1
Hello, everybody.
I'm Dave McClelland,
and welcome to the 24th annual
NHRA U.S. Nationals
at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
A lot of stories have developed
at the U.S. Nationals
through four full
days of qualifying.
This is one of the longest rivalries
in drag-racing history...
three-time world champion
and defending champ
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
of Granada Hills, California,
against his longtime friend
and nemesis,
Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen
of Fountain Valley, California.
Prudhomme got his
nickname "The Snake"
because of his amazingly
quick reflexes
on the starting line.
These two have a history
going back two decades.
They even raced together
in a partnership...
the Wildlife Racing team.
What better than when you have
a snake and a mongoose
but to team up and
tour the country?
Funny car eliminator, final race.
The classic Snake versus
Mongoose battle once again.
The burnout's complete
and approaching the starting line.
But the race is on the line
for the national championship
in funny car.
Prudhomme in the far lane.
That has been the better lane
in racing this afternoon.
In the near lane, Tom McEwen.
The concentration begins
on that Christmas tree.
Both drivers intently looking
at the electronic starting device.
Working late as usual?
As usual. You know me.
- Are you thirsty?
- Thanks.
You missed the English final today.
Doesn't matter.
I'm done with school.
That's it?
After all the hard work we've done,
you're just going to quit?
What's the point, Lynn?
The only thing
I can really read is cars.
Tommy Ivo asked me
to go on the road with him.
Can you believe that?
I was going to tell you earlier.
Is he going to pay you, Don?
'Cause summer's a longtime
not to earn any money.
Yeah, of course he's gonna pay me.
I'll be working for him.
It's a job.
Wow. So just like that?
Lynn...
I'd be learning from one of the
best drag racers there is.
What would you have me do?
Did you tell your dad yet?
I can't paint cars
for the rest of my damn life.
I know.
So you told him, right?
Look, I'll just be gone
for a couple of months, all right?
So don't go leaving me
for some other Valley stud, huh?
Oh, you're a Valley stud now?
Behind the wheel, I am.
You smoked him pretty good.
You always that fast?
Oh, that was nothing.
Wait till I win the big go.
What's that?
U.S. Nationals,
biggest race of the year.
Hey, you want an autograph?
No, that's okay.
Really?
Well, can I have yours?
Sure.
Nice to meet you, Judy.
- I'm Tom McEwen.
- Pleasure.
Hey, you got a number too?
Um...
yeah.
I heard you work the line
over at Douglas.
Yep, that's true.
I'm very good with my hands.
I heard that too.
We should go for a drive sometime.
You win some more races,
and I'll think about it.
When her motor's warm
And she's purring sweet
Buddy, let me warn you
You're on a one-way street
She'll crowd you close,
spin your wheels
Then you're gonna know
how it feels
To spinout, yeah
Spinout
Better watch those curves
Never let her steer
If she can shake
your nerve, boy
She can strip your gears...
And Prudhomme strikes
again, ladies and gentlemen.
That'll be the 200th win
for the incredible
Greer-Black-Prudhomme team.
Any more of these clowns
get hurt out there,
our insurance is gonna
go through the roof.
Stop your whining, honey.
Well, look who's here.
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme.
Pretty good run there, huh?
The takings are down, Don.
Hard times, man.
I ain't running a charity here.
I'll tell you what.
I'm in a generous mood.
Here's 400 bucks.
Top eliminator gets 500 bucks,
Mr. McWhorter.
I won.
The takes are down, son.
He ain't cheating you.
I'd take the 400 and be thankful.
Take it or leave it.
Oh, what you done to me
My bag's all packed...
- Oh, hi, Daddy.
- Hey, Lynn. Hey.
- Hey, guys.
- How you doing, Judy?
- Hey, Eddie.
- Hey, kiss me for luck, boys.
- And girl.
- Yes.
- All right, wish me luck, guys.
- Good luck.
- See you guys later.
- Good to see you.
- Sit down for a minute.
- Oh, my goodness.
Aw, Judy, your kids are so cute.
Where's baby?
He's at my mom's.
Too loud at the track.
- Oh.
- You and Don going to have one?
Racing comes first in our family.
- Maybe someday.
- I got to go.
- Oh, you got to go.
- Go.
In our house, it's a dead heat
between the kids and the cars.
- Oh.
- Just don't wait too long.
- Come on, Tommy.
- All right.
- We'll see you.
- Good luck.
Ready to lose, Donny?
Losing's your specialty.
You think so?
You sure you want to race, Tommy?
We all know Lions is my track.
All right, Torn.
Starter gives the okay
to Prudhomme and McEwen.
McEwen beats Snake
on the tree with a holeshot.
Torn McEwen beats
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
in a record-setting 6.64 E at a blistering 206 miles an hour.
Oh, this is so much fun!
It's bullshit, Tom,
jumping the gun like that.
Bullshit.
- Oh, my God.
- That's for you, buddy.
- What do you think went wrong?
- What do I think went wrong?
He's reading the damn starter again.
What do you think went wrong?
Hi, Don. How's Lynn?
Well, to be honest, we can't really
afford to lose in my household,
so she's probably
pretty pissed, Ms. Greer.
We all have to lose sometime, Don.
Yeah, not me.
What can I do for you, Thomas?
I sure do love racing.
Had a hell of a run these
last three years, haven't we?
What's with all this "had" shit?
You hanging it up?
Fact is Keith and I aren't making
any money, Don.
You in on this?
We're not winning
most of our races?
You're not making
more engines now than ever?
It's kind of the point...
more money making engines
than racing them.
Now, look,
you've gone practically undefeated
for the last two years,
and the most I can get
out of a sponsor is $1,000.
Now, I love this sport,
but we got to be practical.
How's this for practical?
I practically win
every damn race I line up for.
What, you can't turn
a profit on this car?
So why don't you sell it
to me, Thomas?
You don't have the dough, Don.
Look, Don, you got a gift.
You know how to read an engine
just by listening to it,
but it's not enough.
You need business sense.
You two don't think
good old Don Prudhomme
has the business sense?
I wish you the best of luck.
- I bet you do.
- Bye, Don.
What are we doing later?
- Tommy.
- Yeah?
This was your best race
by far, buddy.
Now all you got to do
is get over there
and collect your money, Mongoose.
Mongoose?
What the hell's a mongoose?
Well, you know,
like in "The Jungle Book."
The mongoose gets the snake.
Oh, hell.
It's a giant rat that eats snakes.
Oh, yeah, a mongoose.
Yeah, I knew that.
- Mongoose. I like it.
- See?
Yeah.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Here, take this, Ed.
- I'm going to go get our money.
- Attaboy, Mongoose.
Hey, Vipe, hear you're looking
for a new ride, huh?
Hmm.
Depends, Roland. What do you got?
I got the same car,
same car, same engine.
I don't know.
You know, my parents, they don't
let me drive another dragster,
'cause I crashed it.
Crashed it. Yeah, I remember.
So I need one new driver, huh?
I supply the car. You drive.
You win.
70-30.
Another deal
with another rich kid.
I could use a drink, Roland.
What do you say?
Okay, brah.
- How about a bonus if I win Indy?
- Hey.
Hey, Mike.
Hello, Tommo.
What can I do for you?
Well, I got a favor to ask you.
Why don't you take a look
at this for me?
"The Mongoose bites the Snake."
- Yeah, yeah. You get it?
- Yes, I do. I like it.
Yeah, yeah, I knew you would.
I knew you could.
All right, cool, Mikey.
I'll see you later.
Ah, thanks.
"The Mongoose bites the Snake."
Mongoose.
The Mongoose bites the Snake.
Gotta go, baby
Think yourself...
The Mongoose bites the Snake,
and the Snake bites him back.
Chevy. Your mom's
got good taste, huh?
She does.
That thing work better
than a handkerchief?
Helps keeping the paint fumes
from making me sick.
- But now you're here.
- Right.
- Hey, you want to grab a bite?
- Nope.
I'm working, Torn.
- Yeah, I can see that.
- Yeah.
You seen this?
You dig it?
There's really no need for all that
running off at the mouth, is there?
Now pay no mind to it.
It's just publicity.
No, don't get paint on it, dummy.
You think all this Mongoose
and Snake nonsense
is going to make any difference?
Not on the track, it won't,
but it might make us some dough.
Yeah, well, I say
let the cars do the talking.
Well, every time
they open their mouths,
it costs money, Don.
