Member Inducted 2006
Dennis Priddle
History
Dennis Priddle is one of the names which immediately springs to
mind when you think of British drag racing's past. Not only did he
race Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars, he also built race cars and
parts for other racers.
His involvement with Drag racing started with a visit to the 1964
Drag Fests and by 1966 he was driving a 500cc Rudge-powered car.
1968 saw him driving the front-engined Keith Black-powered
Tudor Rose. The next two years were spent driving the Top
Competition Reliant GTE called The Whistler before the
début of the new Quarter Master Top Fuel car and the start
of the famous Dennis Priddle v Clive Skilton battles.
1972 saw history made at the Santa Pod Big Go when Dennis powered
his car to the first six-second pass outside the USA, 6.995 was the
time which gave Dennis his now familiar Mr Six
title.
History was again made in 1973 when Dennis and Clive became the
first UK drivers to race on a USA drag strip, at the
Winternationals in Pomona. Dennis unfortunately failed to qualify
but returned to the UK with a state of the art front-engine Top
Fuel car. In October 1973 Dennis débuted an Avenger-bodied Funny
Car.
Dennis continued to race both Funny Cars and Top Fuel Dragsters
including the ex-Garlits King Rat Top Fuel car in which he
set a new speed record of 230 at the 1977 Easter Springnationals.
The same year saw the début of a new Monza Funny Car which Dennis
raced with great success all over Europe, setting records along the
way.
A new rear-engined Top Fuel car was raced in 1980 and again Dennis
continued to be successful across Europe running his first
five-second pass at Santa Pod Raceway in 1982. Television fame came
Dennis' way in 1983 as the Tomorrow's World programme
experimented with a wind tunnel-tested streamliner car without a
rear wing. The car did not handle at all well and Dennis reverted
to the tried and tested rear wing design.
Dennis Priddle, or Mr Six as he will aways be known, is a very
worthy member to the Hall of Fame. He will mainly be remembered for
the first six-second pass seen outside the USA