IHRA: Throwback Thursday - The Blue Max Funny Car

Drag racing legend Raymond Beadle died in 2014 at age 70, but to look at the fans surrounding the Blue Max AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car at the Good Vibrations Texas Nationals Fueled by Sunoco at the San Antonio Raceway last weekend, you'd think it was Beadle himself behind the wheel.

No, it was Ronnie Young, a Dallas-area friend of Beadle's for years, and a fellow drag racer. When Young decided to build an AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car, he decided it would be a tribute to Beadle and the Blue Max. He had a body made from the original mold, and while everything under that Dodge Omni body is brand-new, the car looks so much like the original that veteran fans stopped in their tracks.

After all, when was the last time you saw "English Leather" advertised on the side of a car?

All the sponsor names are the same, says Young, who owns a trailer-building company. He even had to write to the English Leather headquarters in Europe to get permission, as he did with all the advertisers.

Young used to drive for Beadle, and worked for him until 1990. He was, Young recalls, "Larger than life." It's easy to forget all Beadle did in motorsports, not just drag racing – Beadle was a NASCAR team owner starting in 1983, eventually winning the championship with Rusty Wallace in 1989. He also fielded a World of Outlaws sprint car team for multi-time champion Sammy Swindell.

Drag racing, though, is where Beadle's passion lay – he was the IHRA Funny Car champion three times, and he was also the NHRA champ three times. His three IHRA championships came in 1975, 1976 and 1981, with 19 victories.

"He was a great guy, and a good friend. I miss him," says Young. "I'm just trying to keep the memory alive."