Tony Waters & Jim Sughrue
In the early days of drag racing, the team of Tony Waters and Jim Sughrue was known and feared by all who had to compete against them. Both men were charter members of the legendary Bakersfield Smokers, and both were known for their fast and sanitary race cars. Tony got his start on the local street racing scene with a brand-new 1949 Chevy into which he quickly installed a 302 GMC engine. As soon as the strips at Saugus and Fresno opened in 1950, Tony was right there with the Chevy. Before long Tony equipped the GMC engine with a Howard log manifold and five Stromberg carbs converted to use alcohol. Although he was consistently breaking the 100 MPH barrier, it wasn’t long before the need to go faster took over, and he went to work on a new car. This new vehicle was a 1925 T Roadster known as “The Giant Killer” that used the same GMC engine that was so successful in the 1949 Chevy. The roadster immediately broke the 120 MPH mark, which made it among the fastest cars on the dragstrip at the time.
In 1955, Tony decided to introduce a totally new and novel combination, a fuel-burning 292 DeSoto engine with a front mounted 4-71 GMC supercharger. The combination was not new to Tony, as he already become one of the earliest members of the 200 MPH club driving a 1932 Ford Highboy roadster at Bonneville with the same powerplant. Not long after Tony fielded this new combination, he and his friend Jim Sughrue teamed up to form one of the strongest racing teams in the country. With the two people sharing the load, the team also turn the car into a real showpiece. At the inaugural US Fuel and Gas Championship meet, Waters lasted through two days of eliminations only to lose in the final round to Art Chrisman’s dragster when he lost traction in a patch of water.
In 1964 the team went on a very successful nationwide tour, but by the end of the tour it was obvious the pair would have to retire the roadster and switch to a dragster if they were to remain competitive. A couple of changes took place at this time. The team made the switch to a dragster and John Edmonds was installed as the driver. The new combination debuted at a 1964 car top fuel show at Lions Dragstrip and quickly proved it was the right move by taking home the top eliminator trophy and money. Not long after this they showed up at Carlsbad Raceway and set a new world record of 226.12 MPH. After the 1967 season, the partners retired from the racing for many years. But as they say once bitten you never forget, and Tony returned to the wars, this time with and involvement in the nostalgia fuel dragster class. Tony also built a new Highboy roadster with the hopes it would break the 300 mile-per-hour marked at Bonneville.
