Most people make their inaugural pass down the dragstrip in a street car during a test-and-tune session, or something similar. Cody Chatfield, however, strapped in and staged for the very first time in a blown Fuel Altered. Today, the 34-year-old is living his best life as driver and co-owner of the Booze Brothers 1974 Chevrolet Vega Funny Car, blasting the eighth-mile in four fast seconds.
When Chatfield was a teenager, his mother started dating Larry Bullard, crew chief for the Booze Brothers’ fuel altered, which was owned by John McDonald and Craig Donnelly at the time. “I was 18 years old when he took me to my first drag race,” said the elevator mechanic from Raymore, Missouri. “I worked on that car, doing anything I could, to be a part of the team. I changed spark plugs, checked tire pressures, and learned as I went.”
Hard work and a willingness to tackle any job quickly earned Chatfield the respect of the team; in 2019, when he was 25, he was rewarded with a chance to drive the Vega. It was his first time ever pulling into the beams and making a hit, but he didn’t hesitate to go all-in on such an incredible opportunity.
“The Booze Brothers team has always been a 50/50 partnership, John and Craig would take turns driving from year to year,” explained Chatfield, who had filled in for Donnelly’s driving duties since 2019. In 2022, however, Craig Donnelly decided to retire from racing and sell his half of the operation. “I decided to buy it. I already loved working on the car, and after a couple trips down the track, I knew it would be something that I would be hooked on forever.”
Now officially part of the iconic Booze Brothers machine’s history, Chatfield was also an integral part of the Vega’s evolution. Originally, the team ran a Fuel Altered body on the 1974 Chevy. They raced with the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association and Central States Superchargers series, attended car shows, and competed annually at the World Fuel Altered Nationals in Iowa.
However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Fuel Altered races became so few and far between that the team only ran two or three times a year. “We decided to buy a Funny Car body and run with the Funny Car Chaos series,” Chatfield said of the pivot he and McDonald opted to make.
The transformation took about two years and began with the men finding a pristine Vega body that had never even been mounted. That body, though, had been made for a shorter, 118” wheelbase car and needed to be modified to fit their longer 125” length.
“It took a lot of body work to get it done, from the cutting and stretching in two locations to the sanding, fitting and mounting, making the windows, and more,” noted Chatfield proudly of the labor the team, including Chatfield, McDonald, and Bullard, performed themselves. “We also did all of the tin work. It was designed, bent, cut, and installed in-house by us.”
The base paint was sprayed by Cody Parris of Parris Auto Body, while the vibrant wrap, including the two boozing rats that pay homage to the “Rat Motor” nickname of Chevy’s big block, was designed by Bullard, printed by Boom Graphics, and installed by the Booze Brothers bunch with help from Stephen Conway. The result was a car that turned heads everywhere it went, from the pits to the winner’s circle.
When the iconic body is hinged upwards towards the sky, it reveals an incredibly capable chassis that was built in 1999 by the now-defunct Pro Fab shop of Independence, Missouri. And, between the frame rails of that chassis sits a 540 cubic-inch big block Chevy engine that means business.
Machined by Jack Conklin at Performance Machine Specialties and assembled by McDonald, the aluminum Rodeck 481 engine block houses a set of eight CP Carillo pistons and GRP connecting rods attached to a Bryant crankshaft. “We run Dart 410 cylinder heads with Jesel rockers, Manton pushrods, and a Bullet camshaft,” Chatfield noted. “We also use custom funny car headers that were fit and welded by Rusty Woolard.”
Topping the powerplant is a big, beautiful, billet SSI 14-71 roots supercharger, complemented by a mechanical fuel injection system and a billet Enderle 1100 fuel pump that flows VP Racing’s M5 methanol. An MSD Performance Power Grid ignition and engine management package is in place to keep the party in check, while Larry Bullard has the honor of analyzing the RPM Performance data recorder’s outputs and tuning the entire combination.
The resulting power is routed through a Powerglide transmission built by McDonald and an M&M Transmission torque converter, then transferred via a Lenco-coupled 35-spline billet straight shaft to a Mark Williams 9-inch full-floater rear end with 4.57 gears. Weld wheels wrapped in Hoosier Tires, rubber frame Wilwood brakes up front and Mark Williams stoppers in the back.
By late 2024, the revamped Vega was finally ready for its Funny Car Chaos debut at Missouri’s Mo-Kan Dragway. There, the team made some shakedown runs and successfully sorted out the new setup, ready for their first full season in 2025.
“My first Funny Car Chaos event win was in 2025 at Mo-Kan, our home track,” said Chatfield with the well-deserved pride of achieving such a feat with a home-built racecar. “We ended up 10th in points that year and won Best Appearing Car!”
That momentum carried into 2026, too, when Chatfield captured the ‘C’ Field victory at Tulsa Raceway Park in March before reaching the semifinals at Texas Motorplex the following month. His performances have already significantly improved his points standing over the previous year, and as of June he was tied for second.
Although Chatfield said the Vega’s current horsepower and torque figures were unknown, he did share the Funny Car’s best eighth-mile performance stats: an elapsed time of 4.11 seconds, top speed of 176 mph, and quickest 60-foot time of 0.964 seconds.
Now, Chatfield primarily campaigns the car in Funny Car Chaos trim, although he still participates in the World Fuel Altered Nationals each year with the altered body on the same chassis, it’s a purpose-built, dual-purpose program that keeps the team busy.
“We run an honest, self-funded, blue-collar operation, and we love this stuff,” affirmed Chatfield, whose focus is purely on staying safe and having fun. “My wife, Alyssa, is our back up girl and she jumps in and helps any way she can. My Mom, Kelly Bullard, watches the kids and keeps us fed during race weekends. And, of course, none of this would have been possible without John McDonald and Larry Bullard.”
In a class where showmanship is secondary only to speed, the Booze Brothers team certainly has an abundance of both. Now taking part in continuing a legacy, Chatfield, co-owner of the cool, blown 1974 Chevy Vega Funny Car, has enjoyed a wild ride from rookie to racer, and his favorite part of it all has been “the entire thing.”
CAR: 1974 Chevy Vega
CHASSIS: Pro Fab (1999)
ENGINE: 540 CI big-block Chevy
BLOCK: Rodeck 481
HEADS: Dart 410
RODS: GRP
PISTONS: CP Carillo
CRANK: Bryant
CAM: Bullet
VALVETRAIN: Jesel rockers, Manton pushrods
POWER ADDER: SSI 14-71 roots supercharger
ENGINE MANAGEMENT: MSD Powergrid
FUEL SYSTEM: Mechanical injection, Enderle 1100 pump
TRANSMISSION: Powerglide built by John McDonald
CONVERTER: M&M Transmission
DRIVESHAFT: Lenco-coupled 35-spline billet straight shaft
REAR END: Mark Williams 9-inch full floater, 4.57 gears
BRAKES: Wilwood (front), Mark Williams (rear)
WHEELS: Weld
TIRES: Hoosier
BEST 60’: 0.964 seconds
QUICKEST ET: 4.11 seconds (1/8 mile)
FASTEST MPH: 176 mph (1/8 mile)
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