That piece of advice was offered among the various calls I recently made to managers, team owners, and even a few drivers who know the financial landscape they play within each season. He has also been inducted into the SEMA and Hot Rod Magazine Halls of Fame.A message to aspiring professional drivers from a prominent driver manager: “If you want to be a race car driver, don’t do it for money!” Since his retirement, Prudhomme has been named one of the 100 Most Influential people in the high-performance industry. In 1997, he added a Funny Car team with Ron Capps driving and he now has strong entries in both. Prudhomme continued his own Top Fuel team with new driver Larry Dixon after his “Final Strike” farewell in 1994. At the age of 51, he became the third Top Fuel driver to surpass the 300 mph mark. Nationals and Winternationals in the same season.

In 1965, he was the first driver to win both the U.S. Prudhomme became the first NHRA Winston World Champion in 1975 when he won an amazing seven of eight national events. In 1982, he became the first Funny Car driver to break the 250 mph barrier and in 1989, he was the first to post a run of less than 5.20 seconds. He became the first driver to win four consecutive (1975-1978) Winston Series titles and he won the U.S. Throughout his career, Prudhomme has broken several barriers in drag racing. “The Snake” won 389 of 589 rounds of competition overall for an outstanding. He won 35 of 45 Funny Car finals and 14 of 23 Top Fuel finals. Prudhomme reached the finals 68 times in his career. His 32-year-career made it possible for him to win races in four different decades and become fourth on NHRA’s all-time list of wins.

In 1962, Prudhomme first made his mark in motorsports when he won the Top Fuel class at “Smokers March Meet” in Bakersfield, California.ĭuring the next 30 years, Prudhomme won titles in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes and took victories in 49 career events. Don “The Snake” Prudhomme is recognized as one of the greatest drag racers of all time.

Professional drag car racer perdone