Jack Chrisman (May 5, 1928 — August 17, 1989) was an American
drag racer
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...
. He was a drag racing pioneer and 1961 champion. He was influential in the formation of the
Funny Car class, as he introduced the first
blown injected
nitro
Nitro may refer to:
Chemistry
*Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed:
**Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2
**Nitroalkene, ...
-burning Funny Car.
[Drag racing pioneer Chrisman passes away]
''National Dragster
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 motorsp ...
''; September 8, 1989, Retrieved March 7, 2008 The
National Hot Rod Association
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 ...
(NHRA) ranked Chrisman 23rd on their Top 50 drivers in 2001.
[No. 23: Jack Chrisman]
, National Hot Rod Association
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 ...
; written in 2001, Retrieved March 4, 2008
Background
Chrisman was born the youngest of 13 children in
Grove, Oklahoma
Grove is a city in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,623 at the 2010 census, an increase of 27.6 percent over the figure of 5,131 recorded in 2000. . The family moved to Southern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
to escape the
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...
.
Racing career
Chrisman began drag racing in 1953 when he raced a 1929
Model A.
He switched to a
Chrysler car, continuing to race at Southern California such as Lions, Pomona, San Fernando, Santa Ana, and
Saugus.
He purchased the Purple Car from Ed Lusinski, and used the car to win drag races at many of these tracks.
He started racing
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 second ...
for
Pat Akins. Masters & Richter flew Chrisman to the Bay area to race in their Top Fuel dragster.
In 1959 he started racing in Chuck Jones ''Sidewinder'' dragster. The car, wrenched by Joe Maillard, had its motor mounded sideways. It was shorter than the common at that time. The car consistently recorded 9.0 second elapsed times (e.t.) at , which typically defeated local competition.
In late 1960, he moved to Howard Johansen's team. He raced the Howard Cam ''Twin Bears'' gas dragster, which featured two side-mounted engines. In 1961, he used the car for the first 8-second run in NHRA national event history, when his 8.99 second pass beat
Dick Rea
Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to:
Media
* ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia
* Dicks (band), a musical group
* ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film
* "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat
Names
...
in the
Top Eliminator (Top Gas) final at the first
Winternationals.
That summer he drove to an 8.78 e.t. at
Caddo Mills, Texas
Caddo Mills ( ) is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,338 at the 2010 census, up from 1,149 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Caddo Mills is located in western Hunt County at (33.064748, –96.229040). Texas State Hig ...
, which was the lowest e.t. of the year.
Chrisman won the 1961 World Championship after winning in national, regional, and divisional meets throughout the United States.
Jack Chrisman ends season with 550 points
''National Dragster
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 motorsp ...
''; September 8, 1961, Retrieved March 7, 2008
Chrisman changed to Mickey Thompson
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter.
A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. 's team in 1962. The Tommy Ivo
Tommy may refer to:
People
* Tommy (given name)
* Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Tommy'' (1975 fi ...
-built machine ran on either gas or nitro. Chrisman set new top speed record of at York, Pennsylvania
York (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populatio ...
and a new e.t. record in A/GD (A/Gas Dragster) with an 8.34 second pass. The team debuted a new Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
Hemi engine
A hemispherical combustion chamber is a type of combustion chamber in a reciprocating internal combustion engine with a domed cylinder head notionally in the approximate shape of a hemisphere (in reality usually a spheric section thereof). An en ...
a few weeks before the U.S. Nationals
United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. Constitution, various laws, and international agree ...
at Indy, and won the Top Eliminator crown.
During a regular afternoon event at Pomona in May 1963, the dragster's rear end broke. Chrisman spent 42 days in the hospital recovering. After he had recovered, he started working advertising for ''National Dragster''. Chrisman intended to drive Thompson's dragster to defend his title at Indianapolis, but Thompson's hauler tipped over while transporting the vehicle to the dragstrip.
Funny Car pioneer
Chrisman was working for the NHRA in late 1963 or early 1964 when Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
's Fran Hernandez gave a Mercury Comet
The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1960–1969 and 1971–1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car. In its first two years, it was marketed as the "Comet" and from 1962 as the "Mercury Comet ...
to Chrisman. After Chrisman did not race it, Hernandez asked, "What's going to get you to race that car?" Chrisman responded he wanted a blower to be installed in the car. Chrisman went to a dealer, picked up the racecar, and brought it to Bill Stroppe's shop. The pair and their crew assembled the car. The car was debuted at the 1964 U.S. Nationals with Chrisman smoking the tires to half track. Chrisman toured the eastern half of the United States with the car through the end of the 1965 season. In 1966, he ran one of the factory backed Mercury Comets with a flip-up fiberglass body, following a trend started by Don Nicholson and Eddie Schartman. Chrisman won his first race, at the ''Hot Rod Magazine'' Championships at Riverside Race, in the Exhibition Stock category. It is generally considered to be the first funny car to exceed . The car ran the quarter mile in 8.72 seconds at , beating Jungle Jim Liberman in the finals. On July 10, 1966 he set a class record at , only to have the engine blow up two weeks later at the ''Super Stock Magazine'' Nationals. The car burned to the ground.
Chrisman came back with another Comet to race the rest of the 1966 season through 1970. Chrisman did not race in 1971. He built a "sidewinder" Mustang funny car for 1972, but never raced it. He sold it to Ray Maheu, and the car later became John Force
John Harold Force (born May 4, 1949 in Bell Gardens, California) is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (J ...
's first ride, ''Nightstalker''.
Chrisman Driveline Components
During that time, he started Chrisman Driveline Components at his hometown Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
. The company builds car rear ends and driveline components for dragracers. It has supplied components to Kenny Bernstein
Kenneth Dale Bernstein (born September 6, 1944) is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed the ...
, Frank Bradley, Darrell Gwynn, Eddie Hill
Eddie Hill (born March 6, 1936) is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Fat ...
, and Joe Pisano. He continued running the company until his death in 1989.
References
External links
Chrisman Driveline Components
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrisman, Jack
1928 births
1989 deaths
People from Grove, Oklahoma
Dragster drivers
Racing drivers from Oklahoma