History of Jr Fuel

In the Early 60’s the 1320 rules had A/FD, B/FD, C/FD, D/FD. Which were injected nitro dragsters, with classes based on engine size. There were a number of races won with A/FD, B/FD beating the more powerful supercharged AA/FD because the light weight injected nitro dragsters could get ahold of the dragstrip in marginal conditions, where the Top Fuel would just smoke the tires too hard. Like the higher HP blown nitro cars, the injected cars were high gear only, no transmission, just rev it up and let the clutch go, and smoke the tires most of the ¼ mile. The D/FD was very popular, because most of them were affordable SBC 283ci bored to 301ci on high % of nitro. These D/FD raced heads-up with the Top Gas dragsters, AA/GD, often because their ET’s were close. The AA/GD looked like the Top Fuel dragsters, but restricted to burning gasoline. The D fuelers became so popular that Pappy Hart from Lyons Dragstrip in Long Beach started a D/FD only class and called them JrFuel. This J/F class became very popular all over the country, as a-matter-a-fact my 2’nd dragster was a J/F that I drove with my partner Dick Parisey from 64’ to 69’ in the Midwest. Our home track was Great Lakes Dragway in Union Grove WI, where Broadway Bob Metzler was one of the most famous promoters. GLD was great because we could race every week-end, if there was no snow.

JrFuel continued to be a popular class until Lyons closed in 1972. Many successful Top Fuel drivers and teams started out with J/F as a stepping stone for their careers, which might be one of the reasons the class faded away, with drivers moving on to Top Fuel like myself. I ended my dragster driving career with a Div. 3 Top Fuel Championship driving Jerry Newman’s John Butterra built RED, in 1973
One of the most famous J/F teams was the Adams & Enriquez, with Gene Adams car owner with his early Hemi all iron nitro burner and Don Enriquez driving. Gene Adams is still racing injected nitro FED with his son Dean on the Kin Bates A/FD in the NHRA Heritage series, which they have won all 5 championships. And Don Enriquez is still driving a JrFuel dragster with the McKray/ Algire team in the Heritage series, which they won the championship last year running one of my Chevy engines.

In 1984 a new Nostalgia drag racing group was formed with FED, altereds and gassers, with the idea of bringing back affordable nostalgia looking racing. By coming up with rules focused on lower cost racing with J/F rules of all iron motors, alcohol only as a fuel, stack injectors and zoomie pipes, max tire size 12” [to keep the nostalgia J/F look], max engine size 410ci and a PowerGlide trans . FED Nostalgia TF also has limitations like 12” tires, 671 blowers, and the big limit of a fuel flow limit on the fuel pumps. Heritage A/FD also has fuel pump limits and a 1875lb weight min., but injected nitro or blown alky dragsters.
The current NHRA Heritage J/F class includes 3 classes, “A”, “B” and “C” all based on the different head designs , and all racing together using a dial-in handi-cap between the different classes. “A” is allowed any valve angle in their SBC, most are using 14° New Zealand made heads by RHS, and 3 1/8” injector limit, “B” is restricted to 23° valve angle and 2 7/8” round injectors and allowed to race with raised intake runner heads . “B” teams can also run OEM Hemi and Ford heads. “C” is the same rules as “B” but limited to Non-Raised runner heads on the SBC’s. The current handi-cap dial-in for “A” is 6.89, “B” is 6.98, and “C” was just changed at the MM to 7.20 from last year’s 7.24. The baseline for “A” & “B” was the NHRA national records for A/ND, and B/ND racing in Comp Elim, but there is no C/ND so the Heritage baseline was based on the best run with a Chevy in the Texas based SWJFA of 7.24. The Heritage J/F handi-caps can only be lowered at a Heritage race during Eliminations, no change in the Comp Elim records will change the Heritage J/F dial-in. The reason for the 3 different classes of J/F is to allow more teams to compete on a more level and fair field. We had 10 J/F teams at the 2013 55’th March Meet. The Best ET’s in Heritage J/F racing are “A” 6.81 [ 195mph], “B” 6.96 [189mph], and “C” 7.15 [186mph] in qualifying at the 2013 March Meet.

2014 NHRA Heritage JrFuel series is Presented Mallory Print.com and Hayden Wheels, which has been making front wire wheels for dragsters for 10 years, associate sponsors are A-1 Transmissions and S & W Racecars, Motul Race Oil, and E.R.C Race Fuels Engine Research Company Race Fuels located in San Lorenzo Calif since 1976 supply race gas and alcohol to all motorsports, and a producer of custom specialty fuels and is a national distribution center for Champion spark plugs, Blenzall, Red Line, and Kendall race oil A-1 Performance was started in 1959 by Marv Ripes to make and improve performance levels for racers using PowerGlide transmissions. Marvin was the mastermind that put the PowerGlide and the eight inch converter on the map for drag racing. A-1 moved to Vancouver, Washington in 2007 after being purchased by Alan and Adam Bowdish, with Marv staying on as a consultant. Marv can be seen at many NHRA races and most NHRA National events, along with Alan and Adam. It seems all of the fast JrFuel dragsters in the country are using 7” A-1 Performance converters.

S & W Race Cars was also founded in 1959, by Walt Weney as a speed shop in Spring City PA., and developed into a state of the art chassis shop. Along with building drag racing chassis for full bodied cars, funny cars, and dragsters, S & W is a major force in the mail-order chassis component arena. S & W Race Cars is equipped to offer their customers the latest in race car technology. From a narrowed rear housing to a complete rolling chassis. S & W staff members have raced everything from E.T. bracket cars to Top Fuel dragsters. Their experience and knowledge is a valuable part of every S & W Race Cars product.
Hayden Wheels was founded in 2003 as a new department of Tom Hayden Enterprises Inc, manufacture of the M-6 automatic primary chain adjuster for Harley Davidsons. Jon Hansen, owner of Hayden Ent was asked by dragster racers to look over their front tires, since he had over 35 years in the motorcycle business, and then asked to find replacements. All of which led to making light weight front wire spoke wheels, and importing light front rib tires. Hayden Wheels are used on N/TF, front and rear engine dragsters, and cackle show dragsters. Hayden also has hard-to-find Akront and Borrani rims that are no longer made, mostly for period correct cackle cars. Because a goal of most racers is to reduce rotating weight, because of the extra power it takes to get rotating parts started, Hayden’s goal is to make the lightest wheels and tires in the industry. The lightest wheel AND tire combination with a magnesium hub weighs 7 ½ lb ready to go on the race car. One pound of rotating weight is equal to 9-10lbs of static weight. All of the Heritage J/F race cars are running Hayden front wheels, along with many NHRA Comp Elim dragster race teams. Many of the cackle dragsters seen at the NHRA Museum and it’s Reunions have refurbished wheels by Hayden Wheels.