Q: Greg, I remember watching former television star TV Tommy Ivo race at Numidia Dragway in Pennsylvania back in the Seventies. He drove a Top Fuel car that day, and was very nice to all the fans. How about an update on his career, and where is he now? Paul K., Stroudsburg, PA
A: Paul, glad to help. Surprisingly, when Ivo raced at Numidia many times back in the Seventies, I was the track's regular announcer, working weekly for the late Dr. Russell Pratt, who owned the dragway. The track is still in operation today and located on Rte. 42 in Numidia.
Pratt was known for booking in the biggest names in racing. He'd have "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, "Cha-Cha" Shirley Muldowney, "Jungle" Jim Liberman, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, "Dyno" Don Nicholson and many more big names of the era as regulars for match racing.
Ivo, one of the west coast Top Fuel pioneers, was one of Pratt's favorites. Pratt knew Ivo drew fans to the Pennsylvania raceway, although he was never a big winner on the NHRA circuit. Known more for his showmanship qualities, Pratt could count on Ivo to fill the stands.
Ivo's movie and television work earned him the nickname "TV Tommy." He appeared in shows like "My Little Margie," "My Three Sons," "Mickey Mouse Club," "Donna Reed Show" and "The Danny Thomas Show." He also had parts in more than 90 films.
As Ivo grew, so did his love of motorsports, especially drag racing. He started racing in a Buick dragster, and formed a car club called "Road Kings" with friend Rob Pepmiller in California's San Fernando Valley.
Ivo's classic twin-engined Buick dragster, and later his "Showboat" with four Buick engines, were his most talked about cars. His "twin" dragster was the first to eclipse the 160, 170, and 180 mph zones. This resulted in the promoters booking Ivo all over the country for match races, and his "helper" on those early tours was none other than 18-year-old Don Prudhomme.
I remember Ivo used to tour with his dragster and later Funny Car with a special twin deck trailer that had huge windows on the sides so fans could see his racecar while towing. On the top of the trailer was Ivo's special, custom, Corvette that he used as a push car for the Top Fueler.
The aforementioned four-engine Buick dragster, which found its way into toy stores as a Revell 1/24 model (I remember, I built one), brought Ivo much of his fame. His four fuel-injected Buick engines sat two rows side by side to create his famous tire smoking, four-wheel-drive, ill-handling, "Showboat."
When television officials of the "My Little Margie" show found out Ivo was driving these high-speed racecars, they banned him from continuing to race. But "Margie" was canceled after only one year, and Ivo proceeded to build his first ever Top Fueler. He then became the first to reach 190-mph.
Ivo campaigned Top Fuel cars for several years, scoring a runner-up at the 1964 Winternationals and 1965 Nationals before switching to the rear-engine format in 1972, when he became the first driver to run in the fives at 5.97 at New Alexandria, PA.
Ivo did win the IHRA Long Horn and Rockingham Nationals, so he indeed tasted victory on the professional level. He then switched to Funny Cars with "Nationwise Rod Shop" sponsorship, campaigning a Dodge Demon and Dodge Charger, the latter one of my personal favorite funny cars. When his Rod Shop sponsorship ended, he built a Plymouth Arrow and drove to the final round of the 1978 Winternationals against friend Prudhomme.
In 1980 and 1981, Ivo campaigned jet cars prior to rebuilding his famed four-engine ride in 1982, which now sported a Buick station-wagon body. He went on tour, but the excursion ended on his third stop, in Saskatoon, Sask., where Ivo crashed and crushed three vertebrae. He recovered, drove the car twice more, and made his final run at the NHRA Winston Finals at Orange County Int'l Raceway in that same year.
His last appearance was at the 1996 Goodguys Hot Rod Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park to celebrate his 60th birthday, where fans waited in a line 100 deep to get drag racing's most famous showman's autograph.
Today, "TV Tommy" is alive and well in California.