Jack Chrisman
| Jack Chrisman | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | May 5, 1928 Grove, Oklahoma |
| Retired | 1972 |
| Related to | uncle of Art Chrisman and Lloyd Chrisman |
| NHRA | |
| Years active | 1953 - 1972 |
| Teams | self-owned, Mickey Thompson, Howard Cams and Chuck Jones |
| Best finish | 1st in 1961 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1961 NHRA Top Eliminator (Top Gas) | |
| Awards | |
| ranked 23rd on NHRA's Top 50 drivers (2001) | |
Jack Chrisman (May 5, 1928 — August 17, 1989) was an American drag racer. He was a drag racing pioneer and 1961 champion. He was influential in the formation of the Funny Car class, as he introduced the first blown injected nitro-burning Funny Car. The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) ranked Chrisman 23rd on their Top 50 drivers in 2001.
Chrisman was born the youngest of 13 children in Grove, Oklahoma. The family moved to Southern California to escape the Dust Bowl.
Chrisman began drag racing in 1953 when he raced a 1929 Model A. He switched to a Chrysler car, continuing to race at Southern California such as Lions, Pomona, San Fernando, Santa Ana, and Saugus. He purchased the Purple Car from Ed Lusinski, and used the car to win drag races at many of these tracks. He started racing Top Fuel for Pat Akins. Masters & Richter flew Chrisman to the Bay area to race in their Top Fuel dragster.
In 1959 he started racing in Chuck Jones Sidewinder dragster. The car, wrenched by Joe Maillard, had its motor mounded sideways. It was shorter than the 100-inch (254 cm) common at that time. The car consistently recorded 9.0 second elapsed times (e.t.) at 160 miles per hour (260 km/h), which typically defeated local competition.
In late 1960, he moved to Howard Johansen's team. He raced the Howard Cam Twin Bears gas dragster, which featured two side-mounted engines. In 1961, he used the car for the first 8-second run in NHRA national event history, when his 8.99 second pass beat Dick Rea in the Top Eliminator (Top Gas) final at the first Winternationals. That summer he drove to a 8.78 e.t. at Caddo Mills, Texas, which was the lowest e.t. of the year. Chrisman won the 1961 World Championship after winning in national, regional, and divisional meets throughout the United States.
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