If you want to talk about a legend in the sport of drag racing, the name Grumpy Jenkins has to cross your mind. Not only was he known for his infamous “personality”, but his mechanical aptitude and some of the innovations he pioneered are still relevant today.

Although some saw him as a man with a not-so-personable demeanor, once you got to know him, you learned that he was just a gearhead that projected his demeanor in order to spend less time “shooting the bull”, and more time working on his projects.

Grumpy began drag racing on the east coast in the mid-1950s, and quickly became known for his uncanny ability to build and tune an engine, and quite notably, shift a manual transmission. Eventually, he and Dave Strickler partnered in the early 1960s, and campaigned a series of “Old Reliable” Chevrolets. One of them was even the very first ’63 Impala Z11 lightweight car. What many don’t know about Grumpy is that he even piloted a Dodge for a short time.

In 1966, Jenkins decided that he would be better off without a partner, and he struck out on his own, and back into a Chevrolet. That year, without any factory backing, he campaigned an L79 Chevy II in Super Stock. In 1970, he became one of the very first people to compete in Pro Stock, converting his ’68 Camaro so that it would “adhere” to the new rules. By the way, he won the Pro Stock debut at the 1970 Winternationals. While racing in Pro Stock, Jenkins introduced many “firsts” to racing, including tube chassis’, strut-type suspensions, and dry-sump oiling systems. In 1972, he was good enough that he earned more than a $250,000 dollars racing.

While he continued to peddle his own gears through 1975, he had been starting remove himself from the driver’s seat, so he could spend more time building and tuning cars and engines. Grumpy’s Toy adorned the sides of 17 cars over the years, and he even kept his shop in Malvern, Pennsylvania, open through the mid-2000s. His accomplishments were enough to get him voted as Number 8 on NHRA’s list of the 50 all-time best drivers. He is also a member of several halls of fame, including the Don Garlits’ International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.