Drag racing promoter extraordinaire, Bill Doner, passed away earlier this week at the age of 80. A PT Barnum of drag racing, the guy basically invented the 64-car funny car shows of 1970s at OCIR and other West Coast tracks. RIP sir...

The SIR 64 Funny Car shows were crazy. I had the chance to be out on the track when they did the intros. All those cars with the bodies up was a very cool sight.