That's why we have sponsors, right?
Well, there's got to be
a lot more to it
than ma-and-pa gas stations
and a bunch of free parts here.
Well, I barely have enough time
to work on my car as it is.
I'm not going to go running
around, chasing down sponsors.
The way I see it is you got
to make the time, Don.
I win races.
Winning the money will follow.
Well, if it's that simple,
you got nothing
to worry about, partner.
Have a nice night in your shop.
Doing all right
Doing all right...
Hey. Yeah, Shelly.
Kelly.
Hey, Ed. Oh, all right. Hey, guys.
Glad you guys are here.
Thanks for coming out, huh?
Going to be a good day.
There you go.
I like that shirt.
Hey, all right. Thanks, Phil.
- Genius.
- Right?
Don't have much time for
a new paint job, do you, 'Goose?
Oh, this?
It does a great job
blocking nitro fumes.
- Let me see that.
- Nope.
Got to go, buddy.
And that's Tom "Mongoose" McEwen
out of the U.S. Nationals.
Tommy Ivo stays in there
all the way to win.
Now he'll need...
What the hell happened?
...Don Prudhomme,
the Top Fuel eliminator
at WinterNalionals in the finals.
You'll get him next time, buddy.
Yeah, whatever.
Well, I guess this is your chance
to go head-to-head with Ivo,
the celebrity.
Working for him was a nightmare.
Hey, revenge is a dish
best served with a cold, huh?
You don't mind
if I steal this, do you?
No, sure. Help yourself.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this year's final pits Prudhomme
against his former mentor,
"TV" Tommy Ivo.
She's winding up
and letting it fly
Over the line in the
blink of an eye...
Prudhomme gets the jump
this time and really lets it out,
hitting 207.33 miles per hour
in 7.5 seconds.
What a finish!
Don Prudhomme, Top Fuel eliminator
at the WinterNationals
and now at the Nationals,
is truly the Top Fuel
eliminator in the nation.
Ladies and gentlemen...
You want to take a picture
of me and my husband?
- Sure thing, Ms. Prudhomme.
- ...and his lovely wife Lynn.
Let's give him a well-deserved
round of applause.
One, two...
- Whoo!
- Three, four!
I just want to celebrate
Another day of living
I just want to celebrate
Another day of life
Put my faith in the people
But the people let me down
So I turn the other way
And I carry on anyhow
That's why I'm telling you
I just want to celebrate,
yeah, yeah
Another day of living
- Yeah
- I just want to celebrate
Another day of life
Had my hand on the dollar bill
And the dollar
bill blew away...
But the sun is shining
down on me
And it's hereto stay
That's why I'm telling you
I just want to celebrate
Yeah, yeah,
another day of living
Yeah
I just want to celebrate
Another day of living
Yeah, I just want to celebrate
Another day of life
Don't let it all
Get you down, no, no,
don't let it turn you around
Round and around and around...
That's the funniest-looking
Barracuda I ever saw.
Look where the wheels are.
Yeah, that's why
they call 'em funny cars.
Mongoose, can I have
your autograph?
- Yeah, me too.
- Oh, my God, that's Mongoose.
Yeah, of course you guys can.
There you are. There you are.
All right, you tell your friends
to cheer for the Mongoose now.
- Bye.
- Bye.
See you.
Hoo! Almost like you're invisible.
U.S. Nationals champion,
you've been in magazines.
- The fans just walk on by.
- Yeah, yeah.
You got to do some P.R., baby.
No, that's your thing.
It's not my thing.
Count the number
of Mongoose Ts out there
compared to the number of Snake Ts.
Snake Ts are for crew.
That's different.
Exactly. All three of 'em?
Oh, there must be 100
Mongoose shirts out there.
I know. I drank way too much.
Oh, my God, you're human.
- Very funny.
- Huh.
You still hell-bent on driving
this suicide machine, huh?
Pick your poison.
Better get used to it too,
'cause the crowd loves funny cars,
ergo sponsors love 'em.
"Ergo"? What the hell's an ergo?
Um, it's in "The Jungle Book."
How you doing?
Oh, I like that T-shirt.
Look at that.
We're finally here, folks,
the last race of this glorious
event at Famoso Raceway.
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
beats Gary Ritter
with a 6.92, 229-mile-an-hour run.
Prudhomme is our top eliminator.
I'll never understand why you
starve yourself out there all day.
Too much work to do.
I'm way too nervous for that.
Okay, what is going on
with you today?
Nothing.
Just looking at Judy and her boys
and all those kids at the track.
Babe, come on.
It's fine.
I was just saying I know
you're going to be a great mom,
all right, but we got to think
about the big picture here.
My gig is dangerous,
and you know that,
so what if something
happens to me, you know?
A lot of drivers
have families, Don.
I don't want to miss out
on that with you
because we're afraid of something
that might not happen.
Yeah, well, having a kid
costs money.
- I know that.
- All right? We have no idea.
So let's get an idea.
Tom is always coming up
with a way to make some money.
Maybe it's time
that we heard him out,
took him seriously for a change.
He changed his name
to Mongoose, for Christ's sakes.
I mean, I don't know.
You're part of this
whether you like it or not,
so we might as well see
if we can make some money with it.
Mongoose and Snake.
Don, it's pretty catchy.
If it's that important to you,
I'll track him down
and see what he's got cooking.
That's all I'm asking.
You start showboating
on me, I swear...
Okay.
Will you just stop
being a grumpy old man?
Give me a kiss.
- Can I have a bite of that?
- No.
I'll get you another one.
What is it you always say, Ed?
Leave first, don't redline,
don't freewheel,
don't cross over the center line,
and don't lift.
- Damn straight.
- My point exactly.
All right.
Rack 'em up, Mike.
Got to read the starter, man.
He'll have certain gestures, tics,
preferences in the way
he moves that'll give it away,
and then he wraps it up,
puts a bow on it,
and hands me a single
1/100 of a second.
I swear, every time I race
that track, it's my birthday.
- Hey there, Donny.
- Hey, Donny.
- Fellas.
- Well, well, well.
Don Prudhomme.
To what do we owe this great honor?
Talk to you a second?
I'm sorry.
I couldn't really hear you.
Did you say that the Snake
wanted to talk to me?
Forget it. Enjoy your game.
No, no. Come on.
Now don't be a baby.
Come on.
Guys, can you give me a moment
with the Snake, please?
- Sure. Nice going, Mike.
- You got it.
Well, you were right, Torn.
I usually am.
What about this time?
Even when I win, I lose.
That's true.
So...
...how are we going to make
some serious money at this?
Serious money?
Truth is we could race
up and down the country
till we're blue in the face,
thousands of fans
swamping the track,
but until we get a piece
of the gate receipts...
well, we might as well be playing
to an empty house.
I mean, you're making
a living, right?
You know damn well 500 bucks
a month ain't a living, Tom.
Just me out there.
I don't have Mommy to help me out.
Oh, hey, now, we all got to use
what we got, Donny.
Is there any money
in this Snake-and-Mongoose thing
you keep talking about?
Well, you got to work together
with me on that, Donny.
I mean, that takes time and effort
on and off the track
to make an idea like that go.
Well, you see, the truth is
fast food makes more money
than fast cars.
What the hell does that mean?
You been talking in riddles
the whole time?
Without the burger, you wouldn't
need the arches, right?
But without the arches,
it'd just be another hamburger.
So I'm the hamburger
and you're the arches.
Uh...
well, no, that's not exactly right,
- but...
- I got it. I got it.
No, no, Don,
it's like I've been saying,
all right, you've got
to think big to make it big.
What, you and me like a team?
No way, brother.
No, no, no, no.
Match races, all right?
You versus me like always,
except this time,
we take it on tour.
All right,
we get to call the shots,
not the sponsors,
not the track owners,
the Mongoose and the Snake.
I mean, think about it.
I got 10 tracks already lined up,
willing to pay us a grand
just to show up.
Really? Like who?
Well, like McWhorter
in Bakersfield for example.
That old coot still owes me 100.
Come on,
we do three races, all right,
and then we're down the road
to the next track,
all the way to Dallas.
I mean, in six weeks, we can
make some serious dough.
- You already made a schedule?
- Yeah.
You sure you're not going to get
bored of me beating you every time?
Just look at the schedule, Don.
All right. Hell...
...let's do it.
But it's Snake and Mongoose,
not the other way around.
Hoo! Keep dreaming, brother.
