[JoeC]

Here is a part of a Tommy McNeely interview also from the draglist web site

"It was a time much different from today when "Sunday! “ Sunday! “ SUNDAY!" radio ads screamed of Ford against Chevy and Dodge against Pontiac. Tact and tactics were not part of getting paying customers through the gates and after all, early FX/FC races were slightly more of a circus act than spectators were used to. All the extraneous stuff was fun for the fans -- pie fights, putting on fire suits right out front, rosin, burnouts, and radio and PA shouting matches. Nobody wanted to lose or they didn't get paid as much or asked to go to more races. But the show was a huge part too.
There were times when a car was outclassed by its competition so the driver threw lead or cylinder heads in the trunk and went into big wheelstands -- the spectacular action of the wheelstand drew our attention away from a better performance. The "loser" ended up being the winner because he gained more ink and fans. It was exciting to watch.
"And scary too some times but we were too young to know the difference. I was 19 when I got the Falcon. I refer to Dickie and Hubert a lot because they were probably my greatest mentors at the time. One of the first things Dickie taught me was if you know you're going to lose, load the trunk and put it on the back bumper"