maniac, was powered by a supercharged, fuel injected, 430 cubic inch Pontiac engine that made 825 horsepower and weighed about 1,325 pounds and...had no parachute. So why doesn't Chatagnier own the record? Well, I mentioned flux and flex within drag racing earlier, right? Records were loosely kept by the publication called Drag News in a list called The Standard 1320 records. In early 1961, Drag News wiped all The Standard 1320 records clean and started over. WTF? Yes. They made new and universal official record requirements which were: 2% back-up of the record the same day/same track and another 2% back-up the following week at a different track. Chatagnier did that, but the line in the sand had been drawn.So Chris Karamesines had the first 200 MPH run, and Kent Chatagnier had the first backed-up 200 MPH run, and Don Garlits had the first NHRA certified record 200 MPH run. Connie Kalitta is noted as being the first to run 200 MPH at an NHRA event, but he didn't back it up. (Frank Cannon is mentioned by the "Hell, I was There crowd".) No one backed up an over 200 MPH run until Garlits did it in 1964...well, except for Kent Chatagnier, who did it first but had his record tossed when the rules became, well, requirements that he already had met.
This issue still isn't settled. What say you...?
This is Kent Chatagneir's A class dragster called Blown Maniac...
