While our Truckin’ Fast Wednesdays feature usually looks at a modern Ram or Dakota tearing down the quarter mile, this week we look at one of the most famous drag racing trucks of all time – the one that essentially started it all. Bill “Maverick” Golden was the first truckin’ fast Dodge driver, back in the mid 1960s, with his wheelstanding Dodge A100 pickup. While this pickup served as more of an exhibition vehicle, it was still incredibly fast and undeniably awesome.
For those of you unfamiliar with ‘Maverick’ Golden’s Little Red Wagon, it is a heavily modified 1965 Dodge A100 pickup. These snub-nosed trucks had the engine located almost between the front seats but Maverick’s A100 had the engine moved into the bed to help add weight over the drive wheels, thus improving traction. Powering this unusual pickup was a 426 race Hemi, topped by a supercharger and run on a mixture of gasoline and nitro-methane. Unfortunately, it was discovered during testing that it was nearly impossible to keep the front end on the ground with this configuration, but that didn’t slow Bill down. The video below shows a few clips of the legendary drag racer and his trusty Dodge pickup roaring down the quarter mile and the scoreboard doesn’t lie – that truck is running in the mid 10 second range with the front wheels 5 feet off of the ground.
In the world of Mopar drag racing, there is no Dodge pickup that is more widely recognized than Golden’s Little Red Wagon. Not only is this unique Dodge truck cool to look at, it is easily capable of running in the mid 10s over and over again without the front wheels touching the ground once the truck leaves the line.
Maverick has retired now but I can assure you that any Mopar lover who has seen this truck in person will attest to just how incredible it is to see a display of performance like the Little Red Wagon. I had the pleasure of seeing dozens of his runs at various Mopar events before he retired and from the first time I saw the truck run in the 10s on the rear wheels only – seeing the Little Red Wagon take on the quarter mile has put a smile on my face. While there are lots of fast Dodge trucks in the world…just ‘Maverick’ and his ’65 A100 did it on the rear wheels only.
When you watch the video below, showing Bill ‘Maverick’ Golden and his Little Red Wagon Dodge A100, make sure that you have your speakers turned up so that you can hear the sound of his blown nitro Hemi as it takes off from the line.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
