The Tony Nancy Wedge was the name given to two streamliner dragsters (also referred to as ''Wedge I'' and ''Wedge II'') built for drag racer Tony Nancy.Taylor, Thom. "Tony Nancy Gas Dragster", in "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone", p. 34. Designed by Steve Swaja in 1963, they were built to race in the

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 motorsp ...

's AA/Gas (A/Gas supercharged) class. The aluminum body was built by Emil Deidt (formerly of Scarab, who came out of retirement for the jobBurgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "From the mailbag", written 5 March 2008, a
NHRA.com
(retrieved 22 September 2018) ) and Wayne Ewing, on an RCS chassis, with a

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

(as insisted on by Nancy).Burgess, Phil, ''National Dragster'' editor. "From the mailbag", written 5 March 2008, a
NHRA.com
(retrieved 22 September 2018) It had a narrow rear end (intended to help keep the car running in a straight line) on a twin

torsion bar A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end termi ...

rear suspension, and straight front axle with bicycle wheels (with a tread), a pointed-nosed body covering both slicks, and mid-mounted engine, with exhaust pipes out the underside of the body ahead of the rear tires. In theory, the wedge body offered an aerodynamic advantage, decreasing turbulent airflow over the rear wheels, as well as increasing

downforce Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip ...

;Taylor, p. 37, "Leland Kolb 'Polish Wedge. in practice, the extra weight exceeded any advantage. ''Wedge I'' was powered by a supercharged Plymouth hemi and originally painted orange. ''Wedge I'' first appeared at the 1964 Winternationals to pass scrutineering. The car ran for the first time in March, 1964, after being painted white. Handling was problematic; at Sandusky, Ohio, in July 1964, ''Wedge I'' flipped on its way through the timing lights, at a speed of over . (This phenomenon, later common to rear-engine dragsters, would come to be known as "blowover".) At the 1964

Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races The Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races were a series of drag racing events sponsored by ''Hot Rod Magazine'' between 1964 and 1969. It was considered "one of the most significant drag racing events" of that era. These racing events were domin ...

, ''Wedge I'' set the low e.t. (elapsed time) of the meet at 8.51 seconds. ''Wedge II'' was modified, with slots above the slicks to allow air trapped under the car to escape and rear suspension deleted, while the

was also extended. Nancy powered the car with a selection of blown engines: a Plymouth, then a

Chrysler hemi The Chrysler Hemi engines, known by the trademark Hemi, are a series of American V8 gasoline engines built by Chrysler with overhead valve hemispherical combustion chambers. Three different types of Hemi engines have been built by Chrysler ...

, and finally an

Olds Olds may refer to: People * The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for old age, older adults * Bert Olds (1891–1953), Australian rules footballer * Carl D. Olds (1912–1979), New Zealand-born American mathematician * Chauncey N. Old ...

. ''Wedge II'' was later stored, while Nancy purchased a more conventional

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

car, and subsequently restored. In ''Wedge II'' trim, the car was auctioned at Monterey, California, in 2007.

Notes

Sources

*Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in ''Hot Rod'', April 2017, pp. 30–43. 1960s cars Drag racing cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles {{automobile-stub