Not many folks get a win at NHRA’s U.S. Nationals. It is considered THE race of the year.
This is from the July 25th 1975 Issue of National Dragster. See the original entry here.
Pro Stock
Of all the evening’s winners, few enjoyed the ceremonies more than Wayne Gapp, the man who has been a frontrunner all year, but seemingly had some trouble with coming through in the final rounds. After losing the Winternationals to Bob Glidden on a holeshot and then fouling to Glidden in the Gatornationals final, Gapp admittedly had been the subject of criticism within the ranks as for his driving expertise, but the skeptics were silenced at this race as he came through in flying colors via a solid trouncing of Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins (8.80 to an 8.93) to claim the win and stop Jenkins’ own personal three-event winning streak at Summernationals events.
A major factor behind the Gapp & Roush win was their frantic engine change between the second and third rounds. After hitting an 8.96 in the first round, Gapp slowed to 9.03 in the second, and concluded that his engine had “gone south.” The subsequent engine change brought forth a resounding 8.84 in the semi’s, setting the stage for his 8.80 thrashing of “the Grump.” The 8.80 was, of course, Low E.T. of the Meet and also a new National Record. Jenkins did have the consolation of setting Top Speed with a clocking of 154.90 mph.
