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Funny Cars. Screaming, thundering, high-horsepower, altered wheelbase drag cars everyone loved to see on the starting line. But how did they get the name “Funny Car?” This question has been the subject of debate for years.

Many argue that it all started in the winter of the 1963-64 drag racing season when the Martin Bros. pioneered what is believed to be the first funny cars, placing supercharged, fuel-injected pump gas engines in production line cars. Those first cars were Dodge 330 sedans, three in number. However, there was no exhibition class for these cars, so Dodge labeled the cars as “Supercharged Factory Experimental.Check out this link here.”

However, the moniker “Funny Car” didn’t come about until the following drag racing season when the cars appeared with altered wheelbases. Moving the front and rear suspension forward of its original position gave the cars better traction and faster launch times off the starting line. With these altered wheelbase’s, people said the cars looked funny. Thus, the moniker of “Funny Car” became a common label.

Funny cars have evolved from altered wheelbase Super Stocks to nitro burning, supercharged dragsters with lightweight fiberglass bodies. Know as “floppers” these newer versions have little in common with the original funny cars.

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