Dale Emery
Dale Emery entered his first drag race in the early 1950s at Lodi, California, tuning and driving his own car, a C/Gas Coupe. Over the next several years, he continued racing in the gas classes, gaining in experience and knowledge through first-hand experience. By 1959, Dale had worked his way up to the Top Gas class and in 1961 made the move that escalated his driving career by stepping into the driver’s seat of a Top Fuel car. He gained recognition as an excellent top fuel driver but accepting the job of driving Rich Guasco’s AA/Fuel Roadster “Pure Hell” really put him in the spotlight. He and Rich campaigned “Pure Hell” from 1965 to 1970.
In 1973 Dale joined forces with the Jegs Racing Team, notching wins at the NHRA Grand Nationals in Montreal, Canada and the Winternationals in Pomona, California. In 1965, Dale had moved from California to Texas, so when fellow Texan Mike Burkhart offered him the job of driving his Funny Car in 1975, Dale made the move. Dale was never just a driver, he was also the tuner for most of the teams he competed with. He was also one of the original match-race competitors starting with the Pure Hell Roadster and continuing into his with Burkhart.
At the end of 1977, Dale teamed up with another fellow Texan, Raymond Beadle, as the tuner of the famed Blue Max Funny Car. It was in this job that Dale would earn the title of Supertuner “Crew of the Year” Award and be voted to the Car Craft Magazine’s All Star Team, two years in a row. This team dominated the Funny Car class during the next few years. In 1978, the team ran its first 5 second run, which took place at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. In both 1979 and 1980, the Blue Max teams won the NHRA Winston Championship title. In 1981, with Dale leading the team, they were the first Funny Car in history to win both the NHRA and the IRHA Championship titles. The winning wasn’t over for the team yet as they stepped up to the plate in 1982 and took home another IHRA World Championship title.
Beadle sold the car in 1990, and the following year, Dale started his own business, where he produces fuel pumps and injector systems and still continues to offer a helping hand for just about any racer needing help, including several nostalgia race teams.