If your connection with drag racing goes back 40 years, then you must know who Ron Colson is and your roads have crossed at some point. Coleson has been driving top fuel racing and interesting cars for decades, and has achieved success in television publishing and consulting. He passed away on March 19. So many of our old friends in this sport have been in poor health for the past year, and then were involved in a car accident in February, which will only exacerbate these problems. Although we haven't been in contact for several years, my contact with Ron has spanned decades. His driving career ended in 1980, two years before I joined the NHRA National Dragster staff, but because Colson published his own drag racing publication, he eventually gave my long-time running partner and right-hand man Kevin McKenna to ND to work. Staff, so there is a lot of contact, but we will talk about it later. Like many fans, Coleson's racing career began in 1957 at the ATAA World Drag Racing Series held in his hometown of Cordova, Illinois. He is from a small town in Oregon, Illinois, and the sport opened the door to him to see his name and his achievements shared from coast to coast.
A year after seeing a drag in Cordoba, Coulson started driving along the famous track, starting with his sister's '57 MG sports car, running in D/Sports. Within a few years, he and his partner Gary Wood took the Gas course, a record-breaking 11-second Studebaker with little power.
Jet racing is the obvious next evolution, starting with Don Garlits chassis Colson-Woods-Peterson and Wood and future Top Fuel partner Ken Peterson. The car’s pointed nose bridge earned it the "Stilleto" nickname, and ran for eight points at 190 mph, and won the Drag News Invitational at the 30 Dragway in Gary, Indiana, USA.
Colson continued to win his reputation in the AHRA race with his gas-powered racing car sponsored by Nicky Chevrolet.
Colson graduated from Top Fuel in 1968. He drove a variety of front-engine cars to win the championship, including himself competing with Peterson, and eventually won the 1969 United Drag Racers Association Top Fuel Championship. Dennis Friend has more photos of Colson on this tribute page. (From the establishment of UDRS in 1963 to its final dormancy in 2010, Coleson has been a staunch supporter of UDRS, serving as the administrator and vice president of UDRA for four years, and has helped organize all aspects of the organization's activities. )
Cole and Peterson won the sponsorship of Dick Clark’s popular American Bandstand TV show for the NHRA Nationals in 1970, and later for the famous Minneapolis Hoover family in the 1971 season. Effectiveness. According to the drag racing historian and Coleson’s old friend Bret Kepner (Bret Kepner), Coleson’s authoritative biography played an important role in today’s column, "Coleson has been "Voice opponents of funny cars", but ultimately drove one of the most famous varieties, Chi-Town Hustler, after Claire Sanders vacated the cockpit before the 1972 season. According to Austin Coil, Sanders is the second driver in Chi-Town history after Pat Minick. He quit without much notice, but Minick knew Colson from their UDRA era and advised him As a substitute (the famous Chicago UDRA top alcohol funny car outstanding person) according to the coil, Fred Mandolini (Fred Mandolini) is also in the race). Although he had never driven a funny car, Coleson quickly adapted.
"He has never had any problems with the prolonged burnouts that we like to do," Coil said. "He just said,'How far do you want me to go?' When we were doing PR in front of Buckingham Fountain in [Chicago Grant Park], it was basically on the sidewalk concrete. The newly poured concrete was better than normal. Dao is stickier, but Coulson feels very good about it. He made the tire smoke on the wood; when he walked past me, the [syringe] blade was open, but he did not turn the motor too much. He was very good at at this point."
Take a look at this wonderful photo of Steve Reyes, in which Coleson participated in the 1972 four-wheeled funny car race in Bads Creek, Maryland. It was Colson in the near lane, next to Gene Snow, Pat Foster sitting in Barry Setzer Vega and Russell driving the Pabst Blue Ribbon Charger of Charlie Proite for a long time. The team not only dominated the race track, but also won the 1974 IHRA Funny Car World Championship. Colson was also Coil’s frequent travel partner at the race, sharing the driving responsibilities on the team’s legendary ramp truck and helping to coax it when the odometer reading was accurate to six digits, including the unforgettable valve in the church parking lot. Repair somewhere in Tennessee late at night. Coleson played for the team until the end of the 1975 season and then withdrew; he was replaced by Danny Savage.
