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Bernie Fedderly, whose mechanical magic propelled drivers to winner’s circles and world championships over a Hall of Fame career, passed away March 15. He was 76.

Fedderly, a one-time fleet mechanic for a Canadian dairy company, found his place on the dragstrip and first came to national attention in 1980 when he tuned Terry Capp to a surprising win at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, but the Canadian duo had long been making waves with a series of gas coupes north of the border.

Fedderly joined Larry Minor Racing’s growing Top Fuel team in 1982, replacing Jim Wright, who had tuned Gary Beck and Larry Dixon Sr. Fedderly’s expertise with the clutch and his team’s interest in exploring aerodynamics turned the Beck-driven blue dragster into the quickest Top Fuel dragster in the land, running the first 5.4- and 5.3-second passes in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Beck captured the Top Fuel championship in 1983, and Beck, Fedderly, and the Larry Minor team were named Car Craft Magazine’s Persons of the Year in 1983. Fedderly switched to tuning Minor’s Funny Car in 1985, wrenching for Ed “the Ace” McCulloch, and collected 12 wins.

In 1992, he joined Austin Coil at John Force Racing, with Coil, Fedderly, and John Medlen creating Force’s “brain trust” that led 109 national event wins and 13 season championships from 1992 until Fedderly retired prior to the 2013 season.

Fedderly is a member of both the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.��

Look for an in-depth story later this week about Fedderly.
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