There’s really nothing amusing about replacing or rebuilding an engine, but when you’re in the National Hot Rod Association’s funny-looking Super Stock drag-racing business, it’s all part of the gig. In fact, an engine in today’s Funny Cars must be wholly rebuilt (or replaced) after — are you ready for this? — just four seconds of open-throttle use.
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The origin of the name “funny car” isn’t precisely known, but pretty much everyone agrees it came to fruition somewhere during the middle of the 1960s. There are even a few competing origin stories about how the name came to be. One states it was coined by an announcer who thought the drag-racing stock cars looked “funny.” Another (backed by racing historian Leo Levine) gives credit to the head of Mercury’s racing program at the time, Fran Hernandez, who said, “We need to beat those ‘funny’ cars,” again referring to their funny-looking appearance.
They weren’t initially called “funny cars” at all. Some of the first ones were Hemi Dodges from the ’60s, while others were stock late-model two-door muscle cars or even factory experimental cars (including Pontiac’s excellent “Swiss Cheese” Catalina). They were stripped down, had their wheelbases made shorter, and equipped with lightweight parts and massive engines.
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While the first ones started racing around 1964, they weren’t officially integrated into the NHRA until 1969. Their “funny” style would later evolve into the long, wedge-shaped flame-throwing beasts with the flip-open body we know today.