No, of course Snake will be there.
Well, yeah, I know him.
He's here with me.
No, no, it's the Mongoose
and the Snake.
That's the idea.
A mongoose... it's a little
orange cartoon thingy
that bites snakes.
Right. Okay, 750?
Let me check with my partner.
Hey, he says 750.
750? 1,000.
No, no. He'll not take 1,000.
It's a small track, Don.
You tell him 1,000 or nothing.
It's going to have to be 1,000.
Really? Wow.
That's great. That's good.
All right, we'll see
you on the 16th, Jim.
Thanks. Yep.
- Hey, they're really excited about us.
- Told you.
Do you ever miss it?
- The track?
- Mm.
Sometimes.
You know that feeling
when you're out there
and it feels like
you're away from everything,
no worries, no responsibilities?
I miss that.
It's hard on the kids,
Tommy on the road.
He gets home so late,
they rarely see him.
Sometimes I just don't think
I can do it anymore.
What do you mean?
You and Tom are great together.
When we're together, maybe.
But we're never together.
I got three kids and a house.
What I don't have is a husband.
No, thanks.
So, Judy, get someone
to help you out with the kids.
They're going to be
making enough money...
I need a partner.
Someone to go to bed with
and wake up with.
Someone who'll be home
if I need him.
I didn't realize how tough
things have been.
Tom always seems
so on top of everything.
He's just a big kid.
He grew, but...
he never grew up.
You watch your man, Lynn.
Keep him out of trouble.
Daddy's home!
Oh, there he is.
Hey, buddy. How are you?
Mm, good to see you, Jamie.
Hey, pal.
- Aw, come here, you.
- All right, go inside.
- You guys look so great.
- I'll make pancakes for breakfast.
- Hi.
- Ooh, you come here too.
Come on, Dad.
Mm.
More of that.
I'm coming, pal. I'm coming.
Not bad for six weeks on the road.
Still, it'll be nice when
you start back at Douglas.
Yeah, I've been meaning
to talk to you about that.
- You quit, didn't you?
- Now listen.
You cannot support
this family drag racing.
- No, Judy, this is important to me.
- This family needs you, Tom.
And it needs a regular salary.
Hey, Dad!
Ah, come on.
He missed you. We all missed you.
Hey, what you got there, Joey,
more Hot Cars?
Hot Wheels, Dad.
I'll see you later, boys.
- Bye, Mom.
- Bye, Mom.
Hey, now wait a second.
- Hey, now wait one minute.
- Tom, I love the track, okay.
The life, I love it.
It's what brought us together.
But we've got our boys now.
It's different.
- Come on.
- You're good with your hands, right?
So go grab your job back.
Judy.
And Mongoose McEwen
beats the Snake again
with one amazing holeshot.
What's a holeshot?
A holeshot is when one driver
gets off the starting line faster.
- Right, Dad?
- That's right, son.
What, did your grandpa
come visit you guys again?
Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?
Yeah, pretty cool.
Hey, Don.
Damn it, Tom, some of us
still have to work, you know.
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, have you seen these?
These are called Hot Wheels.
Toy cars. That's great.
Now, Mattel makes a lot of money
selling these toy cars.
Die-cast, brother,
that's where the dough is.
And?
Well, remember I said
we have to think big?
Okay, what about a match-race tour,
except this time, we're fully
sponsored by Hot Wheels?
Now, we're talking new cars,
new engines, the lot.
What's a kids' toy company want
with two drag racers, man?
Oh, well, they get to put their
names all over our hot wheels
while we race them
up and down the country,
seen by thousands.
The cool part's this.
They get to sell
these little suckers
with our Mongoose and Snake
cartoons on 'em.
Kids really dig this, Don.
I mean, this is groovy, right?
Okay, man.
Hell, you're the talker.
Talk to 'em.
I already did.
How the hell did you manage that?
My stepfather.
Joe? Joe doesn't
even like you, man.
Yeah, well,
they want to see me again,
with you, the Mongoose and Snake.
That's what this is.
You want Snake to come in
and close the deal for you?
- Okay.
- That's just fine, buddy.
Let's do that. Set it up.
I already did.
I'll pick you up at 9:00
tomorrow morning.
All right, man.
And, Don, wear something sharp.
Still can't believe
you're wearing that.
Shh. Man, I'm cool.
Sometimes you got to show
a little class, Don.
Yeah, you're all class, Tom.
Yes? Can I help you?
Yeah, we're here to see Art Spear.
You must be Mr. McEwen
and Mr. "Produm."
Prudhomme.
Mr. Spear is ready for you.
- Follow me, gentlemen.
- Laugh it up.
Thanks, Betty.
Thank you.
- Nice to see you again, Tom.
- Hey, Art. Hi.
So you must be
the Snake part of the equation.
- Is that right?
- Don Prudhomme.
The Mongoose and Snake...
that's what the fans call us.
Right. Sit down.
Tell me again, Tom.
How can we all work together?
Hot Wheels.
Now, you hype them
as the fastest cars on Earth.
Yes, and we're actually doing
very well with them.
Ah, Larry.
Gentlemen, this is Larry Wood,
our Hot Wheels design guy.
Larry, this is...
- Mongoose and Snake.
- Hey, hey.
You know these guys?
Oh, sure. Sure.
See, what if you could combine
the fastest toy cars on Earth
with the fastest
real cars on Earth?
And you can do this?
Mr. Spear, we are this.
Take a look here.
Brought some photos here for you.
Now, see here.
These are the animals.
- These are our logos here.
- Right.
This is me here and Don, okay?
Larry, are these guys for real?
Snake's won
the U.S. Nationals twice.
Yeah. That's the Super Bowl
of drag racing.
- Uh-huh.
- Yeah.
Oh, for the past four years,
Don and I have been
the hottest ticket
in what is the fastest-growing
sport in America.
Without even trying,
we pack the stands every weekend,
either together or separately.
What you have in your office right
here is the biggest draw in racing.
Now, together, as a team,
sponsored by Mattel Hot Wheels,
driving cars with the Hot Wheels
logo big and bold on the sides,
well, hell, we're
200-mile-per-hour billboards.
Drag racing attracts more kids
than any other kind of auto racing,
more than stock cars or sprints,
hell, more than the Indy 500.
Why? Because we're fast.
And we're flashy
with fiery burnouts.
Hell, instant winners.
Kids can walk the pits,
meet the drivers.
- You know, hell, we're...
- Accessible?
You're damn right we're accessible.
We are in real life
what Hot Wheels is in miniature.
- And there's TV coverage, right?
- For the big events.
So our logo gets across the finish line
first in front of millions of viewers?
- Damn right it does.
- Well, we can't guarantee
one of us will win every time.
It'd be better if you did.
How much funding do you think
you'd need to pull this off?
Oh...
100 grand should be enough
to build two funny cars,
record-setting cars, of course.
Funny cars?
Oh, there it is.
- Yeah.
- Very cool.
- That's it right there.
- Look, guys.
Oh.
Well, trophies are fine,
but I'm looking for branding.
I want every kid in America
to buy Hot Wheels.
Not just to know the brand,
but to love it,
like...
well, like Barbie.
Mr. Spear, you put these
cartoon characters on the cars,
and you watch the kids go nuts.
The more I think about this...
the more I like it.
So he just keeps a Barbie
sitting in his desk like that?
I guess so.
But, brother, we're about
to become a team, the team.
Well, what do you think
about Wildlife Racing as a name?
I mean, you're the Snake.
I'm the Mongoose.
- Kind of makes sense, right?
- Wildlife Racing.
Hell, the way you drive,
I guess that does make sense.
Very funny.
- Whoo-ee!
- Let's get 'em buttoned up, boys.
- Watch the merchandise.
- This is the real deal here, Donny.
Chop-chop. Let's get out of here.
All right,
let's line up real quickly.
Let's go, guys. Don. Don.
Tommy, let's go.
Spear wants a photograph.
- Let's line it up.
- Hey, lose the cigarette.
Now that Coke's a sponsor,
they want one too.
- Ready for this? Look good.
- Here we go.
- Right this way, girls.
- Shake my hand.
Look pretty. Here we go. Smile.
Don, smile.
- Hey, baby.
- Hey, Mike, is that big voice
we hear at the track
your real voice?
- You mean this one?
- Yeah, that one.
No. Actually,
this is my real voice,
you little whippersnapper.
You like it?
