Over the course of the last 30 years, race cars in the state of California, the literal birthplace of the sport of drag racing, have come and gone with the ocean tide. But one team based out of the Sacramento area has stood the test of time and remained a staple in west coast doorslammer racing. And that of course, would be the Bunker family’s Folsom Flash and their iconic 1955 Chevrolet.

During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, family patriarch Bob Bunker Sr. campaigned his always popular Gasser-style ’55 along the west coast, with asupercharged 468 under the hood and backed by a four speed, wow’ing the crowd with wheels up, frame twisting launches. Much like the the classic Gasser’s, the Folsom Flash (yes, the same Folsom referred to in Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”) lacked a gravel pan and front bumper and sported some relatively massive slicks sticking outside the fender wells.

Bob Bunker Sr. hung up his driving suit some years ago, but that didn’t spell the end for the Folsom Flash so cherished by longtime west coast racing fans. While Bunker Sr. was still at the controls, the ’55 underwent some significant changes in the early 1990’s and was a key part of the early Pro Modified movement as a low slung, tube chassis race car. Today, Bunker’s son Bob Bunker Jr. pilots the Folsom Flash – also referred to as “Bunker’s Beast” – a modern Pro Modified in virtually respects, with a PSI supercharged engine combo and a Lenco transmission. the car, however, still sports the original Folsom Flash ’55 Chevy body and holds the current record for steel-bodied doorslammers at 6.13 seconds.