Dirt
‘Funny Car Chaos’
Aiming High in 2018
F
unny Car racers in the Southwest
were pleasantly surprised when Texan
Chris Graves announced plans for the
inaugural running of Funny Car Chaos
presented by Red Line Shirt Club. Not only were
racers and fans alike very receptive to a new Fun-
ny Car event in Texas, but the no-rules “outlaw”
approach spiked the interest of the public as this
one-of-a-kind event began to take shape.
Graves and company created Funny Car Chaos
to appeal to all Funny Cars with absolutely zero
restrictions on engine combinations or body
styles. Funny Cars of all types, appearances and
performance levels are welcome to attend these
two-day, flip-top extravaganzas, and the proof was
in the pudding as over 20 cars from seven states
rolled through the gates of North Star Dragway
in Denton, Texas, last September for the first
event. A thrilling weekend was capped off with
impressive wins by Mark “Mr. Explosive” Sanders
in the ‘A’ field and Andy “Dragon Slayer” Mears
in the ‘B’ field.
“I like the part where there are no rules. It’s
pretty obvious it’s a good idea when you look
around in the pits,” said Frank Ousley, the Illi-
nois-based owner and tuner of the “Crop Duster”
Funny Car. “Ninety percent of these cars I’ve never
seen before and I’d never have a chance to see
them if it wasn’t for this event.”
Division 4 Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Mark
Billington shares that enthusiasm, adding, “I
think it’s great. I think the idea of bringing Funny
Cars back together is great, the ‘run what you
brung’ idea is great and has brought out an im-
pressive field of cars. I’m excited to be here and
plan to support these events as much as possible.”
30 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
“OUR DOORS ARE OPEN
AND WE AIM TO PACK
THE STANDS WITH THE
CLASSIC APPROACH TO
FUNNY CAR RACING WITH
HUGE, SMOKY BURNOUTS,
BACK-UP GIRLS, DRY
HOPS AND THROTTLE-
WHACKIN’ WARMUPS.
WE ARE DIALED IN TO
PUT THE FUN BACK IN
DRAG RACING…”
Thousands of spectators jammed the facility to
see this spectacle unfold, and boosted from posi-
tive feedback from racers and fans alike, Graves
made the decision to dedicate full-time efforts
to Funny Car Chaos in 2018 and expand to a
four-event tour this year.
“The Sunday morning after our debut event, I
received so many messages and texts thanking me
for hosting such a unique and fun event,” Graves
said. “I was overwhelmed with just how excited
people were for this contest. It was at that point
I made the decision to expand this program for
2018. There’s way more Funny Cars out there
than you think, but unfortunately for most, strict
rules restrictions and financial requirements to
meet those restrictions keep a lot of cars in the
garage or limited to test and tuning or booking
an increasingly rare Funny Car match race. Funny
Car Chaos solved that issue very simply with its
‘run whatcha’ brung’ rules package with emphasis
solely put on safety and having fun.”
With Funny Cars of all types welcomed to at-
tend any Funny Car Chaos event, the canvas of
horsepower created in the pits is simply some-
thing that should be seen in person. Featuring
everything from NHRA-legal Top Alcohol Funny
Cars to modern and nostalgia-bodied nitro flop-
pers to your grassroots low-buck hobby racer,
Funny Car Chaos gives equal opportunity to all
participants and showcases why Funny Cars are
the most identifiable and unpredictable drag rac-
ing machines on the planet. The vehicles lining
the pits are as diverse as the race cars, from fully
wrapped and customized 18-wheelers to open
trailers with Funny Cars literally pieced together
with the parts sitting in the garage floor.
“I want to give a home to any Funny Car racer
looking to actually compete in a heads-up class.”
Graves explained. “Why limit and restrict these
cars to death and in turn result in a low car count
with fans able to easily pick between two or three
racers as the likely winner? Boring! Our doors
are open and we aim to pack the stands with the
classic approach to Funny Car racing with huge,
smoky burnouts, back-up girls, dry hops and
throttle-whackin’ warmups. We are dialed in to
put the fun back in drag racing, pushing aside
the egos and drama and opting for a weekend of
action-packed family fun at the drag strip, Funny
Car style. It’s Funny Cars, it’s certainly a bit cha-
otic and it rocks!”
Issue 131
By Rob King