Steve Swaja is an American dragster designer in the 1960s. [1]
Swaja was responsible for both Tony Nancy wedge cars of 1963, the Yellow Fang slingshot in 1963, [2] and "TV Tommy" Ivo's Videoliner in 1965. [3]
He designed Tony Nancy's first dragster, "The Silver Car", in 1963; it was built at Tommy Ivo & d Rod Pepmuller's shop, with the aluminum metal bending done by Bob Sorrell; the car won "Best Engineered" at its debut, the 1963 Winternationals. [4]
Among Swaja's other projects were cars for Rocky Childs, Ewell-Stecker-Kamboor, Fred Fischback, Scrima-Milodon, Dusty Rhodes, and Eagle Electric; he also did Hot Rod's XR-6 roadster. [5]
Swaja became good friends with Nancy. [6]
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Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting the driver and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
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Tommy Ivo, also known as "TV Tommy" and "Instant Ivo" is an actor and drag racer, who was active in the 1960s racing community.
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Don Prudhomme, nicknamed "The Snake", is an American drag racer.
Tom McEwen was an American drag racer who was a winner of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) U.S. Nationals. His racing career spanned 45 years. He is ranked at number 16 on a list of the 50 most significant drivers of NHRA’s first 50 years.
A dragster is a specialized competition automobile used in drag racing.
Super Mustang is the name given to a Ford streamliner slingshot dragster project.
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The Panorama City Special is a pioneering streamliner dragster.
Top Gas (T/G) is a former NHRA drag racing professional class.
Scuderia is a streamliner dragster.
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The Tony Nancy Wedge was two different streamliner dragsters.
Yellow Fang is a streamliner slingshot dragster.
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The 1963 NHRA Winternationals were a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event held at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California on February 17, 1963.
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