This is Harry “Hand Grenade” Hibler in Mike Butler’s Top Fuel dragster at the 1971 March Meet at Famoso. Harry ran San Fernando Drag Strip for years in the late-1950s until it closed in 1966, as well as running HOT ROD Magazine as its illustrious publisher all through the 1980s and up to 1996. The Hand Grenade moniker was from his reputation for never lifting, tending to blow stuff up. A lot. Harry was the previous year’s runner-up at the 1970 March Meet, losing to best friend Tony Nancy in the final. This dragster ran an Ed Pink cast-iron, 426ci Chrysler on 95-percent nitro. Butler owned the car and wrenched, while actor Lloyd Haynes supplied some dough to keep the operation afloat. Doug Fisher, who crewed on a number of successful Top Fuel cars, is leaning over the blower. Behind Fisher is Dave Bono, who crewed the entire time Hibler drove, which lasted two years. A well-circulated photo of this car in the middle of a massive blower explosion with the blower launched as high as the grandstands lends credence to Harry’s nickname. Hibler says, “Like most teams in those days, the operation was funded mainly out of Mike’s pocket with enough sponsor money to help buy quality new parts—not the junk ones.” They ran a best of 5.90 and 236-plus mph. This was the last season front-engine dragsters dominated Top Fuel.
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