| Don Prudhomme | |
|---|---|
Prudhomme in his dragster before a run in 1992 |
|
| Nationality | American/French Creole |
| Born | April 6, 1941 San Fernando, California |
| Retired | 1994 as racer 2010 as owner |
| Funny Car | |
| Years active | 1970's to 1994 (driver) 1970's-2010 as Owner |
| Best finish | 1st (4 times) in 1975-1978 |
| Awards | |
| 2000 | International Motorsports Hall of Fame |
Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme, (born April 6, 1941, San Fernando, California) is an American drag racer.
Contents |
In 1962, Prudhomme was a partner in the Greer-Black-Prudhomme digger, which earned the best win record in NHRA history, before switching to Funny Car. He would win the NHRA FC championship four times in his thirty-five-year career. He was the first Funny Car driver to exceed 250 mph (400 km/h). He retired in 1994 to manage his own racing team. With driver Larry Dixon, Prudhomme's team won the Top Fuel championship in 2002 and 2003. In 2009, Dixon signed to drive the Al-Anabi Top Fuel Dragster, and Spencer Massey took over Prudhomme's car. At the end of the 2009 racing season, sponsorship went away and Prudhomme retired from active racing. Prudhomme was known for his yellow 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in which he raced rival driver Tom McEwen in his red 1970 Plymouth Duster, named Mongoose. Both drivers gained wider public attention from Mattel's "Hot Wheels" toy versions of the cars that were released in 1970. Hot Wheels celebrated their 35th anniversary in 2005 with a two day event.
Don suffers from claustrophobia, and has, since before he began his racing career.