- You're so bad.
- Yes, I am.
- Buddy, you're right.
- "Super Stock," huh?
Oh, look at that.
We're on the cover.
Oh, look at that.
Your name's first.
It's 'cause I'm prettier.
Ah, hell, come on.
You said you didn't care
about any of that anyway.
- Yeah, I didn't.
- Uh-huh.
Will you two stop arguing?
Here, Don. Make yourself useful.
Uh..
Hey, Don, can't wait to see
your new Hot Wheels cars.
Are they going to be
the same as the big cars?
Oh, yeah, buddy.
They're going to be identical,
just a little smaller.
- Ready?
- Ooh!
Scared me.
Hey, baby.
- Where are the boys?
- At your mom's.
I thought they wanted
to see me off.
We need to talk.
What? I kind of thought
we already did.
Me being alone with the kids,
it's not working.
I need you at home, Torn.
Well, I can't make
a living at home.
Yes, you can.
You just don't want to.
Now wait a minute. Wait a minute.
You knew who I was when we met.
I thought you would change.
Baby...
we are finally getting
everything we always wanted.
This is everything
you wanted, Torn.
This is your dream, not mine.
I... I'm just not cut out for it.
What about us?
The kids?
They'll visit when they can,
and you can see them
when you're in town.
Good-bye, Tom.
Hey, Tommy!
Get the show on the road.
You all right?
Ah, I will be when I beat
your ass in Bakersfield.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.
See the new Hot Wheels team...
Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen
take on the two-time
U.S. Nationals champion
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme in a
best-of-three all-out match race.
You've seen the stunning pictures
of their red and yellow haulers
and their hot, new funny cars.
Now see them actually race these
beauties for the first time ever,
live and in color at the
world-famous Famoso Raceway.
Don't miss it.
Come out to Famoso Raceway
this weekend
and prepare to be amazed
as their nitro-burning funny cars
go roaring down the tracks
at over 200 miles an hour.
You okay driving that, Don?
Yeah, you feeling good?
Pull that thing
on the other side, will you?
All right, thanks.
Hey, you boys got enough room?
- Yeah, it looks pretty good.
- It's all right.
McWhorter said you superstars
take as much room as you need.
Oh, man, you hear that?
First stop, we're already superstars.
Hey, Snake. Snake, big fan, man.
- All right.
- Big fan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, only fan.
Don't get too used to that, pal.
You know, I've never seen
the back of your car.
Look at it now. Get used to it.
Where the hell
is McWhorter, anyway?
- He's up in the tower, man.
- All right.
Mr. McWhorter.
Happy days, Don.
Happy days.
Here it is.
It's all there.
The hell it is.
You still owe me 100. Remember?
You stiffed Donny for 100 bucks?
Cheapskate. Shame on you.
Pay this man his C-note.
Now I know why
they call you the Snake.
I may have a little bit
of trouble reading, Mr. McWhorter,
but I know how to add.
And Tom McEwen
takes the win and the match.
God damn it.
Hey, yeah, all right.
Thank you.
Oh, I like this one here.
I like this one.
All right. All right.
- Hey, what the hell happened, man?
- The tranny blew.
Once the slicks got covered,
I almost lost her.
Barely keep her on the track.
Hey, well, you did a good job,
you know, keeping it togeth...
Damn it, Don,
that's 300 bucks, man.
For the shoes?
You know what?
Don't worry about it.
It's only money.
There's plenty more
where that came from.
- Great show, boys.
- Thank you.
Oh, Tom, here's your $500 bonus.
- All right.
- Bonus?
Yeah, just like we agreed.
You guys put more
than 5,000 people in here,
winner gets an extra 500 bucks.
Just like we agreed to, Tom.
You are nothing but a...
Whatever you say,
don't say "snake," pal.
Did I say something wrong?
No, Mac. You're good.
Hey, nice shoes.
Thank you.
Are you kidding me?
- Hey.
- Hey.
Don, Tom is spending
way too much money.
Fancy restaurants.
Expensive clothes.
He's always had money, so he's a
little better at spending it.
Yeah, well, he's now spending
our money too, Don.
You know what?
The guy's been pretty banged up
since Judy left him,
so he's driving like crazy,
spending like crazy.
- Split the damn accounts.
- Great minds think alike.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Got you something.
What?
It is the anniversary
of our first date.
Torrance.
Rainbow Roller Rink.
Saturday night.
It was Friday night.
- Friday night.
- Mm-hmm.
You always had to be up for work
so early on Saturdays.
Sorry.
But, damn, could you skate.
I still can.
Found a bunch of these
rags laying around.
Oh. Yeah.
Thought I'd take a little page
out of your playbook.
Hey, did you know
that sponsors love publicity?
- God, Don.
- It's crazy.
- You're such a...
- What? I'm a snake, Torn?
You look like a giant banana.
He's around here somewhere.
Eric, Don Prudhomme.
All right, you guys
have a good night.
- You too. You too.
- All right, buddy.
Ah, man. Thanks.
Somethings gone terribly
wrong with Don Garlits' dragster.
Looks like the entire front
has been sheared off of the back.
Safety teams are on the scene now.
- What a horrible mess.
- You hear about Garlits?
No. What happened?
He break another record?
No, no, no.
A real bad crash at Lions.
Clutch exploded,
blew off half his right foot.
Oh, man. He going to keep his leg?
I don't know. Am I a doctor?
Oh, I hope not.
No, Garlits is a machine.
He's going to be back
driving within the month.
I can hear him at the hospital
giving 'em hell, right?
"You don't race, you don't eat."
Yeah, it sounds like Big Daddy.
You know, he could
have been killed.
You guys act like he broke
his damn nail.
Well, accidents happen.
I mean, it is what it is.
Is that what you think, Don?
I don't think about it, honestly.
I just drive.
- Come on, Lynn.
- Okay. That's great.
Oh, don't forget the old briefcase.
Hey, hey, hey, now. Hands off the...
that's not for you, Don.
For Christ's sakes!
The two of you need to grow up.
Y'all think this is just
all one big game.
Lynn... Come on, Tom.
Yeah, grow up.
You're killing me here.
- Lynn.
- No.
Hey, Jamie. How's it going?
- I miss you, man.
- Miss you too, Dad.
I thought we were coming to Denver.
Yeah, yeah, that was the plan,
but I guess things changed.
Besides, you guys are probably
having a better time out there.
It's okay. You winning a lot?
Hey, yeah, I'm winning a lot.
I could sure use
my best mechanic, though.
Well, listen, bud, I got to go,
so give Joey a kiss for me,
and tell your mom I'm going
to call Tommy tomorrow.
Okay, Dad. Miss you. Love you.
Yeah, I love you too, buddy.
I sure do miss you guys.
Hey, you all right?
So what the hell happened?
- What the hell happened?
- 'Cause you know what happened.
- Yeah, I pushed too much.
- Yeah.
Keep wasting time
with those girls, 'Goose.
I like winning.
Whoa!
- Hey.
- Good job.
- Good job. Here you go.
- Aha.
- Yes.
- You know what?
They say hard work pays off, buddy.
What do you think?
You know, I told you
not to run those 430s, Tommy.
You can see what happens when you
don't hit your shift points.
You know what I mean?
It's like dropping a hand grenade
down in the middle of the motor.
You're killing parts.
You know that.
I got to push it sometimes, Ed,
roll the dice.
If I want any chance of beating Don,
I can't always play it safe.
"Roll the dice."
Okay.
What?!
No, I can't hear you. Would you...
I have to see my boys, Judy.
Tom McEwen.
- Last call for Tom McEwen.
- Damn it, I got to go.
I know Joey hates the track.
Just send Tommy and Jamie.
Shit!
There you go. For you.
- All right, let's take this.
- Great win, Don.
- Tom.
- Hey.
Now what's this I hear about you
not racing Indy next weekend?
No, Don and I are running.
We're just not running the funnies.
We're going to both go after
the Top Fuel championship.
What does that mean for Mattel?
Well, it means the funnies
will have to stay in the trucks.
Also means I get to defend
my Top Fuel title.
We have $100,000 invested in
this team to race funny cars.
And what have you made back,
about 10 times that?
It's true. They've been
our fastest sellers.
Oh, hey, which one's
selling faster, me or Don?
Don's outselling you by just a bit.
- Ah, well, how much?
- Listen, for Pete's sake,
try to focus on what I'm saying.
