Honoring the great Drag Racers of the day from 1900 to 1973
(partial) DRHOF.com 2020 Inductees........
DRHOF.com, Jupiter, FL - The committee has chosen several nominees to date; Bil Stiles, Hemi Barracuda, Billy West 1962 Plymouth "The Little Pilgrim", Bob Rossi Competion Eliminator A/A Oldsmobile Acheiva, Chuck Grimsley altered wheelbaseearly Dodge, Dave Reitz mechanic for Bob Banning Dodge, Don Carlton "Mopar Missile", Ernie McDaniels, Gary Dyer "Mr. Norms Dodge", George Reese George' Corvette Shop, Jack Redd "JACK APPROVED", Jere Stahl Stahl Headers, Jim Oddy Gasser standout engine builder, Jules Schoenberger "Paper Lion" Philadelphia Racing Engins/Products, Paul vins anotherCompetition Eliminator (Scotto Blevins), Ray Allen 1970 Chevelle SS/EA NHRA World Champion, Tom Snyder driver of the Bob Banning cars Stock up to F/C and Tom Wright! We will be publishing more details on the inductees as we receive photo, etc. (1/06/2020)
George Reese, better known as "Corvette" George has been at it since the mid-1960's racing a slew of Corvettes and has had some really unique cars that he's built. Running on the East Coast in the 60's and 70's George started with a front engined dragster that he evenventually adapted a narrowed C2 Corvette body onto! He later ran a 1969 Corvette F/C before moving to a Vega F/c body. George also built an early Corvette truck that was he used as a push vehicle and transport to parts. (1/14/2020)
Paul Blevins ..................
Paul Blevins, one of the successful campaigners in NHRA's Modified class with a U.S. Nationals title, world championship, divisional championships, and national records to his credit, and later a standout racer in the Pro Stock ranks, died April 22, 2008.
Paul who ran his cars out of the respected Duffy's Performance Specialties shop on the East Coast, was a four-time Division 1 champion and mult-national record holder in Modified with string of Modified production racecars
Paul ran a variety of Chevrolet smallblock powered racecars, most notably his 1955 Nomad before moving to a Corvette, the a Pro Stock Vega and Monza.(1/08/2020)
Billy West, "The Little Pilgrim"...................
BILLY WEST – Billy West of Selma, N.C. started his career in 1952 at the East Street Dragway near Benson, N.C. from 1956 thru 1982 Billy won races up and down the east coast in his famous 1962 Plymouth “The Little Pilgrim”. A Billy was nicknamed ‘High Gear” because of his famous Big End MPH charges that left many racers in the dead in their tracks.
Billy lists his national event wins at Rockingham and Richmond and having Richard Petty driving “The Little Pilgrim” to the winner’s circle at Charlotte Motor Speedway as his most memorable days in racing. (1/09/2020)
Ray Allen (Truppi Kling)...................
The talented New Jersey-based triumvirate of Ralph Truppi, Tommy Kling and driver Ray Allen had already amassed a winning record in NHRA’s Division 1 Junior Stock Eliminator competition when in 1970 they made the leap into the Super Stock ranks. Truppi and Kling had first raced together in F/Stock in a 1957 Chevrolet known as “Terrible Tangerine”, and were famous for leaving nothing to chance by skillfully interpreting the NHRA rule book and preparing their cars to finest detail. The immensely talented Ray Allen joined the pair after he was scouted by Truppi. When it came time to prepare their new 1970 Chevelle SS454 convertible for the NHRA’s SS/EA class, they had almost three decades of experience between them, a factor that played a large part in their success. The other factor, of course, was the car itself. GM had just taken the lid off its corporate limit of 400 cubic inches in their intermediates, and the LS6-powered Chevelle was Chevrolet’s weapon of choice for ending Chrysler’s dominance in Super Stock. Capable of easy 13-second times in stock form, in Truppi-Kling’s hands the Fathom Blue ragtop, chosen for its stronger frame, was modified according to NHRA rules with Hooker headers, a Tarantula intake manifold, L88-spec solid-lifter camshaft, Vitar torque converter and Zoom 5.14:1 gears. The result was a car capable of trailering everything in sight and running almost a half-second quicker in the quarter mile than its Mopar competitors. Sponsored by Briggs Chevrolet of South Amboy, New Jersey, the Chevelle went undefeated in 1970, winning the 1970 NHRA Northeast Division Championship, the 1970 NHRA World Finals, and the 1970 Supernationals at Ontario Motor Speedway, where Allen lowered the national record to 11.33 seconds. It was the first nationally televised drag race on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and it brought the team to national prominence. Years after its Championship season, in the mid-Eighties the car was purchased by Ray Allen, who began restoring it to its original appearance and specifications, including the correct LS6 454/450 HP big block V-8 engine, M40 automatic transmission, 12-bolt rear end, and ZL2 cowl