The death of John "The Zookeeper" Mulligan stunned the drag racing world. He was not only one of the most popular drivers in the business, but was tagged as a sports superstar going into the 1970's. His death was not in vane as several new safety standards were put in place including steel liners in the clutch cans.

Nov 29, 2023 · John "The Zookeeper" Mulligan was a drag racer from Garden Grove, CA. He was killed after an accident during a Top Fuel race when paired against A. "T.V. Tommy" Ivo. The accident occurred on 01 September 1969 at the US Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

One of the best of the era was the late John "the Zookeeper" Mulligan. Mulligan is best remembered for his pairing with Tim Beebe on the green-striped Beebe & Mulligan dragsters. With their second car, built by Woody Gilmore, they ended a string of six big-meet runner-ups over the previous two years with a win at the 1969 Winternationals.

After stumbling at the NHRA Springnationals in June, suffering a first-round loss to Tom Hoover, Beebe and Mulligan returned to form at the NHRA Nationals, where they led qualifying by a huge margin with a 6.43 at a time when the national record was 6.68.

May 28, 2024 · With this top fueler, the Beebe and Mulligan team won the NHRA Winternationals in February 1969, beating Don "The Snake" Prudhomme in the final round. With animal nicknames like "Snake" and "Mongoose" in his competition, John apparently decided that the one who was their boss was the "Zookeeper," hence his nickname.

During qualifying (above), John Mulligan ran the quickest time in drag racing history (6.43) to put him into the # 1 spot for race day. Mulligan was paired with "TV Tommy" Ivo for the first round of eliminations on Monday.

Nov 26, 2019 · The fire and ensuing crash took the life of driver John "Zookeeper" Mulligan. Clare Sanders won the first ever Funny Car Eliminator at a NHRA national race. Sanders drove for "team" Jungle Jim Liberman and his AA/FC Nova's.

Jan 11, 2019 · Mulligan defeated former Winternationals champ Don “the Snake” Prudhomme in the final round, both having run 6.93, Mulligan in beating Leroy Goldstein and Prudhomme with a score over Jim Dunn,...

In a career spanning less than a decade, John Mulligan left an indelible mark on drag racing history. In 1962, he began driving the Chevy powered Fiat fuel altered of the Beebe Brothers. In 1964 Garden Grove car dealer, Jack Warye built two stunning, nearly identical full …

A close look at the substance and experiences of "Zookeeper" Mulligan, an Irish racer from Garden Grove, California, reveals that the frequent "close, but no cigar" finishes were leading to an eventual breakthrough-the 1969 Winternationals victory.