Karamesines named grand marshal of 8th Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion

Chris “the Greek” Karamesines, who is still racing Top Fuel dragsters at age 81, has been selected as the grand marshal of the 8th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, June 18-20. He is a member of the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He has participated in the sport for more than 50 years and continues to amaze the masses.

“At an age when most would rather be relaxing at home, ‘the Greek’ Karamesines continues to drive a 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster and shows no signs of slowing down,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California and event organizer. “It’s a huge honor for us to recognize one of drag racing’s titans, Chris ‘the Greek’ Karamesines, as the grand marshal of this year’s Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion at Beech Bend Raceway.”

Call him the “Crazy Greek,” the “Golden Greek,” or simply “the Greek,” Chicago’s Karamesines has been one of the most colorful and popular characters in drag racing history. In the days of front-engine tire-smoking fuelers, no one was more fun to watch. Though he has never won an NHRA national event, he has more than made up for it with showmanship, competitive performances, and charming personality. He first came to national prominence with his Top Eliminator win at the 1959 AHRA Nationals in Great Bend, Kan. On April 4, 1960, in Alton, Ill., he was credited with a run of 204.54 mph. Controversial and questionable to be sure coming years before consistent 200-mph speeds, that performance nevertheless cemented “the Greek’s” name in drag racing history.

Other career highlights include qualifying No. 1 at the 1963 Bakersfield March Meet with the event’s first seven-second e.t. and again in 1964 with the track’s first 7.8 run, two wins at the World Series of Drag Racing in Cordova, Ill., and triumphs at the 1965 Olympics of Drag Racing in Union Grove, Wis., and the 1966 AHRA Grand American Finale. Longtime friend and 2009 NHRR honoree Bob Stange has backed “the Greek” for years, yet he remains an independent racer. In 1990, he ran the full NHRA schedule and finished just 36 points out of the top 10. Without a single NHRA win, he was voted No. 30 on NHRA’s Top 50 Drivers list.

In the 1960s, tales of Karamesines’ bravado spread across the country, creating one of drag racing’s first larger-than-life legends. In 1962, while racing “T.V. Tommy” Ivo at San Gabriel (Calif.) Drag Strip, Karamesines went off the strip into the dirt, only to return to the strip and still reach the finish line first. At Lions Drag Strip in 1963, Karamesines’ Chizler got completely sideways at the finish line yet avoided certain disaster in a 190-mph win against the nearly unbeatable Greer, Black & Prudhomme fueler.

Just as Hall of Famers “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, and Ivo played significant roles in developing the popularity of drag racing, so too has Karamesines. But unlike his previously named former opponents, he’s still driving his 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster and qualified for the first two national events of the NHRA season.

Also being recognized at the 8th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion are honorees Joe Jacono, J.E. Kristek, Leffler Bros. & Loukas, T.C. Lemons, and Larry Reyes. The Justice Bros. Car Care Products Reunion Spotlight will fall on the Ford Drag Team.