TRIBUTE

1940 – 2021

By Bret Kepner

Ron ’ s first drag racing event was the 1957 Automobile Timing Association of America World Series of Drag Racing at Quad City Drag Strip in Cordova , Illinois . At the time , the race was considered the sport ’ s biggest event and a mesmerized sixteen year-old Colson watched an equallyyouthful Floridian named Don Garlits defeat the all-conquering Emory Cook & Cliff Bedwell dragster from California in a race which Garlits still admits “ made my career ”. Colson talked with Garlits in the pit area at that race and eventually became a lifelong friend . More importantly , Colson became hooked on the sport for life .

Colson began racing street cars ; his first trophy was won at Cordova wheeling a D / Sports Production 1957 MG sports car “ borrowed ” from his sister , Judy . However , Colson ’ s obsession with the sport quickly pushed him into the Gas Coupe classes with a series of Chevrolet Bel-Airs and Studebakers and , by 1962 , he was a National Record holder with a Chevy-powered 1941 Studebaker Champion campaigned with partner Gary Wood . He gained national fame with the Gassers but soon moved into a supercharged gas dragster with became one of the most feared in the country . Competing in Top Gas Eliminator , ( the precursor of the Top Alcohol Dragster category ), in a car he owned with Wood and Gary Peterson which was sponsored by the renowned Nickey Chevrolet dealership in Chicago , Colson toured the nation gaining even more notoriety winning match races and several national events in American Hot Rod Association and United Drag Racers Association competition .

In 1966 , Colson ’ s fame among fans through the printed media became global and he was chosen to lead a team of United States drag racers on the

first Australian Drag Fest tour which took the sport to three race tracks in that country .

By 1968 , Colson moved to seat of Top Fuel Dragsters . Through 1971 , he drove for a variety of teams , ( including his own with Peterson ), and won dozens of events culminating in the 1969 UDRA Top Fuel World Championship . He continued as a “ hired gun ” driver in Top Fuel with multiple operations such as the Ruth and George , (“ Ma & Pa ”), Hoover from Minneapolis , ( after their son , Tom Hoover , moved from the family ’ s AA / Fuel Dragsters to Funny Cars ), and the nationally-known “ American Bandstand ” machine from southern California of Matthews & Dusser sponsored by Dick Clark ’ s television show , one of the most popular youth-oriented programs of the era .

When driver Clare Sanders left the “ Chi-Town Hustler ” Dodge Charger supercharged nitro Funny Car in 1972 , owner and Chicago area buddy Pat Minick contacted Colson to fill the open seat . Colson had been a vocal opponent of Funny Cars for several seasons , ( notoriously referring to them as “ plastic – wrapped toilets ” in one of the sport ’ s largest publications ), but he took the job of driving one of the most popular machines in the history of the class . Once Colson learned the secret of the team ’ s trademark full-track burnout , he added his own ability to win .

Although the car made an impressive profit

racing and winning while match racing at up to four different tracks per week , Colson and crewchief Austin Coil occasionally made the decision to attend a National Event if only to remain in the public eye through the sport ’ s media . Once again , Colson shone by scoring multiple National Event titles to become one of the dominant drivers in the class en route to the 1974 International Hot Rod Association Funny Car World Championship .

In 1976 , Colson ’ s good friend Roland Leong offered Ron the driver ’ s position in another of the best-known cars in the sport . Colson took the reins of Leong ’ s renowned “ Hawaiian ” Funny Car and Ron remained with the team for seven seasons , an all-time record for a Leong employee . During his tenure , Colson took the “ Hawaiian ” team to National Records , major event victories and multiple National Hot Rod Association National Event titles while finishing fifth in the 1979 NHRA World Championship and third in the NHRA world standings in 1980 . Colson retired from driving at the conclusion of the 1982 season after nearly twenty consecutive years of the most grueling touring schedules .

Colson was a staunch believer in the United Drag Racers Association from its inception in 1963 through its eventual dormancy after 2010 . After several seasons of racing with the association through the 1970s , Ron acted as administrator and Vice President for the UDRA for four

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER