These collectible drag racing images are 8 inch by 10 inch RC silver prints picturing the famous "TV" Tommy Ivo and some of his wild drag racing machines.

These low resolution images don't do the prints justice. Each 8" by 10" RC Silver Print, hand crafted and signed by the artist, is very reasonably priced at $29.95 plus $5.00 I/S/H. Ordering more than one print equals discounts.

Scroll down for historical details and click on the images for enlargements.

Enjoy

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#314: 1969 Top Fuel: "TV" Tommy Ivo - Burnout

Front engine Top Fuel fans: This offering is a 8 inch by 10 inch RC Silver Print picturing of the famous T. V. Tommy Ivo heating the tires on his 1969 front engine Nitro burning Top Fueler. It was was captured at Thompson Drag Raceway, Thompson, Ohio in may, 1969. This is a 1969, state of the art top fueler owned and driven by one of the greatest Hot Rodders of all time: T.V. Tommy Ivo. In addition to his many TV appearances and fantastic hot rods, Tommy was a match race monster, touring the country for many years and always putting on a great show. Here we see the beginning of a long burnout.

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An extremely cropped variation from the negative above.

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Front engine Top Fuel fans: This offering is a 8 inch by 10 inch RC Silver Print picturing of the famous T. V. Tommy Ivo heating the tires on his full bodied 1969 front engined Nitro burning dragster. The close up image was captured at Thompson Drag Raceway, Thompson, Ohio on Sept. 20, 1969. The hand crafted print is titled and signed by the artist in black ink. This low resolution Net image doesn't do the print justice (great details).

The match race of the evening featured Ron Potter's "Golden Nugget" Top Fueler against this car. Ivo won two out of three races. Here we see the beginning of a long burnout, tires spinning hard as the car slides passed the camera, throttle barely cracked. The engine was a cast iron Dodge Hemi. Notice the simplicity of the fuel delivery system, just one small line to the injectors and one return line. Wow, things have really changed in 30 years but the idea is the same....get to the finishline first.

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This very dangerous crowd pleasing spectacle (the match racing fire burnout) was popular in the late 60's and early 70's but was eventually banned as it proved too dangerous. Coordination between the driver and crew was critical. As the engine was running, a crew member would pour a flammable liquid under the rear tires and then ignite the brew. The driver would hesitate slightly and then burnout (literally) creating volumes of ear splitting noise, fire and smoke. The drag racing fans went nuts!

The dramatic 1970 night image was captured at Thompson Drag Raceway (Thompson, Ohio) on Sept. 12, 1970. In this first fire burnout photograph we see the tires spinning hard in the fire (note tire growth) but the action was stopped just before the tire smoke began! Wow.... great timing!

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This hot image was captured at Thompson Drag Raceway (Thompson, Ohio) on Sept. 11, 1971. This was almost exactly a year after the first Ivo fire burnout was created. In this second photograph (as in the 1970 image) the tires are spinning hard in the fire but the action was stopped just before the tire smoke began! Wow.... great timing, two years in a row!

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Funny Car fans: In August, 1976, Dragway 42 hosted a AHRA summer event featuring a bunch of top quality Floppers. This offering is an 8 inch by 10 inch RC Silver Print picturing the legendary T.V. Tommy Ivo heating the slicks on his new patriotic Funny Car which celabrated our country's 200th birthday. This low resolution Net image doesn't do the print justice (extremely sharp). Tommy Ivo is a living Drag Racing Icon. The T.V. and movie actor always had a flair for the unusual, creating all kinds of "Out There" vehicles. This car is no exception. It's "Way" funny, almost having the look of an old AA/CC or A/FX car!

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