Bobby Langley
Of all the great dragster racers to come out of the Southwest in the 1950’s, none was more colorful, popular, or professional them Bobby Langley. His very first racecar was a full-bodied slingshot dragster built entirely at home. A gas-burning Cadillac powerplant took the unknown Texan to the final round of class eliminations at the 1958 NHRA Nationals in Kansas City. Hooked on big-time competition, Bobby and wife Ruth returned to Everman, Texas, and started building the beautiful, Chrysler-powered “Scorpion I” that runner-upped at the subsequent NHRA Nationals. Hitting the road in 1958, Bobby introduced M&H tires to California by racing in the Bakersfield Championship with a 9.07 ET and 166 mph. Bobby would take low ET and best appearing car honors at the NHRA Nationals, and totally dominated the International Drag Festival in Mexico. The fully uniformed Langley family also won best appearing crew honors at both the 1957 and 1958 Nationals. A 6-71 blower appeared in late 1958, followed by a fuel injector, and ultimately nitromethane. The highlight of Bobby’s career was the 1964 AHRA Nationals where “Scorpion IV” won Top Eliminator, set low ET, and top speed. This earned Langley the Master Mechanics Trophy. He returned to the US Nationals final in 1966 and won five consecutive Texas State Championships before retiring in 1969.