Infamous star, car of 1970 U.S. Nationals to lead Cacklefest Friday with unveiling of recreated Top Fueler at DSR Open House for Riley
BROWNSBURG, IN – A special treat has been added for those attending Friday’s Ninth annual Don Schumacher Racing Open House 
in support of Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
Before Jim Nicoll and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme are recognized Friday evening at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis for creating one of the most iconic moments in the 60-year history of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Don Ross will unveil his recreation of the Top Fuel dragster Nicoll drove against Prudhomme in the championship round of the 1970 event.
Nicoll will attend and is expected to start the newly recreated dragster around 1:15 p.m. at the free DSR Open House (1681 E. Northfield Drive, Brownsburg, Ind., 46112) that is about 2 miles from the iconic racetrack.
Memories will abound of when Prudhomme edged Nicolls after the two slingshot dragsters powered down the racetrack and crossed the finish line at more than 225 mph moments before Nicoll’s machine suffered a clutch explosion that split the car in two between the engine and cockpit.
Moments after Prudhomme took the win light, the front of Nicoll’s car slid down the track while the cockpit with Nicoll inside sailed over a guardwall.
After getting out of his car, a distraught and visibly shaken Prudhomme vowed, “I think I’m quitting. Oh my God. I saw that car go by me and I couldn’t believe it. There was no back section on it or nothing. How bad is he?”
Miraculously thanks to NHRA safety specifications Nicoll only suffered minor injuries.
For the past 18 months, Ross (Don Ross Fabricating of Dallas, DonRossFab.com) has built a match to Nicoll’s front-engine Top Fueler for Gage Prichard, a Dallas homebuilder, and the public will first to get to see the immaculate rail when it is unveiled Friday afternoon during the Open House, which is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Nicolls’ car will be among the stars of one of the Open House’s biggest Cacklefests when at least 12 vintage Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars including the restorations of cars once driven by legends “TV” Tommy Ivo and Chris “The Greek” Karamesines. All the cars will fire their nitro engines simultaneously to delight the crowd expected to be around 4,000 when the event pushes DSR’s contributions to Riley Kids to over $270,000 in less than a decade.