This is a million-dollar deal.
A million dollars?
Next Christmas, we're coming out
with a brand-new Mongoose
and Snake drag race track set,
and we are going to be dumping
a huge amount of money
into an all-out advertising
campaign starting this weekend.
I need those cars on the track,
and I need one of you two
to win the funny car class.
Yeah, well, you don't tell us what
we can and can't do, all right?
That's not how this works, Art.
No, what he's saying
is that we're not magicians.
Like I told you
a long time ago, Art,
we can't control
the outcome of a race.
Just get those cars on the track.
Or what?
Didn't you read your contract?
Yeah. Of course I read my contract.
They own us outright, don't they?
At least until the
contracts expire.
I mean...
so much for owing no one
and no one owns you, right?
We all owe someone, Don.
But maybe we can get
a little more out of this.
Here. Hand me that pen.
Give me that, please.
Give... Easy, tiger.
- We can do that later.
- No, I got to get into it now.
- Hey.
- All right.
Ah, morning, all.
Good morning. How'd you sleep?
- I slept wonderfully, thank you.
- Good.
- Coffee, sir?
- Yes, please.
What they're having looks good.
That and your phone number
will work for me.
- I'll bring you your coffee.
- Okay.
- Never too early.
- What's with the briefcase, Tom?
Ah, this is the magic briefcase.
I can hear that click-click sound
in my damn sleep.
- Oh, here it comes.
- It's just a way for me
to give something back
to all my special fans.
- He gives them something nice...
- Yeah, I get it.
- Thank you, darling.
- You're welcome.
And here you go, sweetie.
This is just for you.
- Wow. Gee, thanks.
- You're welcome.
So we both think
that this Spear's deal
is way too one-sided, and...
Look, if they're going
to invest a million dollars
into a race set of the two of you,
then they're relying on our names
on a whole 'nother level.
Yeah, they need us
now more than ever.
Right.
We need to get them
to sponsor both cars,
state-of-the-art Top
Fuel dragsters.
Okay, here we go
with the sponsored...
- I race Top Fuel.
- All right, Don. Okay, hold on.
Tom, we're talking about two more
Hot Wheels for them to sell.
- Is that more your language?
- All right, I get that.
That does not mean
I'm racing the 'Cuda at Indy.
I think you made that
pretty clear yesterday.
I told Spear we're going to get
the 'Cuda on the track.
What I didn't tell him was
who's going to be behind the wheel.
So you're getting
another driver for me?
What are you going to pull out of,
Top Fuel or funny?
Neither.
I'm going to take one
for the team, run both.
What are you, crazy?
You're not going to beam
yourself from pit to pit.
Has anybody ever done that before?
Yeah, Captain Kirk.
I am going to boldly go
where no man has gone before.
- Okay.
- I can't...
Where's that waitress?
All right, guys.
Hey, grab the bags there.
- Let's get 'em in the truck.
- I want to see the car, Dad.
Yeah, of course, Jamie,
you can see the car.
How's it going?
Hey, what the hell's going on here?
Nothing, boss.
The cars are ready to go.
Well, prop up the duster, okay?
Hey, people can't watch
if there's nothing to look at.
Even Snake knows that.
Just pretend
you're doing something.
Hey, guys, you want a T-shirt?
Here, have a T-shirt.
This is for you,
a Mongoose T-shirt.
- Here you go. Hi.
- Hey, Tom.
Can I get a photo
with the Mongoose?
Well, yes, you can.
Hey, Tommy, here,
help your dad out, will you?
Grab a picture for me.
Guys, guys, guys, put that down.
What are you doing? Huh?
People want to see
that paint job. Come on.
We're going to do it
right here in front.
Go play cards or something, guys.
Come on.
It's beautiful. How's this?
Oh, that's good. I like that. Yeah?
Hey, Jamie.
Hey, Snake.
- Lynn!
- Hey, Jamie. How are you?
I was wondering when you guys
were going to get here.
Mom made us wait
until school ended.
- That's for you.
- Okay.
Yeah, I got another
little something for you here.
Got a little necklace here for you.
- Why does he have to do that?
- I know, buddy.
Don't worry about that.
Go get something to eat.
Come on, my treat.
We'll go get something to eat.
That okay? Mind if I put it on?
Oh, that looks good.
- What do you think?
- I like it.
All right, here you go.
Now, you sure you don't
got to take a leak?
Nope.
Well, why don't you eat something?
I got all your favorites here.
We sure got our butts
kicked today, huh?
Yep.
You could have beat Jungle Jim
if you hadn't hazed your tires.
And didn't even
get to run the Fueler.
No, we sure didn't.
Well, it's nice to have
you guys back on the road.
Hey, you know that girl you
had your picture taken with?
She was just a fan.
You gave her a necklace.
Hey, it didn't mean anything.
I got 100 of those doodads.
Fans like to feel
like they're special.
We put our arms around them,
okay, we smile for the camera,
and we make them feel like
they're part of the team.
Is that why you and Mom broke up?
No.
Everything I'm doing
is for you guys.
You're more important to me
than anything in the whole world.
Now, come on.
You know that, don't you?
Yeah, I guess so.
So we good, then?
Yeah, we're good.
All right.
Well, hey, we got a ways to go
till we get to Richmond,
so why don't you
crawl in the back there
with your brother, get some sleep?
Nah. I think I'll stay up here,
help keep you awake.
That's my boy.
Hey, I might take you up on that.
The 16th annual Nationals,
National Hot Rod Association
staging one of the most explosive,
one of the most record-setting events
in the history of drag racing.
I'm Keith Jackson, and today
on ABC's "Wide World of Sports,"
I think that you'll
just stand in awe
at some of the mechanical
and personal performances
by some of the top drag-racing
drivers in the world.
An incredible blast of power
as Don Prudhomme
defeats Danny Ongais.
Here.
Let's get it closed up.
Hey, are you okay?
Go, go, go!
And McEwen red-lights.
He's disqualified.
There he is, ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Drag Racing himself,
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme.
I admire you trying to run
both cars, Tom. I do.
Oh, I don't want to hear it,
you pompous prick.
You think I'm not serious
about racing,
that I don't want to win
a championship as bad as you do?
Trying to pay you
a damn compliment, all right?
Yeah, yeah. Very inspirational.
Hey, Donny.
So you lost, all right?
You don't think all this fooling around
interferes with the way you race?
- Come on.
- Remember this was fun, Don?
This was fun for me...
the speed, the noise, the girls.
Winning is fun, Tom. Damn it.
Trouble here is you're a loser.
Races, your wife, your kids.
I'm a loser, huh? I'm a loser?
You afraid to give Lynn that baby
she's always wanted, huh?
- Or you just ain't got it in you?
- What do you know about it, huh?
So I don't wanna have kids
and leave 'em without a father.
- So what?
- I didn't have a father, and here I am.
Yeah, and how's that
working out for you?
Come here.
Take it easy, Tom. Take it easy.
I'm done. I'm done.
Yeah, go ahead. Walk away, Don.
Leave me to clean up
the dirty work with Spear,
save your precious ego.
Well, maybe I had enough
of picking up the pieces.
Don't let Spear catch those
trophy girls in there, all right?
- That's what's gonna ruin this deal...
- Get your hands off me.
...not me doing the
stupid Top Fuel.
Yeah, go. Go win your
back-to-back Top Fuel Nationals.
Go win for your $1,000 sponsor.
I'll be here taking care of
your $100,000 meal ticket.
Good. Just don't choke
on it, chief.
- What are you looking at, Ed?
- Hey.
That's right, camp.
We are at the glorious
Indianapolis Raceway
awaiting the 1970 NHRA
finals in Top Fuel.
In the far lane will be Jim Nicoll.
He's already handed in the fastest
time of the week at 6.51 seconds
and a blazing 229 miles per hour.
In the near lane will be
the defending Nationals champion,
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme.
Oh, my God!
Nicoll's car burst into flame...
- Oh, my God.
- ...and splits in two!
Nicoll goes into the crash wall,
his engine careening
across the track!
But Nicoll's car cut in half.
There is the driver's cage.
It caromed at least
350 feet down the track
and bounced over into the grass.
And I'll say that Don Prudhomme
appears to be all right.
Oh, my God.
See him go right by me,
didn't have a back section?
- Hey, you okay?
- Was he dragging
- behind the back section?
- Okay, all right. Listen.
We won, huh? You did it, buddy.
