Pat Minick, part of the drag racing triumvirate of Farkonas, Coil and Minick; has died. Fondly remembered as the shoe for the popular Chi-Town Hustler Funny Car in its early incarnation, the trio was a terror on the match race circuit in the 1960s and 1970s. Says Austin Coil, the Hustler’s tuner who would go on the become John Force’s crew chief for years, “Minick’s skill behind the wheel was critical to the Hustler’s success. Other teams were making plenty of horsepower with Black and Pink motors, but the teams were running those motors detuned to get the car down the track without smoking the tires or breaking parts. Minick could manage big horsepower with his foot. He controlled the throttle flawlessly at a time when most drivers were simply planting it on the floor and hoping for the best.” Minick’s long, smoky burnouts became a staple of Funny Car staging.
He retired from driving in 1971, but remained a part of the Chi-Town team through 1990, helping to win back-to-back NHRA Funny Car championships in 1982 and 1983 with driver Frank Hawley. Starting his career in a dragster, he shifted over to Super Stockers in the early 1960s. After teaming with Coil they fielded a 1967 Barracuda Funny Car built by Farkonas in his mother’s two-car garage. Avoiding national events to instead take advantage of the lucrative match race scene, they were winning races and making lots of dough. Following the ‘Cuda with another home-brewed Funny—this time a 1969 Charger, the car was known for its smoky burnouts Minick did from a standing start as opposed to the standard rolling start, launching the Charger to half-track in a bellow of smoke and noise. So popular was the Chi-Town car the team was booked for over 100 match races a year at their height. Known for taking their parts to the limit, the team was one of the first to start between-round engine teardowns. With Minick handling bookings and budgets, Minick’s son Wayne went on to become driver of the Hustler from 1985-1990, when Minick Sr. retired from racing. Minick would eventually purchase the remnants of the Chi-Town Charger in the early 2000s, restoring it to its former glory days, to forever remind drag racing enthusiasts of one of the most popular and competitive names in drag racing.
The post Pat Minick, Driver of Chi-Town Hustler Fame Has Died appeared first on Hot Rod Network.