story by
photos by
Al Heisley
G
eorge Reidnauer was introduced to drag racing by his father in the mid-’70s. His dad, who used to deliver bread for a living, would rush home
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to pick young George up as soon as he got off work early Sunday mornings and the duo would drive over to Maple Grove Raceway for the day. Of course, the funny cars would be there—and that’s
Carl Skillman
where George first fell in love with the fabulous floppers. Fast forward several years and George had started his own construction business by the age of 25. He got married, helped raise his three kids,
january 2019 | RPM Magazine
and waited until they were out of high school before he purchased his first race car—an alcohol funny car. Reidnauer is a lifelong Al Hoffman fan. One day in 2005 while browsing eBay, he
stumbled across Hoffman’s first race car for sale. The China Syndrome funny car was a slant-nosed Vega that Hoffman had purchased from Radici & Wise. As fortune would have it, George bid on