What do you mean won?
We didn't win.
- Hey, listen. We won.
- Hey, hey. Don.
Jim Nicoll's car,
that came all the way
to the end of the run-out area.
How bad is he?
We understand that Jim Nicoll
was conscious when taken
out of the roll cage
and put in the ambulance
now on the way to the hospital.
I'm done racing.
- Don, come on.
- It's not worth it.
- Listen to me.
- First Garlits, now this.
- I'm not racing anymore.
- You're okay, man.
That's not fair to you.
- Don't make your head up.
- Don, please.
And here's the finish.
How terribly close it was.
Prudhomme winning by a yard,
3/100 of a second at
231 miles an hour.
Don, what was going
through your mind
when you saw the explosion
coming from Jim Nicoll's car?
- I'm done racing, Mike.
- You're quitting?
Do you know how many people
have died racing? Do you?
It's too damn dangerous.
You heard it here.
"Snake" Prudhomme says
he is done drag racing.
After winning his
second consecutive
U.S. Nationals in Top Fuel
- and the fiery explosion...
- Hold this. I'll handle it.
...of Jim Nicoll's car,
Don Prudhomme...
You need to get out of here.
You need to get the hell out of here.
Don Prudhomme says
he is done drag racing.
All right, all right.
Hey, shut the camera off.
Mike, you run that story,
I guarantee you
not one top driver
will speak to you again, ever.
Is that a threat?
That's up to you.
Vipe.
Hey, Roland. Don?
Hey, I thought
you'd want this. Huh?
You won it, brah.
After that, I don't really feel
like a winner, all right?
Hey, you dodged one bullet today,
but that's why you love
the sport, right?
You get to feel indestructible.
I feel pretty damn destructible
right now, Roland.
You'll feel better
in the morning, huh? Here.
Good night, Vipe.
All our times have come
Here
But now they're gone...
Hey, Tommy, with this low humidity,
I'd like to speed things up
with this pulley combo.
- Yeah, that's a good idea.
- Yeah.
Hey, I've been thinking
about the Nicoll crash.
- Yeah.
- Now, why couldn't we go
from six studs to 12
here on the clutch cam?
- That's a good idea.
- Yeah.
Let me think about that.
You know, we could make
the whole damn thing
out of billet steel
instead of aluminum.
- There you go.
- Here you go.
Hey, great to have you back
working with me on the car.
Yeah, well, you're not
going to be around forever.
Hey, don't worry about me.
No matter how busy I get,
I'll always be here to help you
with the big ones, pal.
Thanks, Ed.
Hey, you all right?
Yeah, just...
you know, wishing my dad
could be around to see all this.
He was a Navy fighter pilot,
wasn't he?
- He was a test pilot.
- Ah.
He crashed when I was just a baby.
Yeah.
You know, I know you
don't like talking about it,
but it sure does explain a lot.
Now, what do you mean by that?
Well, you know,
your craving for speed,
the ability to handle
all the adrenaline of it, you know.
You got a big gift here
knowing how to make these things
go faster and safer, I might add.
I mean, that slider clutch of
yours, the ventilator mask.
I mean, you know,
and how about the deal you put
together with Hot Wheels?
I mean, that thing is going to just put
this sport right on the map, Tommy.
Your dad would really
be proud of you, believe me.
But I haven't won the big one, Ed.
Hey, you're going to have
to get over Indy, okay?
All the great drivers show up,
and they enter into one class.
What do you do? You show up.
You enter into two.
- All right.
- I don't know what you're thinking.
You trying to upstage
Prudhomme or something?
- All right, that was stupid.
- Yes, it was.
Hey, look, Tom...
you're a terrific driver.
One of the best.
But I've never seen a driver
that needed to win
as much as Don Prudhomme.
Determination, focus,
time he spends on his car,
all of it makes him the
greatest driver I've ever seen.
Want to know why?
The need to win.
Really, right here.
The need to win, remember that.
I'm not kidding you.
Come on, let's see if we can get
this rocket ship going.
All right.
Hey, why don't you trade me that
here real quick, son?
- There we go.
- Hi, Snake.
Hey, buddy.
- I ain't seen you in a while.
- Yeah.
What are you working on?
Just borrowing some technology
from our stock-car buddies.
Oh, fire extinguishers in the car?
Yeah, yeah.
See, you hit this top here.
- You slam on it...
- Huh.
...and it fills the cage
with this fire-retardant powder.
I mean, voil.
"Voil."
Yeah, it's French, Don.
Hey, why don't you hang on
a second here, buddy, okay?
I'll be right back.
Don't go driving off on me.
Hey, Nicoll was just plain unlucky.
That's all there is to it, Don.
You believe in luck, then you
know it's going to run out.
Well, while you were holed up
for the past two months
feeling sorry for yourself,
I took the Mattel boys
to Bakersfield.
- Top Fuel?
- Yeah.
Yeah.
And even though I'm just the mouth,
I won it.
Hey, we all got to die
someday, Snake.
Can't live your life
in fear of that.
Now what else
are you going to do, huh?
You going to go back
to painting cars?
I know I ain't got nothing else
going on outside of this.
You and me,
we are drag racers, man.
That doesn't mean
I got to drive 'em anymore.
You gonna let someone else race me?
Damn it, we need you
out there, Don.
- Here.
- What's this?
'71 sponsorship money.
200 grand?
That's right.
Now we can finally big
those rear-engine dragsters
that the Garlits dreamed of.
Hell, with that, we take luck
out of the equation.
Time to get back
behind the wheel, brother.
Don Prudhomme's Snake.
Torn McEwen's Mongoose.
Dragdom's fastest duo goes
from the drag strip to your home.
It's Mattel's
Mongoose-Snake drag set,
just like the big ones.
Funny cars. Screaming speed.
Get Hot Wheels'
Mongoose-Snake drag set...
only from Mattel,
and go with a winner.
Hey, kids, you guys
have Hot Wheel cars?
Absolutely, yes, sir.
Well, who's faster,
Snake or Mongoose?
- Snake.
- Oh, no. Come on.
You paid those kids to say that.
- They know the truth.
- Hey, guys.
Great crowd.
Look at all the kids. I love it.
What do you think of the new cars?
Hey, great new colors.
You mean the same cars, Art?
They look the same to me.
Those cars were number-one and
number-two best sellers last year.
Don't fix it if it ain't broken.
- Right, Don?
- Yeah.
- You'd know.
- Here you go.
Right.
Here are the new dragsters.
All right, different cars.
Somehow the same color.
Here, Art. This is our schedule
for the next six months.
Not a lot of dates open for us.
Yeah, well, the NHRA keeps growing,
which is great for both of us.
We can keep racing cars,
and you can keep selling 'em.
I hope so, Tom.
- Me, too.
- I got to get going.
I got a meeting at General Motors.
Yeah.
Hey, Top Fuel cars and funny cars.
That's what you wanted, right?
Sure. I mean, I guess so.
No, you got to play ball, Don.
Come on. Damn it.
And with the smoking
in front of the kids.
They don't care.
Do you love funny cars?
Do you love women
in halter tops and short shorts?
Then you'll want
to be at US-69 Dragway
this Friday night for the ultimate
in racing and good times.
'Cause that's when
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme
and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen
face off in a best-of-three
match race...
That'll thrill
the acne off your face.
But wait. There's more!
'Cause every Friday
night is fox hunt night,
and all women over 69 get in free.
- Don't miss this one!
- The Snake and the Mongoose!
- Fox hunt Friday night!
- US-69 Dragway!
Be there, or read about it
in the police report.
What the hell's the big emergency?
I don't know.
Spear just said come over.
That's the best you could do, huh?
That's classy, Tom.
- Hit the button, Don.
- Yeah.
You can go right in.
Nice threads, Mr. Prudhomme.
Thanks for coming in.
I thought it only fair
to do this in person.
Have a seat.
What's going on here?
Well, Tom, Don,
Hot Wheels' marketing team
has decided to make some changes.
What kind of changes?
I'm sorry, but Mattel
will not be renewing
our major sponsorship
with Wildlife Racing.
But you said our cars
were your best sellers.
Well, they've both done great.
Times are different.
We're shifting gears, so to speak,
keeping other options open,
and frankly we think
the sales on these cars
- have reached their peak.
- Here we go.
Look, I'm not saying that
we want to pull out altogether.
We'd like to stay on
as a secondary sponsor
for the next year or two.
