Those Wild Fuel Altereds. The most exciting and unpredictable cars in drag racing just had to be the Fuel Altereds.
The cars were short wheelbase coupes and roadsters powered by the same high horsepower engines found in the Top fuel Dragsters. The combination produced some wild, exciting and memorable racing.
To go along with this wild nature, many of the cars had names like "Pure Hell", "Winged Express", "Rat Trap", "The Mob", "Nanook", "Pure Heaven" or "Groundshaker Jr.".
The popularity of the Fuel Altereds grew from the great performances of many racers in the early 1960's.
Just a few of them are Mooneyham & Sharp, the Brissette Bors., Dunn, Merrit & Velasco, and many others.
Those Wild Fuel Altereds tells their story. It begins with the 1957 fuel ban when both nitro and alcohol were outlawed from drag racing. But just like Prohibition (of the other type of alcohol) the rule makers could not completely shut off the nitro.
The rebirth of the Fuel Coupes and Fuel Roadsters in the early 1960's was the foundation that led to the Fuel Altered class.
The much publicized performances of several Fuel Coupes and Roadsters quickly generated more competition and improved performances.
By 1965, the cars were called Fuel Altereds and drag strips in California were starting to schedule Fuel Altered Eliminator programs.
The late 1960's were great for Fuel Altered racing enthusiats. There were numberous cars and lots of Eliminator programs. The racers could win some money and get some publicity.
It was wonderful, but it only lasted for a few years.
In the early 1970's, the changes in drag racing soon led to the demise of the Fuel Altereds. Gone, but not forgotten. The Fuel Altereds were the most exciting cars in drag racing.
"Those Wild Fuel Altereds" tells the story, and also shows the story with 313 photos.