“Dyno Don” Nicholson had raced a very successful series of Stock, Super Stock, and A/FX cars through the late ‘50s and ‘60s. Don’s nickname, “Dyno Don” came from his days of doing “dyno tuning” for hot street cars and drag racers.

Don had been racing Chevys for years, but when a sweet $$$ deal came along from Ford, he just couldn’t pass it over. Ford was spending a fortune of racing through the ‘60s and wanted to make a splash in drag racing. The A/FX cars were on the verge of a breakthrough when Ford decided to go to the next level with a complete tube frame chassis and a one piece body that was hinged at the rear.

Dyno Don’s “flip-top” Mercury was THE Funny Car to beat in ‘67. One story has it that the first time Ronnie Sox saw Don’s new funny car he said, “Did you know this thing was going to be like this?”

The Eliminator I came to a spectacular end at Cecil County Drag-O-Way while blasting through the lights at the end of the track. The belly pan accidentally dropped down forming a reverse spoiler. The car shot straight up into the air and crashed!.

Don was back in ‘68 with a Cougar bodied car that ended in a fiery crash. That was the end of Don’s nitro-burning drag cars. The following year he was into heads-up Super Stock racing and then Pro Stock.