You guys have been great,
but this is business.
No hard feelings, right?
Well, that was all your fault.
Are you kidding me, man?
You're always bitching and moaning
to Spear about something.
No wonder they're dropping us.
Maybe if you tried to win a race
once in a while, Tom...
- To hell with you.
- ...they wouldn't be so bored with us.
It was always me
who kept our deal on track.
Is that right, Tom? Wow.
I saw this coming.
I already got
another sponsor lined up.
Oh, I bet you saw this coming.
- Beech-Nut Gum.
- Beech-Nut?
You never said anything
about talking to them.
Well, you're always too busy
with the damn cars, Don.
Yeah, Tom, that's how it works.
All right, partner.
Tell me about the deal.
Well, we show them
what we're worth.
This time next year,
it'll be a big payday.
I'm not auditioning
for some chewing gum, man.
You've got to have patience, Don.
You've got to develop relationships.
I've been patient my whole damn life.
Don't preach patience to me.
Oh, you hold on a second here,
Mr. Hotshot.
I got us the Mattel deal.
You remember that?
My idea.
Without me, you'd still be
painting cars with your old man.
You don't think I could do this
without you, huh?
I'd be better off if I did.
I'll tell you what.
I'll get my own deal, Tom.
You race your team. I'll run mine.
This Midlife Racing crap
is over, man.
Well, I was rolling
down the road
In some cold blue steel
I had a bluesman in the back
And a beautician at the wheel
We're going downtown
in the middle of the night
We was laughing and I'm joking
and we feeling all right
Oh, I'm bad...
I'm nationwide
Yes, I'm bad
I'm nationwide...
Unbeaten in one full
year of NHRA competition.
31 times he left that starting
line, never to be defeated.
The winningest driver in the
history of drag racing,
Don Prudhomme!
They sporting short dresses
Wearing spike-heeled shoes
They smoking Lucky Strikes
And wearing nylons too
'Cause we bad
We're nationwide
Yeah, we bad
We're nationwide.
Jamie.
Dad! Dad!
- Dad!
- Hey, what's going on?
- It's Jamie. He won't wake up.
- What?
Mr. McEwen?
Yeah, I'm McEwen.
We've got your son stabilized
for the time being.
- What's wrong with him?
- He's had a stroke.
A stroke? He's just a kid.
How could he have a stroke?
The stroke was brought on
by something else.
Like what?
Do you want to step outside
for a moment?
- Dad.
- Just wait here, son.
I'm sorry.
He has leukemia.
Earlier this week,
Tom's 13-year-old son Jamie
was diagnosed with acute leukemia
and is in serious condition.
With me now is Tom's friend
and fellow racer, Don Prudhomme.
Don, what can you tell us
about young Jamie's condition?
Uh, well, Mike, I...
you're talking about
a real tough situation,
and, you know, we're all feeling
for Tom and Jamie,
the whole McEwen family, really.
Jamie is a real favorite for
all the racers on the circuit.
Thank you, Don.
So there you have it.
The drag-racing community races on,
but its thoughts and its prayers
go out to colleague,
rival, and friends
Torn and Jamie McEwen.
Have you spoken to Tom recently?
No. I tried him a few times.
No answer.
I can't believe how long it's been
since we've seen them.
I sent the boys something
for Christmas.
Oh, that's great.
I'm sure they'll love it.
It's got to be hard with Jamie in
and out of the hospital so much.
Yeah.
Hmm.
You should try him tomorrow.
You might be able to catch him.
- Hey, Jamie!
- Hi, Jamie!
Hey.
- Hi, Mr. Parks.
- Hey there. How you doing?
- How's it going, Wally?
- Good to see you back, Tom.
- Hey, sonny. How you feeling?
- Good.
- You guys know Paula.
- Hey.
Someone told me
you're 'Goose's secret weapon.
Yeah, he's my best man on fuel.
Taught him everything
he needs to know.
Now we're going to kick
some butt, right, Dad?
- That's right.
- That's the spirit.
All right, well, good luck.
Good luck to you both.
- Thanks.
- Good to see you.
Thank you.
And watch out for snakes.
Watch out for snakes.
Hey.
Now you got a fighting chance.
- Ha.
- We're here to beat you, Snake.
Yeah, yeah.
Running the Plymouth again,
I see, huh?
Yeah. Well, she's won
a couple races for me.
Yeah.
I'm out of the Navy deal.
Seems like the old times
are in our rearview.
Nah.
Wouldn't be so sure
about that, 'Goose. Come on.
Wow!
- Never thought I'd see the day.
- Hey. Hey, guys.
Jamie, it's good to see you.
Come here.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Look.
- What?
- Got no hair.
- Oh, my gosh. Look at that.
Cool.
Nah, he's been a real trouper,
taking it all in stride.
- So when did this happen?
- She looks like she's gonna pop.
A couple more months now.
Ah, can't happen soon enough.
Yeah, you actually did it.
Sometimes your priorities
change, right?
Mm-hmm.
My priority is to beat you
and everybody else here.
- All right.
- Okay, I'm going to go sit down.
Jamie, it was good to see you.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Come on, Dad.
Let's get back to the car.
Guys, don't forget this is my event.
Hell, you watch TV.
You know this whole year's
been mine.
Well, not if I take it from you.
And here they come,
as the noise level picks up.
They're almost tied on elapsed
time from the first round.
What a beautiful race,
a fantastic race.
And the win lights call it.
Don Prudhomme,
6.31, 225...
Hey, bud.
- Hey, buddy, wake up.
- Hmm?
Your mom's here.
Oh. Must have dozed off.
Yeah.
Maybe spending all day at the track
is a little bit too much for you.
No. I want to be here.
I know.
Look, your mom...
thinks it might be a good idea for
you stay close to home for a while.
I do too.
But I want to be with you.
Well, hey, I'm taking a break.
I'm going to be close to home too.
Dad, you got to race.
And leave you?
No, sirree.
I'll be fine.
No, can't do it.
I'll get better faster.
Really?
It's that important to you?
I want you to beat Snake in Indy.
Promise?
Yeah, buddy. I promise.
- That was incredible.
- I know.
You had to carry him over here.
It's nearly 11:00.
Please tell me you made it
to the finals.
Nah, Don won it.
Made it to the quarters, though.
Jamie wanted to stay
and watch Snake win.
He wants me to keep racing.
I told him I would.
If you were any kind of father, you'd
stay close to home no matter what.
Now, that ain't fair.
Okay? He's the one
begging me to go back.
Just try to make it home
every few weeks.
I told him if
he's doing good, that...
you know, maybe he can come
out for the SummerNats,
Indy too.
Torn, you know that's not possible.
The doctor said
he had to stay close to home.
Yeah.
- Well, I got to get going.
- Yeah.
Stay in touch.
Yeah, you too.
Ooh, yeah
Time
Is taken away too soon...
PRUDHOMME VS. McEWEN
FUNNY CAR - FINAL
The great battle may be here,
"The Snake" Don Prudhomme
versus "The Mongoose" McEwen.
Funny cars are away.
This is for the Spring
National title.
Close. Prudhomme...
gets the advantage.
Don Prudhomme has won again,
a 240 mile-an-hour top speed,
6.07 for the quarter mile.
Prudhomme, "The Snake."
And they're gone
We're left to answer the call
To carry on
Another day
Carry on
'Cause it's the only way
Carry on
Tears will come.
Oh, no.
- Hi.
- Come here.
- You're home early.
- Come on.
Here. Take her.
- We got the sponsorship done.
- Oh. Nice.
Sent the boys home early, didn't I?
- You want a drink?
- No, thank you.
No, thank you. Shh.
How's my number one girl
doing, huh?
I'm tired.
We weren't talking
to Mommy, were we?
No, I know you want to play.
I know.
Hey, Tom.
- Oh, hey there, Wendy.
- What you working on?
Oh, the engine.
The engine.
It looks good.
So why don't you call tonight,
take me to our spot,
and we can have some fun.
Yeah, I...
can't really play that game
anymore, Wendy.
Are you sure you're the Mongoose?
I'm pretty sure.
So long, Tom.
- Hey, buddy.
- Hi, Dad.
- How's it going?
- How's it going with you?
Hey, it looks like you know exactly
how it's going with me, huh?
He's keeping an eye on you.
Seems to be the only thing
he talks about lately.
Looks like Snake's
biting Mongoose again, huh?
