Ronny Young’s Tribute to the Great One

THE BLUE MAX IS EASILY ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AND FAMOUS FLOPPERS OF THE ’70S AND ’80S. The name and car are so recognizable that when the Nostalgia Funny Car movement started there were at least two or three unauthorized Blue Max clones. There was also a Chi-Town Hustler, a Stardust ’Cuda and several Jungle Jim Chevys. In most cases, the cars were clones of the original, and the drivers often had no connection to the famous name on the side of the car.

The Chi-Town Hustler and Ronny Young’s Blue Max teams are the exceptions. Texas native Young drove the car in 1988-89 and was the last driver Raymond Beadle installed in the original Blue Max.

When Young decided he wanted to get involved in the Nostalgia Funny Car movement, he got permission from Beadle, found a period-correct chassis and the original Blue Max tractor and trailer, and assembled a race program using many original Blue Max parts and pieces. He built a true Nostalgia Funny Car.

Young raced the Blue Max across the nation at IHRA events and the now-defunct Dragracingonline.com Challenge series. But because of the car’s genuine old-school chassis, the team found it difficult to be competitive with the best of the current Nostalgia Funny Car racers, most of whom campaigned state-of-the-art, purpose-built race cars.

A couple of years ago, Young decided that if he was going to make his Max as competitive as it was back in the day, he would have to join the crowd and build a new ride. Once the decision was made to construct a new-old Blue Max, he had to decide on which of the many Ford, Chrysler and Pontiac bodies the race car carried in its storied career.

“I decided to go with the ’79 Omni body for a couple of reasons,” Young explained, “Raymond always liked that body style best, and it was way more aerodynamic than our other body. I also chose that body because I have always been careful to keep the car faithful to the original—down to using the original paint colors and scheme and the correct sponsor decals.”

Once Young had settled on the body style, he turned his attention to getting some new pipe. The chassis he was using was built in 1985 by Tony Caserez for Beadle and was, especially the cage, a little tight for Young. He chose Ty Baumgartner in Hallsville, Missouri, to do the job. Baumgartner is known for his attention to detail and quality work.

The new chassis is state-of-the-art, featuring a cage that the burly Texan can be comfortable sitting in. Young also had Baumgartner change the engine location, moving it further “out” and lower in the new chassis than it was in the 1985 edition.

Why did Young spend his time and money to reboot the Blue Max brand? “I was raised in Texas around my heroes, like Raymond, ‘Big’ Mike Burkhart and the Carrol Bros. Owning the original Blue Max semi and cars is something I would never have thought possible.

“I’m going to try to keep Raymond Beadle’s legacy alive. The Blue Max is a part of drag racing history that truly needs to be carried on. I’m very fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time,” Young said.

Nostalgia Funny Car fans are also fortunate. Young debuted the new car recently at San Antonio Raceway’s IHRA Texas Nationals. The team had new-car issues, which are being addressed, but the Nostalgia fans didn’t care. It was the Blue Max and that was enough for them.

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 TECH SHEET

Driver: Ronny Young

Tuner: Dennis Piranio

Crew: Arron Morrow, Roband Gyneice Ragland

Body: 1979 Dodge Omniby Charles Ware

Paint: Arron Morrow, Caddo Mills, TX

Chassis: 2016 125-inch wheelbase by Ty Baumgartner

Engine: 413-ci Hemi

Engine Components: Brad Anderson aluminumblock, AJPEheads, Sonny Bryant crankshaft, Bullet camshaft, Venolia rods, Trick Titanium valves, Mantonvalve springs, Morosooil panand Championplugs

Oil: Amalie

Blower: 6-71 by Littlefield

Clutch: Crower

Mag: Mallory

Plug Wire: Moroso

Fuel Pump: 21-gallon Aeromotive

Data Logger: Racepak

Rearend/Brakes: Strange Engineering

Tires: Goodyear

Wheels: Sanders

Rear Gears: Richmond

Trans: Lenco

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