Gordon Mineo (June 19, 1945-September 3, 2006), nicknamed "Flash Gordon", was a

Top Fuel Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 seconds ...

Funny Car Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appea ...

driver. Mineo was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, son of Joseph and Lorraine Mineo. He started racing Funny Cars in the 1960s and continued to race until the 1990s. Mineo's first national Funny Car event was the 1970 AHRA Winter Nationals at Beeline Dragway in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

; he qualified his

Pontiac Firebird The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...

funny car #10, but was eliminated in the first round by #7 qualifier Tom "Mongoo$e McEwen. (Mineo earned US$400 for the effort.) At the 1971 AHRA Winter Nationals, Mineo qualified #21 in a and was eliminated in round there by Dick Rosberg, who qualified #17. In 1972, Mineo attended the AHRA National Challenge at Tulsa Raceway Park in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He qualified #21 and lost in round one to #5 qualifier Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. (Mineo earned US$500 for this effort.) At the 1973 NHRA Supernationals, in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

, Mineo qualified #9 in his 1973 Dhevrolet Vega; he again lost in round one to Prudhomme, who qualified his 1973

Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth from 1964 to 1974. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A platform, Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 to 1966. A ...

#1. Mineo returned to Scottsdale in 1974, qualifying #8 at the 1974 AHRA Winter Nationals. The same year, he attended an ANRA event at Green Valley Raceway in

Smithfield, Texas Smithfield is a former town in north-central Tarrant County, Texas. Located 10 miles southwest of the city of Grapevine, it was originally named Zion after the Methodist Church. A Masonic lodge and businesses existed in the city by 1876. After the ...

. He went back to Beeline Dragway for the 1977 AHRA Winter Nationals, qualifying #4; he was eliminated by #12 qualifier

Dale Armstrong Dale Armstrong (1941 – November 28, 2014) was a Canadian drag racer and crew chief. After winning 12 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and 12 International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) events in the 1970s, including the Pro Comp title in 1975, h ...

in the first round. At the 1977 NHRA Springnationals, Mineo qualified #14, only to lose to #6 qualifier (and eventual event class winner) Bob Pickett in the first round. Mineo never won an

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

or AHRA national event. He was also featured in a famous photo, being punched by fellow funny car racer Ed "The Ace" McCulloch. Mineo was killed in a boating accident on

Lake Texoma Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklaho ...

, in Oklahoma, on 3 September 2006, along with his wife, Ann, age 59, Myra Gibson, 51; Amy Lane, 31; and Justin R. Lane, 25. Mineo was 61. He was buried at

Rest Haven Memorial Park Rest or REST may refer to: Relief from activity * Sleep ** Bed rest * Kneeling * Lying (position) * Sitting * Squatting position Structural support * Structural support ** Rest (cue sports) ** Armrest ** Headrest ** Footrest Arts and entertain ...

Rockwall, Texas Rockwall is a city in Rockwall County, Texas, United States, which is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. It is the county seat of Rockwall County. The U.S. Census Bureau estimate's As of the 2020 census, Rockwall's population is 47,251. ...

. Mineo had two children, Jason and Trisha.Dallasnews.com
(retrieved 3 October 2018)

Notes

External links

''Plainview Daily'' onlineJalopy Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mineo, Gordon 1945 births 2006 deaths Dragster drivers American sportsmen Racing drivers from Detroit Racing drivers from Texas