18-03-2025
NHRA Great Bernie Fedderly, Key to John Force's Brain Trust, Dies
Bernie Fedderly, the respected and popular NHRA crew chief who helped engineer most of John Force's 16 Funny Car championships, has died at age 76.
An Edmonton, Alberta, native, Fedderly was a 1996 inductee into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and a 2013 honoree for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
News of his death was posted on his Facebook page Saturday.
Fedderly teamed with Austin Coil to cement John Force's legacy with 10 consecutive titles between 1993 and 2002. In all, from 1992-2012, when he retired from John Force Racing (JFR)and the sport, Fedderly and Coil tuned Force to 13 series championships, 109 victories, five NHRA Funny Car bonus-race triumphs, four Winston Invitational wins, and a victory at the inaugural Funny Car vs. Top Fuel Winston Showdown in 1999.
He said working for Force 'was never boring, that's for sure.' He called it 'a really special and interesting time. Force sometimes had a hundred ideas an hour, and it was up to us to make them happen, and sometimes that was pretty challenging. But we got through it. Some of the safety things that came from those times are important advances.'
Before joining JFR, Fedderly started his career with high-school buddy and 1980 U.S. Nationals winner Terry Capp, then moved to Larry Minor Racing as crew chief from 1982-1985 to Top Fuel driver and two-time champion Gary Beck. Together they went on a tear in which Beck qualified first 14 times in 16 races and broke a couple of speed barriers (5.50 and 5.40 seconds), which earned them and Minor the 1983 Car Craft magazine Person(s) of the Year Award.
Fedderly also tuned drag-racing legend Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch to 12 victories.
But his role in Force's 'brain trust' for nearly two decades is what defined Fedderly most, although he won national events with six different drivers over his career: Capp, Beck, McCulloch, Cruz Pedregon, Force, and Mike Neff.
'Most of my friends wanted to drive. I just wanted to make cars run fast. So I had a lot of opportunities to gain experience,' Fedderly said when he was inducted to the Canadian hall.
Ironically, he began the 1992 season as crew chief for Cruz Pedregon before departing mid-season to take the job with Force. Later that year, Pedregon claimed his first of two Funny Car titles to dethrone Force, who had won the previous two championships.
Renowned tuner Lee Beard said on a social-media post, 'Life is about memories. I have fond memories about Bernie. I'll never forget him. He was a prince of a man!!'
Fedderly is survived by wife Mary.
