Gas Ronda’s beautiful 65 427 cammer badly wrecked. In those days I would say he was lucky to survive. Notice the T-bolt on the right that won the S/S championship in 64.
I don't remember Ronda wrecking until the near fatal funny car fire in '70. Wondered aloud if it was Les Richey's, but his caught fire that fatal wreck at Fontana.
I think he wrapped the car around/on the guardrail. Every time I saw "Gas Ronda" run or announced I always thought of the song "Help me Rhonda" by the Bleach Boys. I remember one night I was working control in the hot-car pits at OCIR and was standing beside the guard rail when Joe Pisano of the Pisano Brothers funny car spun out and hit the rail right in front of me. Parts went flying everywhere and I dove flat on the ground trying to avoid parts. I kept a few pieces as souvenirs all these years. That's why people were never allowed to stand near the guard rails. Here is Joe Pisano at OCIR. I used to work the staging just to the left of the timing tower in the photograph or the hot car pits staging. People don't realize it but if standing right next to the exhaust of a blown fuel engine, the concussion of the exhaust in particular when the car takes off, will literally knock the wind out of your lungs. Ear plugs and head muffs.
On a happier note he did win the manufacturers funny car meet at OCIR in 1969. I always thought he had the coolest name in drag racing. Gas Ronda….
Yup and an Ed Pink built engine. As noted on the front fender. Those happier days for all of us then, whom now getting old. The 1969 Manufactures Funny Car Championship I think there was some 70 funny's there that weekend for qualification. The pits were totally packed. We wound up so tired from the noise and vibration it made us like bad jet lag. Goofy. He took the top post out of 70 entries. The reason he spun out that I mentioned earlier is, he simply lost traction mid way down the strip and spun out at high speed. That was not at the 1969 MFCC. 1969 -- Team Chrysler 1.Chi Town Hustler 2.Gene Snow 3.Candies & Hughes 4.Don Shumacher 5.Big John Mazmanian 6.The Hawaiian 7.Chris Karemensines 8.Dodge Fever 9.Fred Goeske 10.MCS Dart 11.Mike Miller 12.Paula Murphy 13.Ray Alley 14.Della Wood Team General Motors 1.Jungle Jim 2.Seatons Shaker 3.Dick Harrell 4.Screamin Eagle 5.Mart Higinbothom 6.Mako Shark 7.Kelly Chadwick 8.Jess Tyree 9.Pisano Bros. 10.Gordon Mineo 11.Larry Christopherson 12.Big Mike Burkhart 13.Steve Bovan 14.Malcom Durham 15.Randy Walls 16.Sturm & Fisher 17.Bad Bascombs Ghost 18.Parts Mart 19.Bob Bedell 20.Vicious Too 21.Clare Sanders Team Ford/Mercury 1.Danny Ongais 2.Coleman's Super Ford 3.Tommy Grove 4.Dick Loehr 5.Connie Kalitta 7.Gas Rhonda 8.Larry Fullerton 9.Kenz & Leslie 10.Souza Bros. Team Wacky Racers 1.Invader 2.Hellfire Corvette 3.Brutus 4.Javelin 2 5.Frantic Ford 6.Marv Eldridge 7.Rusty Dellings 8.Harry Schmidt 9.Holy Toledo 10.Proud American 11.Gene Conway 12.Clyde Morgan 13.New Breed 14.Warren Gunter 15.Cogo Eads 16.Mike Thermos 17.Phony Pony 18.Marc Susman 19.Vic Morse 20.Robert Picker Remember them ?
I was studying horticulture in a far east country in 69-70; food, clothing, and shelter were included.
The Jalopy Journal