Coleson started driving the Chapman Chicago Patrol in 1976, which was a promotional tool of the Chicago Police Department on the Mustang II, with working "bubble gum machine" lights on the roof. In mid-1976, Colson took over another famous funny car, Roland Leong's legendary Hawaiian, and became Leong's longest-serving driver. In 1972-75, Leong hired and (usually) fired six drivers (Leroy Chadderton, Gordie Bonin, Mike Van Sant, Denny Savage, Norm Wilcox and Larry Arnold), but until the end of the 1980 season, Coleson was him People. The reason for Coleson's long-term tenure? "Unlike most of my other drivers, he never tried to tell me how to drive my car," Liang told me earlier this week. "We have worked very well together. He is an excellent driver. We have won several victories in the NHRA national races and also won the Volkswagen hot car [championship]."
The late 1970s was a good time for the duo, because they were sponsored by many companies. Colson drove Monza backed by Leong's Power Gloss in 1977. Avanti is a manufacturer of civilian band radio antennas. It joined in 1978 at the peak of the CB boom and spent 1979 with them. At the time, Colson was in the Chicago-based Avanti's marketing department, and they often worked at their headquarters. The company president spotted them by accident and asked for space on the side of the Power Gloss car. It was originally just a small decal on the green stripes of the Power Gloss car, but the following year he purchased the sponsorship of the entire car.
It was in the Monza game supported by Avanti that Coleson crossed the center line in the second round bye of the American Nationals in 1978, and received a certain degree of insult. His disqualification allowed Tom McEwan to test run in the semifinals, which allowed the legendary "Mongoose" to defeat Don Prudholm in the final round of emotional competition. The game was played a few weeks after McEwan's youngest son Jamie died of leukemia. Although the popular story is that the Hawaiian turned left over the centerline due to a broken chassis, this is an enduring drag racing legend and will only add to the fairy tale of McEwan's victory. Liang said that was not the case. "Ron did a good job driving for me, only annoyed me twice," Roland said. "I'm not sure where the [broken chassis] story came from, but it never happened. He just lost control. The other time was in the 1979 World Finals [more on this later]." If Ron If you didn't make that mistake in Indy, then there might be no Snake & Mongoose movie," he said with a smile, not only referring to the opening scenes of the recent Hollywood biopic, but also to the clues that run through the entire movie.
Coulson made up for the missed Indy chance late that season when he drove the Hawaiian to victory in the NHRA Fallnationals in Seattle and defeated Dale Purd in the final round. This is Liang's first victory in an NHRA national event since Butch Maas won at the 1971 Winter International, and it was part of Liang's amazing winning streak in Pomona.
The team switched to Corvette in 1979, breaking two taboos in one fell swoop (green car and cursed Corvette), but they still finished fifth in the 1979 NHRA World Championship. Another Leong error by Colson occurred at the end of the season in the World Finals. Many people may remember that the oil splashed on the track during the diesel truck race on the dragline last weekend hindered the race, which basically prevented it. Turned into a cycling track. According to Liang, Liang and Coleson have very important lane choices when entering the semifinals, and they may win the race.
"[The second round] In the previous game, the front end was in the air. We won, but it was furry. I wanted to add weight to the front end, but Coleson convinced me not to do it. He pulled the front end again in the semifinals. He had to lift up, and we lost. That was the last time I listened to the driver.” According to Kepner, Colson also founded Colson Communications in 1979, which was immediately rooted in the television production of drag racing events. The company's first work was a one-hour review of the 1980 Popular Hot Rod Championship, which was co-produced nationwide and gained the brand's attention.
In 1980, with the addition of King's Hawaiian Bread, Leong became a loyal sponsor of his hometown and stayed in the team for several years. Colson and Leong drove their new Dodge Omni to start the season and sponsorship with the winter national team runner-up (revenge Seattle!) (and won the NHRA World Finals at Ontario Motor Speedway, ending the year in the championship circle) In the last cheer of the luxurious venue, they won the third place championship. Mike Dunn drove this car occasionally as a test driver in 1980 and took over the car full-time in 1981. Coleson started his second career as a racing consultant and potential media mogul. Colson Communications transformed into Performance Communications and spread its wings to take over United Racer, the monthly magazine of the United Racer Association. Kepner served as his editor. The publication switched to a biweekly report covering all aspects of drag racing and became a respected voice as an independent publication. According to Kepner, the increased popularity of Colson has made him a trusted marketing consultant for companies such as Petersen Publishing Company, Del Monte Foods, and Strange Engineering. Similarly, for track operators who need to understand many aspects of racing management, Coleson has become a hot consultant. To meet this need, Colson created Track Planning Associates in 1986. TPA, Inc. becomes a one-stop advocacy service, providing everything from permit collection to environmental impact research, tracking construction technology to management seminars. So far, TPA, Inc. has assisted in the creation, opening and operation of dozens of tracks across the country.
