#Gatornation

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Gator Nation Tailgate

Scenes from the University of Florida Gator Nation Tailgates are an exclusive perk for members of the UFAA.

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[adrenalineguide]

Saying Farewell to One of Racing’s Greats

By Michael Hozjan  

On Easter Saturday race track owners, race team owners, racers, race fans and almost everyone associated in the racing community got together in Cornwall Ontario to bid a fond farewell to one of racing’s greatest.

Above:Race teams brought their cars out in memory of the king of announcing

He didn’t own a race team, he didn’t own a racecar nor track, he never even raced himself, but Brian Mulligan will be missed by thousands on both sides of the Canada/US border. Brian you see, was a track announcer. Let me correct that he was THE track announcer. Mr. Mulligan (he’d probably hate me for calling him Mister – he was that kind of down-to-earth guy) started his announcing career in the mid sixties at the now defunct - turned airport -Cedar Dragway, just west of Montreal, he moved on to Napierville, south of Montreal in 1966. In no time at all, his friendly persona and his ability to announce in English and French quickly wielded him into other racing disciplines. 

Brian’s voice soon echoed throughout Canada and the United States. In 1970 when Sanair International opened, Brian was the obvious choice for owner Jacques Guertin. A year later when Guertin snagged the NHRA to host a Canadian event, Brian was “ The Voice of the Grand Nationals”.  The NHRA must have liked what they heard as in 1972 he was asked to announce the Winter Nationals in Pomona, California. That was just the beginning, he’d go on to the Gatornationals in Gainesville Florida, as well as drag races in Columbus, Ohio, and Syracuse New, York.  

Above: Two drag racing icons, Brian shares a laugh with Linda Vaughn, Miss Hurst at the inaugural Canadian Drag Racing Reunion. Brian was inducted into the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2016

Back home he was also a reporter for CTV’s Montreal station, CFCF, bringing stock car racing into our living rooms.

Not one to hibernate, in winter snowmobile races beckoned him and he became as popular in that segment as he was in automobiles. In summer when he wasn’t barking out at car races, he’d be covering motorcycle races and boat races, including the inaugural Long Sault Regatta.

Above: One of the hazards of announcing in the cold

I met Brian when I was 17, not at a racetrack but at Action Motorsports, a speed shop in Montreal’s Rosemount district. His friendly demeanor went above and beyond that of a simple salesman, he made you feel like the whole store relied on you.

It would be a couple of years later while I attended my first drag race at Sanair International that I swore I recognized the voice coming over the loudspeakers. In later years, with his multitude of pages on drivers’ statistics, he would be instrumental in helping me with my articles in racing magazines and newspapers.

Above: Brian was at home whether on an oval or drag strip

When I was asked to run Montreal’s most popular cruise night I knew I needed and needed a charismatic, bilingual emcee, Brian Mulligan was a no brainer and he didn’t mind the 100 km commute once a week.

Above: Doing what he did best, this time at a Montreal Cruise Night

His heart was as big as it can get as he supported several charities, volunteering his time to fundraising and helping the community.

He suffered a brain tumor in 2011, something that would be fatal to the average person, yet Brian bounced bag to the surprise and chagrin of his doctors, and so over the last few years he’s been announcing at tracks close to home, including Cornwall Raceway and Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg New York, across the river from his hometown.

Above: Never to be taken too seriously, Brian was always smiling

Brian didn’t take life to seriously, always smiling and hamming it up whenever the occasion arose. Like donning a red ball on his nose in the middle of announcing. His heart was as big as it can get, always ready to support a charity and volunteer his time to fundraising and helping the community.

Over the years Brian was inducted into multiple sports and motorsports Halls of Fame.

Above and below: Just two of the dozens of awards Brian received 

On March 1st 2023 Brian moved on to announce the races in heaven, having succumbed to Alzheimers. He’s survived by his wife Huguette, brother Richard, and two sons Daniel and Patrick. 

Above: The Mulligan name continues in racing circles with Brian’s son Patrick

Patrick continues in the family racing tradition marketing racing fuel, promoting and consulting races, teams and drivers alike, and like his father is always smiling.  

[v-eight-lover]

Top Fuel Tuesday; Larry Dixon's wild ride at the 2015 Gatornationals during qualifying

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Don Prudhomme, Funny Car, 1976

Consecutive event wins: 5 | Consecutive round-wins: 22

How could Prudhomme possibly top his six-of-eight 1975 season? By winning seven of eight, of course, which he did in the most dominant season in Funny Car history.

