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Groundbreaker Malcolm Durham brought diversity to drag racing. By Steve Reasbeck; Photos courtesy www.prostockhemi.com Source: http://www.competitionplus.com/2006_05/malcolm_durham.html  
The same holds true for the so-called color barrier. The racers of today come from many backgrounds and ethnicity, and no one raises an eyebrow. One of the people who must be thanked for that is Malcolm Durham, of Washington, DC. He was our sport's first African-American superstar, a soft spoken, hard working mechanic who carried the Chevrolet banner when few others would.
Durham was raised on a farm in the Goldsboro, North Carolina, area and became interested in mechanics while operating tractors on the family farm. "Driving those tractors was my first exposure to mechanical things,"Durham recalled."It created my interest in vehicles and such." This interest in mechanics led to an interest in fast cars and then eventually to the drag strip, specifically Easy Street Drag Strip in Newton Grove, North Carolina. "I raced a '56 Chevy there, and was pretty successful."
The '56 Chevy moved with Malcolm to Washington, D.C., where he landed a position at Hicks Chevrolet after taking automotive courses at a technical trade school. He continued to campaign his "shoebox" Chevy at Aquasco Dragway, furthering the success he had in North Carolina.
"One of the salesmen at Hicks was a pretty successful SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) racer who had a '62 Corvette, and I wound up doing all of his engines," recalled Durham. "SCCA racing was one of the country's top racing circuits at the time, and we won a lot of those races. We went to a lot of large road racing events, and we were knee-deep in GM's Corvette racing program. Along the way I got to know a guy named Joe Pike, who would eventually help me with my drag racing career." While he was road racing, Malcolm still raced a '62 Chevy with a 409.
The Corvette racing program was run by this same Joe Pike. "Joe and I became good friends, and in 1963 he was placed in charge of the Z-11 "mystery motor" program," Durham said. "He asked me if I wanted one of those cars, and of course I accepted."
The Z-11 option would be Chevrolet.s last offering as a race package. "It was a 409 block, with a stroker crank that wound up at 427 cubic inches. It also had a set of special heads, and a special induction system. That car was incredibly successful, and we had a big win record in it."
1963 would be the last year for GM's racing effort. They pulled the plug on their entire racing program but Durham was not about to call it quits.
"Ford built the Thunderbolt in 1964, and I took a good look at them," Durham said. His interest was not because he had intentions of switching to the blue oval team, however. It was because Ford had stuffed their big 427 side oilers into a mid-size car, the Fairlane. "Chevrolet had come up with a mid-sized car, the Chevelle, at around the same time, and I decided we could build a Chevy version of the Thunderbolt, only better. We took the Z-11 from our '63, used a lot of T-Bolt ideas, and put it in a Chevelle. It flat flew."
Early in 1964, Ronnie Sox had taken the Mercury version of the Thunderbolt, called the Comet, and won the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona with it. "He came back East, and we were ready for him. .We raced him on three consecutive days; Friday evening at 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia, Maryland, Saturday at Cecil County, Maryland, and Sunday at Dover, New York, and beat him all three times," said Durham. "That Chevelle was a real winner."
The next year the Chevelle was updated to a 1965 version by adding a new front clip, and new tailights, and continued its winning ways. "By that time, we (the Chevrolet racers) were at a disadvantage compared to the folks running Hemi Mopars and Fords." Durham had switched to Chevrolet's new 396-inch "porcupine" motors, and was still able to hang in there. "We altered the wheelbase of the Chevelle in mid-year, and were able to remain competitive. We were forced to keep up with the Dodges."
It was also during this time that he was given the nickname "D.C. Lip," in an effort to capitalize on the success of Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali), the controversial boxer whose outspoken manner added to his notoriety. "That was my PR guy, Monk Reynolds," recalled Durham. However, the name really did not fit, as Malcolm was, and remains, a very soft spoken, hard working individual. His accomplishments do all the talking for him.
With the Funny Car craze in full swing, Durham.s next piece was a Corvair flopper, which "was home built, right here. It featured a big block Chevy on nitro, and was also a winner." However, during this time period, Chevrolets were few and far between, and there were only a handful of competitive ones. "There was mine, and a Corvair from California raced by Tom Sturm. It was called "Just 4 Chevy Lovers," and it ran pretty good, too."
Staying with the Funny Cars, in 1968 Durham obtained a state-of-the-art, flip-top Camaro built on a Loghe chassis. "That car also ran very well. We won the Super Stock Nationals in York with that, and the AHRA Nationals at New York International Speedway."
Tiring of nitro, Malcolm became involved in the early Pro Stock movement, along with Ronnie Sox, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, and "Dyno Don" Nicholson. "It was called SS/X (Super Stock Experimental), and we wound up with a ZL-1, all-aluminum 427-powered COPO Camaro which came from Fred Gibb Chevrolet." The car was one of the early hitters in Pro Stock, and admittedly would be very valuable today. "I am amazed at what those cars bring at the Barrett Jackson Auctions."
As a true pioneer, Durham.s early experiences in the turbulent sixties were really not all that bad. "We never had any big problems, although we did have some in the South. There was an incident at Memphis, where we were racing the Taylor boys (who would later create TCI transmissions). We beat them, and along the return road we were heckled pretty good. But there were not many incidents, or physical confrontations. It was pretty much mouthiness." Durham was able to use the situation to his advantage. "I was unique, and it helped our appearance potential. Toward the late 60s, I was being paid $800 an appearance, which made me one of the highest paid match racers around. So it worked out well".
Durham is still very much involved in the sport. He remained in Funny Car racing throughout the seventies, racing a series of flip-top Camaros and Vegas, all with nitro-fueled Chevrolet engines. In addition, a series of Pro Stock Camaros and Vegas were graced with the name "Strip Blazer." He has remained true to the marque.
He is amazed at the way the nostalgia movement has taken off. "It started slow, but has really taken off. You could hold a national event at one end of the country, and a nostalgia event at the other end, and both would do well."
Durham is very involved in a nostalgia program of his own. He has a built an updated version of his old '65 Chevelle, and son Brian is now doing the driving. "This "Strip Blazer" runs 7.50's at 180 with a 632-inch big block Chevy under the hood. It will be at the NHRA's Hot Rod reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in June, and is going to be involved with a match race against old Ford racer Phil Bonner's famed "Daddy Warbucks" '65 Falcon at Delmar, Delaware, later in the summer."
He still follows drag racing very closely, including the Sport Compact series, and marvels at the evolution of the sport. "In the old days, it was possible for one or two guys to get together and run something competitive. Now, it takes a true team effort. The driver doing everything is a thing of the past."
As of this writing, Durham is recovering from a February fall which resulted in an injury. "I am sort of hurting right now, but getting better. I am looking forward to Bowling Green."
At that event Durham will be honored for his contribution to the sport of drag racing. His story is an inspiration to all of us, a reminder of our privilege to live in a nation where disadvantages can be overcome by hard work and ingenuity. Sometimes, when we get discouraged, we all need that reminder. Malcolm Durham assisted in bringing major league drag racing to a level of diversity that is the hallmark of life within society. He is owed deep gratitude by all of us for that gift.
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