As mentioned earlier, National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna started his car racing news business with Colson and United Racer and shared these memories with me. "When Ron Colson invited me to be the editor of United Racer, I was 18 years old and he gave me the first breakthrough in this industry. To this day, I am not sure why he chose me, but I am forever grateful because it eventually led to Long career at NHRA. "United Racer is known by many as the official publication of the United Racer Association, but in reality, Coleson wants it to remain neutral and cover the entire sport, so we strive to do this. Most of the time, there are only three or four of us in the staff, long working hours and low wages, but we managed to publish a publication that we can be proud of.
[Colson also knows how to have fun. Here, he drives a golf cart, and Kepner (recently), McKenna (middle) and Jeff Burk provide ballast for wheels in the impressive pit lane. ] But also lived in his home on the outskirts of Chicago for nearly three years. To say that this is a life-changing experience is an understatement. Not only did Colson teach me about the publishing industry, but I also learned a lot about the lifestyle that defines most motorcyclists. Ron knows almost everyone in this industry, and they all know him, so when the phone rings, you never know who the other end of the phone might be. “For someone like Roland Leong (Coleson’s former employer and one of his closest friends), taking his entire Hawaiian team home for a few days on the way to the Midwest to compete in the game, this It’s not uncommon. Once, Roland’s 18-wheel motorcycle passed through Colson’s precious flowerbeds, or neighbors heard the sound of nitro engine ignition in the driveway countless times. This is all part of the experience. "With the help of Colson, I also received advanced education in Chicago drag racing. I saw the small garage behind John Farkonas’s mother’s house. There, Chi-Town Hustler was detained for many years at his favorite meeting place, JC’s Pub & in McCook, Illinois. Ristorante met Chris'the Greek' Karamesines. If there is a place near Chicago that has any historical significance in drag racing, Coulson knows it. "Even in the days before the Internet and social media, it was often difficult to run a small independent publication, but I would not exchange experience for anything. Thank you, Ron, trust me. Rest in peace." And thank you, Ron, become a part of our world.
The death of Coleson is not the only loss in the sport in the past few weeks, because we also lost the old Tommy Johnson, Paul Stage, Larry Adelman and Ron Ye.
I am also fortunate to have established a long-term friendship with Tommy Sr., and now fans are best known for being the father of the modern and interesting car hero Tommy (even the subject of the finishing line trading card mentioned above). But those of us who have been working for a while, he used to be a drag racer and the owner of a mail order parts company that regularly advertises on the National Dragster. I remember that he bought a huge advertisement in the ND precious SEMA Show souvenir special issue-at least a spread, maybe even four pages, with the headline "Who am I and what am I doing here?" This helps. Yu introduced his business to those at the trade show who might not yet know his name.
Tommy Sr. also wrote an amazing book that records his self-healing of cancer, turning to a special diet rich in natural resources, and saving lives that doctors thought could not be saved. This is his legacy.
The old Tommy I saw in the game not long ago cheered for his son. He passed away after a few strokes. Contact Tommy to express my condolences. He summed up his father with a few perfect words: "No one likes drag racing more than him. He has never seen a stranger."
The name of Paul Stage may be familiar to racing fans in the 1960s, because he won two NHRA national races in 1968, the first Springnationals in Englishtown (acquired Summernats in E-Town and Springs moved to Dallas, then Before Columbus) and their grandfather, the American national, took his car and ran in the Super Eliminator.
From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, Adelman was an alcoholic car owner and hired drivers including Stage, Marc Pieri, Tom Trisch and Marc White.
The most memorable thing about Leaf is his hilarious car career from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s. The most memorable thing is his Chevrolet Vega photos.
All in all, it has been difficult weeks for racing fans. Remember to thank your hero before it's too late.
Phil Burgess can be reached via [email protected]
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