Dale Armstrong facts for kids
Dale Armstrong (born 1941 – died November 28, 2014) was a talented Canadian drag racer and a brilliant crew chief. In the 1970s, he won many races, including 12 events in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and 12 in the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). He even won the Pro Comp championship in 1975. Later, he became the crew chief for Kenny Bernstein, a famous drag racer. Together, they won five national championships: four in a row in Funny Car (from 1985 to 1988) and one in Top Fuel. Armstrong helped Bernstein become the first driver to reach over 300 miles per hour in a dragster. Dale Armstrong is honored in many halls of fame for his amazing career. He passed away at age 73 in California.
A Racing Career Takes Off
Dale Armstrong was born in Holden, Alberta, Canada, in 1941. When he was 14, he bought his first car, a 1936 Ford Coupe, for just five dollars. In 1957, he started drag racing this car at an airport near Calgary. He worked hard to make his car faster, even taking out the back seat to make it lighter!
Dale quickly became known for being great at fixing cars. Soon, people lined up at his family's garage for his help. He began racing in the NHRA's Northwest division with a Chevrolet Z-11. His car could complete a quarter-mile race in about 11 seconds, reaching speeds of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h).
In 1965, Dale moved to Southern California, where he could race almost every night. He raced a Chevrolet II and later turned it into a Funny Car. He called himself "The Canuck" (a nickname for Canadians). His Funny Car was so unique that it appeared on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine in 1966. This powerful car, with its supercharger, could run races in under 9 seconds.
Dale continued racing different cars, including a Chevrolet Camaro and other Funny Cars. In 1974, he joined Ken Veney's team and won his first A/Fuel event. He also won the AA/Altered U.S. Nationals that year. In 1975, he won the Pro Comp championship, including major wins at the U.S. Nationals and Worlds. He kept racing in Pro Comp for three more years, winning eight more national events. In 1976, he won seven out of nine IHRA Pro Comp National events and the championship.
In 1980 and 1981, Dale raced in the Funny Car class. He even set a national record with a 5.891-second pass in a Dodge Omni. However, he had two accidents in 1981. One fiery crash at 240 miles per hour (390 km/h) convinced him it was time to stop driving. He said, "It told me it was time to get out of driving."
Becoming a Top Crew Chief
After stopping his driving career, Dale Armstrong joined Kenny Bernstein's team as his crew chief in 1982. A crew chief is like the head mechanic and strategist for a race team. They make sure the car is perfectly tuned and ready to win.
In 1983, Dale took their new Ford Tempo Funny Car to a wind tunnel to make it faster. This testing helped them find ways to improve the car's speed. In 1984, Bernstein's car, tuned by Armstrong, reached an amazing 260.11 miles per hour (418.61 km/h)! Dale also started using an on-board computer to gather data about the car's performance during races.
Their hard work paid off. In 1985, Bernstein won the championship, winning six out of 12 national events. The car, prepared by Armstrong, also set two national records. They continued their winning streak in 1986 and 1987, with Bernstein winning more championships. In 1987, their Buick LeSabre Funny Car made the first 5.3-second run.
In 1988, Bernstein won his fourth straight Funny Car championship, tying a record. In 1989, Bernstein moved to the even faster Top Fuel class, and Armstrong continued as his crew chief.
In 1992, their Top Fuel team won six races, tying a class record. Then, in 1993, something historic happened. With a special cylinder head and magneto setup tuned by Armstrong, Kenny Bernstein became the first driver to break the 300 miles per hour barrier! He reached 301.70 miles per hour (485.54 km/h) during qualifying at the Gatornationals.
Dale Armstrong later said about this achievement:
Being the crew chief on the first car to run 300 means more to me than any national event win or any Winston championship. There isn't any question at all. People will forget what years we won the Winston championship, but they'll never forget when the first 300 was run and who did it.
In 1994, Bernstein broke the 310 mph barrier, reaching speeds of over 314 mph! In 1996, Bernstein won the Top Fuel championship, making him the first driver to win championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Dale Armstrong also became one of the few crew chiefs to win titles in both classes.
Dale and Kenny Bernstein worked together for 16 seasons, winning 48 events and five championships. They went their separate ways in 1997. Armstrong then joined Don Prudhomme's team and later Jerry Toliver's team, continuing to make cars go fast.
Cool Innovations
Dale Armstrong was not just a great racer and crew chief; he was also an inventor! He was the first crew chief to test Funny Cars in a wind tunnel. This helped him understand how air flowed around the car to make it faster.
He also came up with other new ideas for dragsters:
- He added data recorders to cars. These recorded information during a race, helping the team understand what was happening.
- He developed a special two-stage clutch system.
- He created a new fuel delivery system that used two sources.
- He also developed dynamometer testing for nitromethane, a powerful fuel used in drag racing.
Some of his ideas were so advanced that they were later not allowed in races. This was because they made cars too fast or too expensive for other teams to keep up. These included a special magneto with three spark plugs per cylinder and a two-speed supercharger.
A Lasting Legacy
Dale Armstrong's contributions to drag racing were huge. He was honored many times for his amazing career:
- In 1995, he was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.
- He was named to Car Craft magazine's All-Star Drag Racing team eleven times.
- In 1997, he received the Ollie lifetime achievement award with Kenny Bernstein.
- In 2001, the NHRA ranked him tenth on their list of the Top Fifty drag racers of all time.
- He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2010.
Dale Armstrong's work as a driver and especially as a crew chief changed drag racing forever.
