The "Rakers" Fuel Dragster

By Steve Gibbs

The Rakers Top Fuel car at San Gabriel. Photo by Steve Gibbs

This is a shot of the ill-fated "Rakers" top fuel car from Long Beach. I don't know who is in the car for this particular photo, as Jerry Jackson and Bruce Woodcock alternated driving chores. It wasn't long after this that Woodcock was killed, driving the car into a light fixture generator near the finish line.

At the far left, you can see Ronnie Rapp walking toward the starting line. The guy in the white shirt and dark pants, holding his ears, is track owner Jack Tice (no relation to AHRA's Jim Tice), and the starter, looking over his shoulder at the car, is Richard Southern... brother of Gary Southern.