To see the iconic Mooneyes Dragster on display at historic Mooneyes headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, California or at popular Mooneyes events, like their New Year’s Party at Irwindale Raceway in Irwindale, California, is very special. It’s instantly recognizable with its Mooneyes logos and yellow paint. It looks fast even standing still, with its Dragmaster chassis and Moon Equipment Company speed parts. It’s not just a famous race car, but a literal time machine that takes you back to the heyday of hot rodding and drag racing. It was Dean Moon’s test bench for his innovative products. The original dragster is on exhibit at the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing while the replica one lives at Mooneyes Santa Fe Springs. This faithful reproduction features a chassis built by Dorin “Dode” Martin of Dragmaster, the same company that built the chassis of the original dragster.
To see the Mooneyes Dragster run is even more special. We had the honor of filming and photographing it, driven by Mooneyes owner Shige Suganuma, along with the equally renowned Dos Palmas dragster, driven by hot rodder, journalist, and author Tony Thacker. This “test and tune” at the Irwindale Dragstrip was in preparation for the dragsters’ appearance at the upcoming Dragstalgia at Santa Pod Raceway, England, which will celebrate 60 years of U.K. drag racing. As Shige and Tony took turns running the dragsters, we were transported back in time to when Dean Moon and his driver Dante Duce drove the original dragster. We love seeing these beautiful race cars in museums and car shows, but we enjoy watching them run even more.
Thank you to Shige Suganuma, Chico Kodama, Emi Suganuma, the Mooneyes crew, Tony Thacker, the Dos Palmas crew, and the Irwindale Dragstrip. Special thanks to Tuan Tran Video for their support.
To read Tony Thacker’s in-depth article on the Mooneyes Dragster and Dos Palmas:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/mooneyes-dos-palmas-gas-dragsters/
To learn more about the “Craft of Speed” Mooneyes Documentary:
https://www.craftofspeed.com/