Prudhomme won the first five consecutively: Winternationals, Gattornationals, Springnationals, Summernationals, and Le Grandnational with respective final-round defeats of McCulloch, Greer, McEwen (back-to-back), and Prock.

The Winternationals win was his second of what would be four in a row, and the Gators triumph was his third in a row there. He’d never won the Summernationals before 1976, but then went on to win it five times over the next seven years, and his win in Montreal was his second straight in a string of six wins in eight years north of the border.

How dominant was he in those first five events? He had low e.t. and top speed at all five and qualified No. 1 at four of the five, outdone only by Gary Burgin at the Gatornationals, where Prudhomme’s 6.31 was behind only Burgin’s 6.29.

Burgin also ended Prudhomme’s bid for a perfect season, stopping him in the Indy final as Beadle had done the year before. Prudhomme had qualified No. 1 in the quickest field in history (6.26 bump) with a national record 5.97, a full tenth ahead of Beadle’s second-ranked 6.07, then raced past Tom Hoover, Gordie Bonin, and Ron O’Donnell with runs of 6.05, 6.13, and 6.15 before shaking the tires to a 6.46 loss against Burgin’s 6.25, ending “the Snake’s” winning streak at 22 rounds.

Combined with his wins at the final two events of 1975, Prudhomme racked up 30 straight round-wins over the two seasons, which still stands as the longest winning streak in Funny Car history.

Prudhomme would go on to win in Seattle and Ontario to finish 1976 with seven wins in eight starts and a 30-1 round-win record.

[dylannitroblog]

NHRA Gatornationals Recap

The start of the 2024 NHRA Drag Racing Season is here, and with that, it's also the start of the Mission Foods era of professional drag racing. This 2024 season has kicked off the same way as the last few seasons, pushing the traditional opener of the Pomona Winternationals back a few weeks in favor of starting in the Sunshine State of Florida. It was not all sunshine however as rain delays and oil down became the theme of the weekend leading to the appearance of the elusive Top Fuel night run which is not too common here in Florida. But enough intro, let's look at the results of the historic 55th Annual Gatornationals:

In Pro-Stock Motorcycle the #1 Qualifier of Gaige Herrera took on the #2 qualifier and multi-time champion rival Matt Smith. Gaige and Matt had dominated all weekend however, none were surprised when Gaige Herrera turned on his fourth win light on during Sunday earning him his 12th National Event win in only his second full-time season.

Pro-Stock car saw a race between teammates and once again the number 1 and 2 qualifiers stage up being Erica Enders and Cristan Cuadra respectively. There was a lot on the line as despite being one of the most successful active Pro-Stock drivers Erica had never hoisted a wally at the Gators and after several heartbreaking losses here in years past Enders knew she had to lock in and win the round. However, the burning desire was also there for Christan Cuadra who was in his first ever 2-wide final round and had his first opportunity at an NHRA race victory. They staged and went but early tire shake for Cuadra signaled that yes indeed, Erica Enders would host her first-ever Gatornationals Wally.

Nitro Funny Car saw one of the best drivers in the class win in the strangest ways possible. #1 Qualifier Austin Prock was making his first official start in the Mission NHRA Drag Racing series and was on a tear. Just a few weeks before in Bradenton he won 250,000 in dominating fashion beating the reigning champion Matt Hegan in the final round. Now in Gainsville, Prock looks poised for an easy victory against JR. Todd in the DHL Kalitta Funny Car. Todd hadn't run in the three-second range or anywhere near 300 mph all weekend, he spun and smoked the tires every round before this and yet somehow continued to turn on win light after win light. The Yellow Fellas knew that to beat the best and most consistent car on the property this weekend they would have to put in not a blazingly fast tune-up, but one that could get them safely down track under power and hope that the John Force Racing Funny Car of Austin Prock had issues. Prock Prestages, then Todd, they both full stage, the lights flash yellow then green, Todd is first off the line by 0.004 seconds and by the 60-foot mark Austin Prock goes into tire shake. Making his best run of the weekend JR. Todd goes 3.889 at 329 MPH making the unlikeliest win of his NHRA Drag Racing Career.