induction hood. It was later taken closer to as-original configuration by Chip Gerst of Costa Mesa, California, who added vinyl decals to revive the car’s as-raced appearance. Since then, the engine has been fitted with an Edelbrock Tarantula intake, Holley carburetor and Hooker Super Competition headers while the interior features a distributor driven tachometer and Hurst shifter to reestablish its period racing configuration. The car has also been repainted and hand-lettered to recall the original signage and decals, satisfying the owner’s goal of returning it to its World Championship configuration. Documented with the original build sheet and a copy of the original title to Truppi-Kling Performance Inc., the Truppi-Kling-Ray Allen Chevelle SS convertible is a truly significant piece of Chevrolet and NHRA drag racing history. (1/09/2020)
early Dodge, Dave Reitz mechanic for Bob Banning Dodge, Don Carlton "Mopar Missile", Ernie McDaniels, Gary Dyer "Mr. Norms Dodge", George Reese George' Corvette Shop, Jack Redd "JACK APPROVED", Jere Stahl Stahl Headers, Jim Oddy Gasser standout engine builder, Jules Schoenberger "Paper Lion" Philadelphia Racing Engins/Products, Paul 
George Reese, better known as "Corvette" George has been at it since the mid-1960's racing a slew of Corvettes and has had some really unique cars that he's built. Running on the East Coast in the 60's and 70's George started with a front engined dragster that he evenventually adapted a
narrowed C2 Corvette body onto! He later ran a 1969 Corvette F/C before moving to a Vega F/c body. George also built an early Corvette truck that was he used as a push vehicle and transport to parts. (1/14/2020)
Paul Blevins, one of the successful campaigners in NHRA's Modified
class with a U.S. Nationals title, world championship, divisional championships, and national records to his credit, and later a standout racer in the Pro Stock ranks, died April 22, 2008.
thru 1982 Billy won races up and down the east coast in his famous 1962 Plymouth “The Little Pilgrim”. A Billy was nicknamed ‘High Gear” because of his famous Big End MPH charges that left many racers in the dead in their tracks.
Truppi and Kling had first raced together in F/Stock in a 1957 Chevrolet known as “Terrible Tangerine”, and were famous for leaving nothing to chance by skillfully interpreting the NHRA rule book and preparing their cars to finest detail. The immensely talented Ray Allen joined the pair after he was scouted by Truppi. When it came time to prepare their new 1970 Chevelle SS454 convertible for the NHRA’s SS/EA class, they had almost three decades of experience between them, a factor that played a large part in their success. The other factor, of course, was the car itself.
GM had just taken the lid off its corporate limit of 400 cubic inches in their intermediates, and the LS6-powered Chevelle was Chevrolet’s weapon of choice for ending Chrysler’s dominance in Super Stock. Capable of easy 13-second times in stock form, in Truppi-Kling’s hands the Fathom Blue ragtop, chosen for its stronger frame, was modified according to NHRA rules with Hooker headers, a Tarantula intake manifold, L88-spec solid-lifter camshaft, Vitar torque converter and Zoom 5.14:1 gears. The result was a car capable of trailering everything in sight and running almost a half-second quicker in the quarter mile than its Mopar competitors. Sponsored by Briggs Chevrolet of South Amboy, New Jersey, the Chevelle went undefeated in 1970, winning the 1970 NHRA Northeast Division Championship, the 1970 NHRA World Finals, and the 1970 Supernationals at Ontario Motor Speedway, where Allen lowered the national record to 11.33 seconds. It was the first nationally televised drag race on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and it brought the team to national prominence. Years after its Championship season, in the mid-Eighties the car was purchased by Ray Allen, who began restoring it to its original appearance and specifications, including the correct LS6 454/450 HP big block V-8 engine, 
M40 automatic transmission, 12-bolt rear end, and ZL2 cowl induction hood. It was later taken closer to as-original configuration by Chip Gerst of Costa Mesa, California, who added vinyl decals to revive the car’s as-raced appearance. Since then, the engine has been fitted with an Edelbrock Tarantula intake, Holley carburetor and Hooker Super Competition headers while the interior features a distributor driven 
tachometer and Hurst shifter to reestablish its period racing configuration. The car has also been repainted and hand-lettered to recall the original signage and decals, satisfying the owner’s goal of returning it to its World Championship configuration. Documented with the original build sheet and a copy of the original title to Truppi-Kling Performance Inc., the Truppi-Kling-Ray Allen Chevelle SS convertible is a truly significant piece of Chevrolet and NHRA drag racing history. (1/09/2020)