In memory of Big John's newphew, Rich Siroonian, who passed away at age 71 on September 21, 2013.
Richard is survived by his brother Johnny and sister-in-law Katheryn.  Rich Siroonian was a history making drag racer and lived life on his own terms. Family services private. - See More Here
As the story goes, “Uncle John” caught his nephew street racing in his Corvette and decided to put him into a real race car. Siroonian was put into Mazmanian’s record-setting Corvette as well as the Willys, and Austin gassers and he proved himself a very good driver. When "Big John" moved into Funny Cars, Siroonian was his driver of choice. Together they won the prestigious Manufacturer's Meet in November 1968, defeating Don Schumacher in the final. This set them as match race threats everywhere the beautiful 'Cudas ran.
Read More Here
Rich Siroonian, Ultra-Talented Gasser And Funny Car Driver Passes – Drag Racing’s First 220-mph Flopper Pilot
Read the article on Bangshift.com
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Big John's Barracuda Funny Car, was driven by Rich Siroonian
The 1969 Barracuda was constructed of 4130 chrome-moly steel tubing
by Ron Scrima of Exhibition Engineering and had a wheelbase of 120 inches.
He also did the car's suspension, steering and roll cage. The body
was one-piece made of fiberglass.
It had a Supercharged 1958 392 Chrysler which cranked about 1500
horsepower. It ran the quarter-mile in the mid-seven seconds range
at over 190 MPH, consistently quicker than the established NHRA National
Record at that time. |