Top Fuel Had a bit more of a straightforward narrative, the #1 Qualifier of Shawn Langdon raced the #6 Qualifier of Billy Torrence. Don't let those numbers have you make up your mind about this final, Billy Torrences teammate and son Steve Torrence was the number two qualifier, and with Steve out both crews were working in tandem to give Billy the best possible car. However, in the other land was Shawn Langdon in the second Kalitta Motorsports top fuel dragster, having seen his teammate JR, win his final, there was immense pressure to deliver the first-ever Kalitta motorsports double up 17 times it had been tried but never to be as both cars would make it to the finals only for one or both of them to lose. Billy reacts quicker on the tree by 6 one thasounths of a second however not to be denied was Shawn Langdon who surged ahead and completed the illustrious Kalitta Motorsports double up having a car of the same team win in both nitro categories.

Overall the 55th Annual NHRA Gatornationals was worth the wait and despite a huge amount of tire spin from all the rain reducing the grip of the track, it was an amazing event with some crazy storylines. Thanks for reading and I'lll see you in Pamona for the NHRA Winternationals.

[duck7]

Top Alcohol Funny Car Driver, John Headley, walked away from a wild ride Saturday at the 2023 NHRA Gatornationals.

[honeygrlvintage]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Gatornationals Top.

[rpmtrish]

ELITE MOTORSPORTS TO BACK SPENCER HYDE’S TOP FUEL DEBUT IN POMONA

WYNNEWOOD, Okla. (October 6, 2023) - Elite Motorsports, the largest professional team in drag racing, will make its first foray into Top Fuel at the upcoming IN-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. Spencer Hyde will pilot the Elite-sponsored Top Fuel entry in a dragster owned by Todd and Tony Paton. Hyde, an accomplished drag racer from Ontario, Canada, won the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by J&A Service earlier this year at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Fla. The talented young driver is excited to make his NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series debut after experiencing success behind the wheel of the Paton-owned Top Fuel machine at a couple of match races over the summer. While he’s garnered significant achievements in several drag racing series, this will be the first time for him to compete at an NHRA-sanctioned event. “I’ve raced Pro Modified mostly with the PDRA in the Pro Boost class,” said Hyde. “In February, I completed my Top Fuel License in Gainesville, Fla. with Todd and Tony Paton and the Paton Racing Team. My plan was actually to run the GatorNationals this past March with the Paton Racing Top Fuel Team but my new buddy Courtney Enders worked her magic and helped clinch me a spot in the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod race and that turned out to be a pretty awesome deal for our team!” Indeed the World Series Of Pro Mod was a pretty awesome event for Hyde as he raced his way to victory from the No. 32 qualifying spot. It's clear that he had no trouble making the transition from Pro Mod to Top Fuel. When he was making his licensing passes in Gainesville, Hyde powered the Paton Racing Top Fuel dragster to an impressive pass of 3.80 seconds at 324 mph, the second-quickest pass ever made in the machine. Moreover, during a Top Fuel match race this summer in Empire, N.Y., he reset the track record. Competing behind the wheel of an 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster has been a dream for Hyde since he was young. Growing up with family ties to the sport, he knew he wanted to race one day and he started pursuing this path at only 14 years old. “I started in Jr. Dragsters in 2006,” said Hyde. “In Canada, I grew up around snowmobiles and motorcycles. My parents wouldn’t let me race either of those but I had a buddy who raced Jr. Dragsters. I started going to the track with him. One thing led to another and 18 years later we’re Pro Mod and Top Fuel racing.” The stars aligned for Hyde when a casual conversation during the Menards NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Kan. led to his partnership with Elite Motorsports. “I was hanging out with the Elite team earlier this year in Topeka and Bobby Lagana happened to be in the pit,” recalls Hyde. “He recognized me from when I was in Gainesville getting my license. He helped the Paton Racing team when we were there, so we were chatting about it. Richard was kind of listening in and I told him I was looking for funding to go to an event and Pomona was one that they were pushing me to do. That’s when he said, ‘I’ll back you for Pomona.’” Todd Paton, the owner and occasional driver of the Top Fuel entry in which Hyde will compete is confident that Hyde will make the most of his first NHRA event. “We are really looking forward to this,” said Paton. “Spencer did well in his licensing laps. In his first full pass, he did better than my career best in the car, so we are pretty impressed with him. He took to it like a pro. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do behind the wheel at an actual NHRA event. Partnering with Elite will cause a lot of buzz in the pits and I’m looking forward to that too. I think it will catch a lot of people off guard to see their name on a Top Fuel car. I’ve always been one who enjoys the drama that goes along with drag racing so I think it will be entertaining in more ways than one. I’ve known the folks at Elite for a long time and I’m excited to get to work together on this.” The In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip will take place November 9-12 in Pomona, Calif. Read the full article

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Awesome work for Grizzly Wheeler by @lincolndesignco

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