IHRA: Throwback Thursday - Bruce Litton and the U.S. Male

For years, the U.S. Male Funny Car was a familiar sight at drag strips around the country, and it still is – but who's behind the wheel will take some getting used to.

Originally built in 1971 by Nick Boninfante Sr., the U.S. Male ran as an alcohol car throughout the '70s before being converted to nitro in 1983. Boninfante continued to campaign the car throughout the '80s before scaling back his operation in 1991 to focus on his growing clutch business.

After taking more than a decade off, Boninfante brought the U.S Male back, using a 1977 Ford Mustang body.

But two years ago, the two-time IHRA Top Fuel champion bought the entire U.S. Male operation from the Boninfante family, planning a return to Funny Cars some 20 years after he last drove them.

The IHRA dropped Top Fuel from its scheduled classes – though that may change next year – and since Litton wanted to continue to campaign with the IHRA, he moved to Nitro Funny Car. He re-bodied the U.S. Male as a Chevrolet Vega, reflecting his longtime association with the bowtie brand, and went about re-learning what it takes to make a Funny Car go fast.

At the Good Vibrations Texas Nationals at San Antonio Raceway, Litton qualified the U.S. Male in sixth with a solid run of 5.8566 seconds at 250.84 mph. He ran even quicker than that in first-round eliminations, but lost to eventual winner Jason Rupert.

Litton, 60, likes the Funny Car, but admits that "I'm a dragster man at heart." He is hoping that plans to bring the Top Fuel class back to the IHRA come to fruition, "because I probably don't have that many more years to keep doing this, and I'd like to race the Top Fuel car some more."

Litton cites the friends he has made over the decades as one of the reasons he continues to run with the IHRA, and he likes the direction the series is taking under new President Mike Dunn. "You can't keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results, so yeah, I support what is underway."

Litton, who owns Bruce Litton Trailer Sales in Indiana, says he looks forward to taking the U.S. Male back to the winner's circle in 2016. His next chance: The President's Cup Nationals Fueled by Sunoco at Maryland International Raceway June 17-19.