Jim Head
Jim Head is not your average racer, he is an accomplished acrobatic pilot, a civil engineer, a successful contractor, a master mechanic and an award-winning drag racer. Jim became interested in drag racing at the age of 15 and, with no help or experience, he turned a 1956 Chevrolet sedan into a small block powered D/Gas class racer. He was able to test his efforts just one week after turning 16 when he entered it at the local drag strip. His next effort was a small block Chevy powered Austin Bantum coupe that was an improvement over the D/Gasser. Improving with experience, Jim’s next car was a 1956 Corvette that he raced in D/Gas. Jim moved into the open wheel arena with a small block powered 27 T Roadster in 1972 and followed that with a small block dragster in C/ED class. Still building his own engines and rebuilding the chassis for them, in 1979 Jim posted a new NHRA national E. T. record of 7.91 for the class.
1980 found Jim in the seat of a supercharged 426 Chrysler Hemi powered T/AD dragster but that soon changed when he experienced his first run with Nitro in the tank at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, IN and made it to the semifinals. The desire to go quicker and faster was part of the reason for moving into the nitro burning arena but it was also motivated by the ability to compete in a more “unlimited” class where new ideals could be tested and proven.
Jim was moderately successful in both the Fuel Dragster and Funny Car arenas, posting wins at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 1984, the NHRA Cajun Nationals in Baton Rouge, LA in 1985, the NHRA U.S. Nationals in In1997. He has moved back and forth from AA/Fuel Dragster in 1980 to AA/Funny Car in 1984, back to AA/Fuel Dragster in 1989 and back to AA/Funny Car again in 2003 where he continued the driving chore until 2013 when he gave that position to his son Chad.
A true innovator, Jim is credited with being the first person to bring on-board computer technology to the nitro burning cars and the multi-stage clutch that activates automatically, both technological advances that are now standard units in the sport. He has also made modifications to his supercharger and fuel system that are very successful.
As noted earlier, Jim gave up the drivers’ seat in 2013 to concentrate on being the team Crew Chief and grow his construction business. However, he has continued to field competitive cars in the AA/Funny Car field and while he intends to continue to be one of the quickest and fastest teams, he is also committed to improved safety. Jim’s cars are usually a bit heavier than the other team’s cars but that is because he has added additional padding, impact absorbing materials and other structural features to achieve this goal.
A true competitor, Jim may have stepped out of the drivers seat but he will always be a racer, looking for faster speed and quicker E.T.’s. while doing so safer.
