DIALED IN
PHOTOS: VAN ABERNETHY
BUTCH DRESBACK
the factory glass including sunroof, as well as the
original truck and hinges. Butch even left the
Ohio license plate attached from when the car
was last tagged. The T-bird’s power windows are
a definite lifesaver during the summer months,
while the factory side mirrors come in handy
when Butch wants to see how hot his opponent is
bearing down on him as they near the finish line.
For motivation, Dresback swapped the peppy,
factory four-cylinder turbo engine for a 430 cubic
inch small block Chevrolet that produces about
750 horsepower. Yes, he catches grief from Ford
enthusiasts who walk up and nearly puke when
they see the bowtie on the intake. “People will say
to me, ‘Man, why don’t you put a Ford motor in
this thing!’” laughs Butch.
Truth is, Butch loves both brands, but readily
admits he’s a more knowledgeable Chevy mechanic and besides that, he has a whole shop full
of Chevy parts lying around just waiting to be
bolted onto something. The car also features a
Coan Transmission and Converter, Strange Struts,
Moser Axles and a 9” Ford rear end.
Butch’s good friend, Rudy Mathews (also best
man at his wedding) wired the car. The Thunderbird tips the scales at 2,830-pounds with
driver, and Dresback typically competes the car
in NHRA’s Super Street division. Career best
numbers are 9.60 at 147mph. “It goes straight and
it’s a pleasure to drive,” beams Dresback.
The construction of this race car was a true
labor of love and it certainly didn’t happen over
night. In fact, Butch and his son-in-law, Darrin
Van Horn, hammered on this car every weekend
for roughly three years before it ever made its first
pass down a drag strip.
For Dresback, the sport of drag racing represents a life-long love that he discovered early in
life. “Many of the tracks I used to race at when I
was a teenager have been closed for like 30-years,”
he says. A life-long Ohio native, Butch fondly
remembers racing at places like Kettlersville
Dragway and Pence’s Drag Strip, both of which
haven’t been in operation in decades. “Kettlersville was a 1/5 mile in length; very bumpy with
no guardrails and dirt return roads,” remembers
Butch, who raced a 1955 Chevy there probably
40-years ago or longer.
After that, he started traveling down into Kentucky and racing at places like Mt. Park Dragway
in Clay City and Ohio Valley Dragway in Louisville. Later, he built himself a 1969 Camaro in the
1980s, a nd was a regular at places like Marion
County Dragway and also Kil-Kare Dragway, both
located in Ohio.
After decades of being a full-blown drag racing
addict, Butch’s father used to laughingly remark,
“I would have thought by now you’d have grown
out of this stuff.” Butch would just smile and nod
in agreement. Rest assured, he’s tried to walk
away and make a clean break a time or two over
the years, but the allure of racing seems to reel
him back time after time.
He actually bought his first Super Gas car upon
one notable return to drag racing, which was a
1985 Thunderbird he bought from a guy in Long
Island, New York. He raced the car for five years
before selling it to buy a 1957 Corvette roadster
that was built by his friends at Advanced Chassis.
He travelled extensively with this car and won
IHRA divisional races in Immokalee, Florida, as
well as Mooresville, North Carolina, sometime
around 2004.
A few years later when the economy bottomed,
he once again took a break from drag racing. He
actually thought he was done with racing for good
on this occasion, but somehow was bitten by the
bug once again, and that’s when the wheels inside
his head begin to turn with regards to turning
his daughter’s first T-bird into what will likely
be his last race car.
These days, he finds himself wanting to race
more and more with each passing weekend. He
kicked off the 2016 season at the Cavalcade of
Stars NHRA Lucas Oil divisional race in Norwalk,
Ohio, and was thrilled to win a few rounds. At 64
years of age, Dresback knows that before long he’s
going to walk away from drag racing once more
and this time he won’t be back, so he’s savoring
the moment as long as it lasts.
“I’d actually like to attend every single NHRA
Division 3 race in 2017,” he says. “I still love racing yet today, there’s just something about it,”
declares Dresback, who like so many other weekend warrior racers have compiled innumerable
great memories and friendships at the drag strip.
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“The best people I know are at the race track.”
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July 2016
DragIllustrated.com
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