Tag Archives: Wayne Gapp

Racing

National Dragster – April 12, 1974

Gapp’s 8.78 Good For Maple Grove Triumph

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MAPLE GROVE DRAGWAY, Reading, PA – In a super close match race duel, Wayne Gapp just did nip Bill Jenkins two straight with Maple Grove record runs of 8.78 and 8.88. “The Grump” hit second best times of 8.88 and 8.87 to make things really tight.

MAPLE GROVE DRAGWAY, Reading, PA – Maple Grove Dragway braved predictions for blustery, cold winds and possible snowfall and opened it gates to a surprisingly large turnout of fans and racers alike. Highlighting the event was the best-of-three go between Winternationals Pro Stock finalists Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins and Wayne Gapp.

The somewhat sparse grandstands became jam packed as many of the fans gave up the heated comfort of their cars for a look at Jenkins’ all-new 1974 Vega and the World Finals winning Pinto of Gapp. Following the usual burn-out rituals. Jenkins and Gapp staged up for their first round encounter. Jenkins seemed to grab a slight early advantage, but Gapp overpowered the Vega nearing the finish for a record 8.78, 152.58 to 8.88, 152.54 round win. In the second and final round, Gapp parlayed a hole shot into victory despite losing an engine near the finish line. Gapp’s 8.88, 147.54 held off Jenkins’ fast-closing 8.87, 152.54. It should be noted that both cars were about 200 pounds lighter than legal weight.

Racing

Wayne Gapp – On High Speed Handling

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This comes from one of the NHRA event guides

Wayne Gapp

High Speed Handling…

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“One must be especially careful when piloting a short-wheelbase machine of 100″ or less. You have to have a lot of respect for them since everything happens so fast. The biggest problem is overcorrection, so the #1 recommendation for a driver who is starting to get a bit out of shape is to almost do nothing. You almost have to act by instinct, since you just don’t have time to think of what you are going to do and then do it. On a bigger car, like the Maverick or a Camaro, you can get by with lifting off the gas a bit, correcting, and then stabbing the throttle again, but that’s impossible with small car. If you do get out of shape, you must first forget trying to continue the run, since you’re going to get a bad time anyway, and you should never turn the wheel more than 2 degrees.”

“If you are crooked when you come off the starting line, the main thing is not to make your shift to second gear at the normal time, since that is when you would get the maximum jolt to the tires, making your situation worse. Another thing to try is over-winding past the normal shift point, which would also kill the power somewhat, as the front tires are likely back on the ground at this point and you might have more luck in making some kind of correction.”

“Handling problems don’t necessarily end at the finish line. On any good run around 154 mph or more, I’ll always try to stop very slowly, using the brakes as gently as possible until I get below 100 mph, and then I’ll start to hit the brakes harder. You never want to even come close to having them locked up at over 100 mph, since you’d never have a chance to correct the car if it ran over an oil slick. If you blow an engine, the primary thing is not to use the brakes at all, or at least until you have pulled the chute, and then use them only very gently.”

“Big cars are much easier to drive, but many experienced drivers have trouble when they go to the little cars since they think they can drive them the same way. Anyone can make a good run in them when everything is right, but it takes a lot of experience, gained through careful practice, to know how to react when something goes wrong.”

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Racing

Gapp Blasts 9.70 for Indy Pro Stock Win

Gapp Blasts 9.70 for Indy Pro Stock Win
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INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK, Indiana – Gapp and Roush’s “Shotgun Express” Maverick had the Indy Pro Stock field covered, as Wayne Gapp clicked off times of 9.75, 9.76 and finally 9.82, 140.40 mph for the title. His 9.82 in the final round edged Greg Brenneman’s Duster.
– Photo by Jim Campbell

This image is probably from 1971…

Racing

NHRA National Event results – 1976

This is the list of the NHRA National events for 1976. In particular 1st and 2nd place in Pro Stock.

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This is the same list of results from NHRA.com except that the this list is in order from top to bottom (i.e. the first event of the year is first rather than NHRA’s listing which is last event first).

The source for this list is here.

NHRA Event winner list – Pro Stock: 1976

CLASS WINNER RUNNER UP
WINTERNATIONALS

Pro Stock Bob Glidden Wayne Gapp
GATORNATIONALS

Pro Stock Larry Lombardo Warren Johnson
SPRINGNATIONALS

Pro Stock Wally Booth Warren Johnson
SUMMERNATIONALS

Pro Stock Larry Lombardo Andy Mannarino
GRANDNATIONAL

Pro Stock Larry Lombardo Wally Booth
U.S. NATIONALS

Pro Stock Wally Booth Frank Iaconio
FALLNATIONALS

Pro Stock Wally Booth Warren Johnson
WORLD FINALS

Pro Stock Wally Booth Dave Kanners

Racing

Gapp, Garlits And Nicholson Top ’73 Professional Winners

Gapp, Garlits And Nicholson Top ’73 Professional Winners

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1973’s TOP PROFESSIONALS – Wayne Gapp, Don Garlits and Don Nicholson were the biggest winners of 1973 in the Professional ranks, with Ford Pro Stock driver Wayne Gapp (left) leading the way with wins at the World Finals and Supernationals, along with runner-up performances at the Gatornationals and U.S. Nationals. Garlits took the Winternationals and Supernationals, as well as finishing second at the Springnationals, while Nicholson utilized an early season hot streak to take the Winternationals and Gatornationals.

Ford Pro Stock campaigner Wayne Gapp, with 2 wins and 2 runner-up performances this past year, was 1973’s most successful racer in National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock competition. Right behind Gapp’s heels in the close ratings were Top Fuel driver Don Garlits, with 2 wins and 1 runner-up, and Don Nicholson, who had scored 2 victories and no runner-ups.

The 1973 season, with no one professional racer able to produce more than 2 victories, compares contrastingly to the past two years in NHRA professional competition, which saw Ronnie Sox score 6 wins in 1971 and Bill Jenkins matching the feat in 1972.

There were no double winners in Funny Car at all this year, and aside from Garlits’ 2 wins, the same stands for the Top Fuel ranks.

For Gapp, the season started in frustration, losing the Gatornationals final round to Nicholson’s hole-shot, 9.040 to a 9.039, and then dropping the U.S. Nationals run-off to Bob Glidden by one-hundreth of a second, 9.08 to 9.09. He came on strong at the World Finals however, blasting Bill Jenkins’ 9.34 effort with a 9.17, and then got even with Glidden at the Supernationals, 8.87 to an 8.96.