Yeah, yeah. He always
saves his best for us.
But we'll get him in Indy,
right, Dad?
Oh, you bet we're going
to get him in Indy.
You rest for a minute,
sweetie, okay?
Come right back, Dad.
I could play some cards.
Hey, yeah, champ,
I'm going to be right back, okay?
What the hell happened? He looked
pretty good two weeks ago.
His body rejected
the last bone-marrow transplant.
The doctors say that's it.
They can't do another one.
- It's okay, Tom. He knows.
- He knows?
Are you kid...
Well, how bad is it?
I mean, how much longer
does he have?
Six months...
six weeks... it's hard to say.
Well, maybe you're right.
Right about what?
Sticking around more.
I wasn't right, Torn.
In fact, I couldn't
have been more wrong.
All Jamie ever talks about
is Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen.
You've been his hero since the first
time he knew what a dragster was.
He talks the staffs ear off
about you and Don.
Drag racing has made...
what life he has had special.
Everybody loves Jamie.
Nice service, huh?
Oh, hey, you remember this one?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
What's that, Lions?
'63, '64?
It's March '63,
day after Jamie was born.
Hell, you couldn't wait to come
out and try to kick my ass.
I did, too.
Yeah, you and that damn holeshot.
Man, he used to love
coming down here
ever since he was a little kid.
I used to let him torque
the heads on the old hemis.
Just to hear the sound
of the wrench click.
- He loved that.
- Yeah.
So what are you going
to do now, Torn?
Do?
I'm done.
I was racing for Jamie.
Now he's gone, so...
Yeah, I know.
Remember I thought I was done
after that Nicoll's crash?
How you stayed on me?
"What do you got left, Snake?
What do you got left, Snake?"
You got a bunch of guys
rooting for you, Tom.
Nobody wants you
to shut it down, you know?
I did already win Indy,
like, six times.
Guess you could just sit here
and let me win it again.
What would Jamie want you to do?
I'd like to welcome
each and every one of you to this,
the final day of the U.S. Nationals
here at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Joining me here today
is Steve Evans,
who can tell us just how big
this event really is.
Dave, the magnitude
of this 24-year-old U.S. Nationals
is just awesome...
over 1,000 participants,
over $400,000 in cash awards,
a 200-acre racing
facility, 1,000 workers,
about $15 million pumped
into the Hoosier economy.
100,000 people are ready.
I'm certainly ready for the finals
of the granddaddy of all drag
races, the U.S. Nationals.
We'll be back with racing from
the Nationals in just a moment.
Cutting it pretty close,
Mother Goose.
Yeah.
Going to whip your ass today.
All right, Tommy.
We can do it, Dad.
The word through the pits
is that Beadle is back.
The driver of the Blue Max,
Raymond Beadle,
against Tom McEwen.
Beadle recorded a 5.98-second
elapsed time in qualifying.
He was number-one qualifier.
That time has since
been beaten, though,
by Prudhomme's 5.97 seconds.
Beadle won the Nationals back in
1975 and would love to repeat,
but he's got his hands full here.
And it's Tom McEwen at
the finish line, 6.18.
- A 6.18.
- Bring it on.
Back at the U.S. Nationals,
the semifinal round
of Funny Car eliminator.
A pair of Californians.
Lil' John Lombardo recording
one of the quickest
elapsed times of his career,
6.07 seconds,
in the previous round.
And he'll need every bit of it
as he races Don Prudhomme,
the defending champion
and three-time world champion,
equaling the national record
for funny cars
just a few rounds earlier
at 5.97 seconds.
Coming to the electronic
staging field.
And John Lombardo up in smoke.
Prudhomme once again
squeezes through.
His elapsed time: 6.05.
Mr. Consistency.
Putting Prudhomme into the final.
Ed, pull the gears.
Install those 430s
we've been carrying.
Hold on now. Hold on now.
Just a second.
That's a hell of a gamble
you're taking.
Better not smoke the tires, eh?
Just do it, Ed.
You're the boss. You heard him.
Jimmy, pop the tires.
We're going to pull the rear in.
Let's go!
McEwen getting
an easy run here, a single.
And his competition, Ron Colson,
crossing the center line
in the previous round
of competition.
McEwen shutting it off early,
obviously just tapping
the starting line,
didn't want to hurt any parts.
- Hear that?
- Yeah.
That sounds different.
Sounds like he lowered the gear.
I know exactly what to do, boss.
Hey, Tommy, toss me
that roll of duct tape there.
- Everything okay, Dad?
- Yep.
Just need to add something.
I thought you said
everything was all right.
Yeah.
There we go.
These two have a history
going back two decades.
They even raced together
in a partnership...
the Wildlife Racing team.
What better than when you have
a snake and a mongoose,
but to team up
and tour the country?
Funny car eliminator final race.
Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen
against his longtime friend
and nemesis
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme.
Prudhomme wrapping up
another world championship title.
That makes it four in a row.
But the race is on the line
for the national championship
in funny car.
Prudhomme in the far lane.
That has been the better lane in
racing thus far later this afternoon.
In the near lane: Tom McEwen.
And they're off the line,
and Prudhomme smokes the tires!
McEwen pulling ahead.
And it is Tom McEwen
with the upset of the race.
The crew's just going berserk.
Tom McEwenKs crew members
very, very happy,
as Tom himself winning it
for the first time.
A really emotional
moment down here.
I have seen Don
Prudhomme lose before,
and he's usually a recluse.
He gets in his truck, he leaves
the racetrack immediately,
talks to nobody.
This is just a little
bit different.
He was with me the whole time.
Me too, brother. Me too.
Come on, let's get you out of here.
You're a hell of a driver, man.
Better than you?
Today, you are.
Right.
- Hey!
- Dad!
- He won't split the money with you?
- He don't want to split the money.
He's over here,
he's saying he hasn't won
a national event in about 48 hours.
He's kind of down.
It should be a good race.
You know, we've met
many times this year,
and, you know, fortunately
we've came out okay,
but you never know.
The cars can be turned.
You know, Tom's liable
to jump up and put us away,
but we're going to be
trying very hard.
I know he's going to be, so it'll
be a tremendous last round.
Your guys are frantically
working on the motor,
yet you're over here
fooling around with him.
Well, ifs just going
back together right now.
We got plenty of time, and I'm just
starting to take it a little easier
instead of thrash
so much on the thing.
I've been watching him,
and it seems to work.
See, his biggest problem is he's
not as serious of a racer as I am.
Time
Is taken away too soon
With no way to say or choose
When we go
So life
Is precious to us all
And when the ones
we love must fall
And they're gone
We're left to answer the call
To carry on another day
Carry on...
We've had a real good year.
We ran 6.64 at Orange
County out in California
in February, which was
a low E.T. backed up with 6.70.
It's so hard to say good-bye
We simply got to try
To carry on
Love
Is everywhere we turn
But there is so much
left to learn
Like how are we supposed
to handle the hurt
And a loss?
And how
How do we fill
this empty space?
How do we lose the
bitter taste?
It's so hard to do
But they're in a better place
To carry on
Another day
Carry on
'Cause it's the only way...
He later made five-second history
in the semifinals of eliminations
with his 5.98-second shot
while defeating Raymond
Beadle in the Blue Max.
We simply got to try
To carry on
And lift ourselves up
To the top of the world
To see heaven above
Don Prudhomme has
just become the first person
to go 250 miles an
hour in a funny car.
Carry on
'Cause it's the only way
Carry on...
260-mile-an-hour
speeds, they are rarely seen.
Yeah, my crew is just great.
I don't know what to say about 'em.
My help is good.
My sponsors are great.
You know, I'm driving pretty good
for an old man this year.
I try to carry on.
- And congratulations.
- Thanks a lot. It's super.
Well, I haven't seen Don Prudhomme
any happier since the last time
he won the U.S. Nationals.
And this is where I started out,
Indy here, you know, in '65
with a Top Fuel car,
and to end my career in a funny
car at this race is great.
Look out, Top Fuel.
Snake's on his way.
You have won your first
ever Top Fuel national event.
- What a job.
- Thanks, Steve.
I can't thank Jack Clark Racing
and Mobil 1 and Larry Meyer
and all the crew guys and
everybody that's helped us.
Well, how you like me now?
Now that I'm not afraid?
And did you think that I could
Come put you down to your face?
Well, how you like me now?
Now that I'm not afraid?
And did you think that I could
Come put you down to your face?