Don in 1969

Don in 1999 - Still lookin' good for an old guy!

Smith & Ewald" A/FD (1967). This was Kenny Youngbloods ex-ride and had a
354 hemi on 98%. This shot was from the tower at Riverside in the lights. I
think the best this car ran was 7.54 @198.87. Easiest car I ever drove.

"Olsen & E "Olsen & Ewald" Jr. Fuel Dragster (1966-1967). This was my second
dragster ride and the first dragster I was partners in. We ran the car every
week and had a ball with it. Best times were 7.92 @ 192.36.

Mason-Kay-Ewald" AA/FD (1968) This is the first time out for this new RCS
car. Since it was built for a guy 3 inches shorter and 30 lbs lighter than
me, I was never real comfortable in this car but drove it for a full season
(driving other cars in between). Think this ran something like 6.86 @ 224.

Buzz Miller Construction AA/FD (1968) This was my first AA/FD ride and I
was hooked. This car was longer than most at the time (182") and had an Ed
Pink .080 down 392 that made a ton of horse power. Trouble was using it.
Lots of clutch problems with this one. I bailed out when I had a chance to
drive what I thought was a better car.

The following three pcxs are of my Buttera car that we ran from 1969 to 1971. These shots are all
from 1971 as that's when we ran the wings. This was without a doubt the
nicest race car I ever owned. It was light (1175# wet) yet trick. 192" w/b
and a Strange full-floater rear end. Handled like a Cadillic (with an attitude).

This pcx was taken @ Lions

At Orange County International Raceway showing 'em how to lift the front wheels...Go get'em Don!

This car's best time was 6.48 @ 229.36. It's also the source of my
trademark saying, "Count to five and duck."

We used to carry a counter weight that bolted onto a crank journal that
weighed about the same as a rod & piston assembly. The reason is obvious.
If you hurt a rod and/or a piston and it didn't come out the side, you could
conceivably run on 7 cyls. Well one Saturday night at OCIR we'd won the
semis but hurt the #6 piston which in turn hurt the #6 rod. The piston was
wedged into the cylinder but there was no other apparent damage. Sooooo our
never used before "counterweight" replaced the dead rod, we pulled out the
two push rods and pounded the plug closed. Resin filled block so water
jackets weren't a problem. Run it. Well, when we were sitting in line I
tried the old "ya wanna split the money deal" with James (Warren) and he
laughed and informed me his "spies" told them what we'd done. So much for
that idea so when Fred asked me what I was going to do I shrugged my
shoulders and said, "Count to five and duck." This put everybody on the
ground but I was serious. As fate would have it, James broke a rear end
(which I didn't know) and I ran this vibrating piece of shit to the 1000'
mark and clicked it. To our surprise it wasn't hurt any more than it was
when we fired it. Got lucky on that one, me thinks. At least Waterman sure
thought so when we took the block to him Monday morning.

Our boy Don @ Irwindale, CA ~ Hangin' out the laundry

Don putting on a show in Las Vegas

MMove Over John Travolta...Ewald's here

This is me n' my KB in 1975. It's much better looking than I.

"Bommerito & Ewald" AA/FD 1971. This was my first rear engine deal.
Could write volumes on this car but I'll let it go with I was lucky to
survive it and after we finally figured out what was wrong (with the
chassis), it ran pretty good and we won several races with it.

Trotter & Ewald" Top Fuel Dragster. Don Long chassis w/ 460" KB. This
was my first 5 second. Pomona in 1975. 5.97 @ 237.40. Cars best was 5.78
@ 248.58

"Mason-Kay-Smith-Ewald" Community Property AA/FD, Ontario 1972 (World
Finals). This was one of three RCS "sub-frame" cars and it was a pure joy to drive."h it.

"Kay & Ewald" AA/FD - Irwindale, RCS
"sub-frame car". Best 6.24 @ 231

"Kay & Ewald" AA/FD - OCIR

This is the last time I ever drove a dragster. I had quit the year
before and was out at OCIR representing Keith Black's. Bruce Walker was
driving for Ron Trotter then but he was taken ill before the car was even
out of the trailer. Ron hunted me down and asked if I'd drive the car. Why
not. I sent my wife home for my firesuit and we warmed the car. Long story
short, I qualified #2 on one pass then won the race that night. This is my
second round win over Warren. I always liked racing James as for whatever
reason, I beat him a lot!

Da' Big Winner

This is the $$$ shot from the last Irwindale Gran Prix. This was a
sweet race because we owned it. Low et of the meet and won every race
convincingly. What fun! Steve Evans, Ron Trotter, Myself

Don't Forget to Visit Don's Dragster Web Site -

If you like Front Engine Dragsters and Have Six or Seven Hours to Spare, You'll Love It!